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Generally the way it works is you pay quarterly fees which pay for maintenance of communal areas, building insurance, liability insurance, and repairs. The amount payable can vary depending on many factors, for example if there is a pool, gym , the size and age average here in Queensland is around $4000 up to $10,000 + per year There is what is known as a body Corporate Committee which is made up of owners who decide on all mattes , agree budgets ect, most are run by strata management companies (who charge a fee) who will communicate via the Body Corporate.There is usually a general meeting every year. The key thing when buying a strata property is to check recent minutes of annual meeting, look at the financial records to check sink fund payments ect this gives an indication on how well run the development is. If you buy via a real estate agent they have to disclose this information to you, its usually on display at a home open. So the key difference is you are an active participant and not just giving money to a leasehold company for whom its about making money.

It’s obviously a while ago now, but one lady I dealt with in Victoria had moved into a nursing home, but found she couldn’t afford it because when they sold her retirement unit, they discovered the exit fee was about 25% of the sale price. I couldn’t believe it, that was just obscene. It was a real issue for her and the family, with the care home clamoring to get paid. I hope it is better regulated now, but beware that the big print giveth and the small print taketh away.

Not at all, but given how expensive higher education is these day I think universities have an obligation to provide students with a high-quality educational experience, which prepares them for their chosen careers. The aforementioned activity is something which you'd expected to see hosted by a Taylor Swift fan club, not an academic institution.

We have quite a few friends who live in retirement villages, and to be honest the ones who are sadly on their own, aren’t too unhappy, they do benefit from the companionship,. The couples we know vary from acceptance that it’s the sensible thing to do, some quite happy, to others who hate the regulations, and have left as a result. there is no way we will live in one, unless we have no choice but to move from our house. The rules would drive us mad. You have to get permission if you have guests to stay for more than 3 days, guests can’t stay even for one night in your house unless you are there, they can’t park overnight in your drive, have to use visitor car spaces, you are reported if you drive over the speed limit, we laugh when we visit and say watch out for spies!!! You have an obvious visit from management if you break any of the above rules, and there is always someone willing to report you!! The standard of the houses are excellent, as are the facilities, but all the activities are run entirely by volunteers living there, the management is not involved at all , so activities like the cinema, social events, the bar, can grind to a halt. Around here there quite a few villages, run by different companies, and there seems quite a lot of differences between them as regards the conditions of buying and selling. You really need to do your homework to find what suits you, and what all the restrictions are.

I used to look at "academics" in awe, now I feel like i was scammed. Its not just Australia.

Did mine in March, took 3 days to get approval, thats all. As above, I listed things as Books x 300, plates x 10, jackets x 5 etc

CBD is flat, but the Perth Hills is full of erm hills... My uncle lives there, he has views of the CBD and the Indian ocean at a far distance.

Yep lovely to visit the sea, less lovely for the sea (and its contents) to visit you. We live 500m from the beach but 50m up. Yep its a hard walk home but the sea isn't going to visit us

Hi, I did one back in 2018 and listed everything I thought I might take, it ended up being much less and no one cared. I didn’t list everything separately, but just said “kitchen utensils “, “clothes”, “towels” etc. If you have a pet, you need to list that as well. hope the system is better than when I did it, it was still quite new then. It didn’t allow a very big upload but didn’t warn you it hadn’t been accepted! It was awful, I ended up ringing and getting it done. More recent movers seem to have had a more streamlined experience. Good luck with your move. It’s currently raining!

Frank Zappa said it best.

She generates the income of a small nation. Would be a major impact if anything happened to her. But apart from that, I don't understand what they actually study?

All I can say is go in with your eyes fully open. They can be great places to live. But sometimes you can get issues. Living close to alot of people isn't everyone's cup of tea, and if conflict arises, it can be difficult to resolve. But if you are a people person and will make use of the facilities they can be fantastic. As you say, they can be hard to sell, and the leasehold may take a chunk if you do. You're children may also be obliged to pay the fees after you die until the sale, although I believe the laws around this have changed recently. There have been some news stories over the last few years, so probably worth catching up on those.

I've no doubt that he is only reading the room and looking for votes. Still the right thing to do.

Gaslighting cranked up to 11. He expects us to believe that it's net zero that's making us poorer!!! They're just doing it because ULEZ is unpopular and getting lots of media and they think they can win more votes and con more people about why the nation is in decline. £30bn cost to the taxpayer for Trussonomics £26bn Covid fraud Test and trace £37bn Flying 3 refugee seekers to Rwanda £120m Unused and unsafe barges for refugree seekers £1.6bn Don't be fooled.

They do have leasehold in Australia for retirement flats and so forth. I think they have the same in the UK. I would avoid any thing like that. I thought strata meant that the ground and externals were owned collectively?

Not all of the UK. Whilst there are still some outliers, for the most part - and as far as any "normal" person buying a flat would be concerned with now, Scotland did away with leaseholds in the last twenty years or so. Then again, there are plenty of other reasons for not wanting to buy a flat in Scotland...

I had a cat that identified as a dog once. I'm not sure if that's the same thing?

Well put.I It can be noted that Canada and NZ immigration do not accept applications from unregistered parties, no matter where they are. There are too many backhanders on offer for Australia to do likewise.

All depending on which state you're in, unless you are a licenced electrician, it could be illegal and any insurances void in case of an electrical fire. No matter how many degrees you've got. I think Qld is the one that is most draconian.

Thank you for the reply! I did the schools direct salaried route- so I got an unqualified teacher salary whilst training and the fees were paid by my school. It’s SO frustrating! I wish I’d done a PGCE as it would have made life so much easier! So now I’m stuck really as I don’t have the right type of QTS required for Australia but to remedy this, I now can’t do a PGCE here which IS accepted for Australia because for all intents and purposes here I already have QTS! If I can work my way round it, then I’ll be coming straight to you for a job, lol!

Bear in mind it is illegal to do this in most states and may invalidate your house insurance.

@Grabri, I just wanted to point out that the OP is not planning to move permanently. They'll be in Sydney for 3-4 years and then the children will have to slot back into UK schools. If they were moving permanently, I'd be warning them about house prices but otherwise I'd be saying, the kids will be fine even if they're unsettled at first, so why not go for it. But if your 12-year-old had had to leave school in Australia at 16 and move to the UK, do you think that would've been a problem?