InnerVoice

Oooh... shots fired!

You should be able to get something for around $700k if you're looking that far out, although be aware there are large areas down there that are particularly susceptible to flooding. Check out the Brisbane flood map... https://fam.brisbane.qld.gov.au/?page=Map---Standard

Yes, the further away you travel from the city the cheaper property gets but I'd doubt that you'll find anything for $700k in Brookfield or the surrounding areas, like Kenmore and Indooroopilly. Brisbanites have a saying that 'west is best', and apart from the inner city suburbs the western suburbs are the most sought after. You mentioned a figure of $700k earlier in the post so I did a search on realestate.com. I added houses with 3 bedrooms as a criteria because agents often list 1 and 2 bedroom apartments as houses so they'll appear in the search. As you can see, your best bet for affordable property is going to be on the east side of the city, which is technically Redland City not Brisbane (see previous post). It's quite a long commute, even on a good day, but there's a silver lining in that there's a decent rail link to the city which is rather pleasant from recollection.

That's partly true in that Brookfield is in Brisbane, but places that people often refer to as 'Brisbane' are in other local government areas. For example, Arana Hills (10km from the CBD) is in Moreton Bay, and Cleveland in Redland City.

You'll be fine, just get an AirBnB booked for a month and take it from there. If you can avoid arriving outside the school holidays (9 Dec to 21 January) then you shouldn't have too many problems finding a place. Where will you be working?

Renting for a short period is never wasted money, especially if it allows you to the opportunity to buy a more suitable property. I think you would be very wise to rent when you first arrive - not just for the credit history, but also to familiarise yourself with different areas and gain an understanding of how everything works here in Australia.

I recall it being 3 payslips in my case which only amounted to 6 weeks, but they also wanted to see my credit card statements for the last 3 months.

That would be well above the 28/36 rule unless the borrower had absolutely no other debt, and wouldn't leave then much disposable income. On the bright side, interest rates are more likely to fall than rise in the foreseeable future so at least their repayments should fall.

In your hypothetical scenario you stated you were already an Australian resident before the property was sold so I assumed you'd been for some time, but I see from an earlier post you're still in the UK until the end of the year. I'd just bear in mind that if you have PR then you'll be considered an Australian resident for tax purposes from the moment you arrive here, and non-resident in the UK, which means you'll still need to report the sale to the HMRC - even if the property is exempt from CGT. Good luck with the move!

Correct on all points, although if I was the OP I'd slow a bit - Australia is a big country to have to walk around!

I'm sure he isn't, but I bet he still knows more about the Australian tax system than either of us! $2-3k sounds like a lot but if you're talking a $1m or more then that represents a 0.2% fee, so much better value than my $69 to save a couple of grand (0.35%). If it was me and the UK house was still classed as my primary residence, then I'd sell it, transfer the money to my Australian bank account and that would be the end of the matter. In fact, that's exactly what I did when I sold my UK home a few years ago. However, I was still a UK resident when the sale was completed, but you're not, so unless I'm missing something the sale would be subject to CGT in the UK. Even if there's no CGT to pay, you still need to report the sale to the HMRC within 60 days of disposal or risk receiving a fine. https://www.gov.uk/tax-live-abroad-sell-uk-home https://www.gov.uk/guidance/capital-gains-tax-for-non-residents-uk-residential-property

A few years ago I was dabbling in Bitcoin, using the UK platform of CoinJar. They also have an Australian platform, which I've never signed up to or logged into. Sure enough, when it came to complete my tax return there was an ATO message along the lines of 'You may have made gains from cryptocurrency dealing'. CoinJar must have shared that information with the ATO, unless it was just a blanket message sent out to try and everyone to get people to declare their crypto gains. Anyway, it worked, and I had to cough up.

If I was you I'd be buying some land of my brother and building my house there!

We obtained our mortgage through UBank a few years ago and they thrashed the pants of everyone else in terms of interest rates and conditions. You don't need to go through a broker either. I would recommend them but everything's online and I know that isn't everyone's cup of tea. You can go through the process of applying (link below) and it will eventually throw out some figures as to whether they will lend to you and how much. They lent me about 4 times what I was earning at the time and I was able to stick down a similar deposit to what you have, but the market has changed hugely since then and so have prices. Hope this helps. https://www.ubank.com.au/home-loans/get-started

No doubt there are still a few charlatans out there but every financial advisor I've ever approached has been transparent about their charges, and their initial consultation has been free. After my first year teaching in Australia a colleague advised me to use a tax professional as there were likely to be items I could claim for that I wasn't aware of. For the paltry sum of $69 (which was tax deductible the following year) a nice chap in the mall took care of my tax return, and I subsequently received a refund of two thousand dollars. From then on I've completed my own return because I know what I can and can't claim for, but that initial $69 has saved me thousands over the last decade. I agree that all the information is out there and readily accessible for free but you also need the acumen to apply it correctly, and that's what you're paying for. The OP appears to have done some research but clearly he's in a quandary, or he wouldn't have posted such a complex question.

Looks beautiful @Toots !

I'll bow to professional judgement on this one, not to mention that it seems like the right thing to do. I've no idea whether those medical conditions might affect someone's chances to be honest, but if it was me I'd definitely be consulting an RMA rather than trying to wing it.

I was looking at damage limitation, without blatantly lying. Medical conditions which may prevent a visa from being granted include, and I quote, 'HIV, tuberculosis, hepatitis, cancer, major heart issues and mental illnesses', so the OP would be ticking two of those boxes. Add to that he's already 59 (guessing from his username), and these health issues might well tip the balance when it comes to the visa decision. I'm not sure how the process works, but I'd assume that if an applicant answers 'yes' to any of these questions then immigration will likely want to investigate further.

No, you're just a nice person and considerate of other people's feelings - there's nothing wrong with that. I would forget about your parents for the moment and think very carefully about what you want. When it comes to the really big decisions we need to put ourselves first, or somewhere down the line we're going to find ourselves in a world of regret. Your immediate family comes second, your extended family third, and your in-laws fourth. On this basis, your wife's sister is a long way down the pecking order. If you moved to Australia then it should be because that's what you really want to do, not so your kids can supposedly have a 'better life' or so your wife can be close to her sister. I'm not saying that those people aren't important, but your needs need to come first. If you're happy with your life as it is and you would never consider moving to Australia if it wasn't for your wife, then stay where you are. If that's the situation then you have far more to lose than you have to gain. I would also heed Nemesis's words very seriously...

In your previous post regarding medical checks (https://www.pomsinoz.com/topic/216965-medical-checks/?tab=comments#comment-2677080) you stated that you attempted to take your own life 10 years ago, and you've also been diagnosed with a mild form of prostate cancer. I told you that I didn't think the suicide attempt was a medical issue and you should just ignore it. Other's argued that if it was due to depression then it's a mental health condition, so you need to declare it. Q18 on the Medical Examination form asks; Do you suffer, or have you ever suffered, from mental health problems? It's rather a subjective question given that in this day and age pretty much half the western world suffers from poor mental health, but unless you've been clinically diagnosed and treated for a specific mental health condition then I think you can legitimately answer 'no' to that question. Q21 on the same form asks; Do you have, or have you had, cancer in the last 5 years? There's nothing remotely subjective about that question, is there? You've been diagnosed with prostate cancer so you need to answer 'yes'. However, the form does provide a rather large box in which to provide relevant information, and explain that you have a very mild form that doesn't require treatment etc. The best person to help you with this is a registered migration agent because they will have previous experience of assisting people with similar conditions. They will also be able to tell you whether it might affect your chances of gaining a spouse visa, so you can make a decision at that point about whether to proceed with your application or not. I suggest you have a read of the Medical examination for an Australian visa form, so you'll know exactly what's involved. https://immi.homeaffairs.gov.au/form-listing/forms/26.pdf

Hi, paraphrasing from 6) in the article below... Australian law recognises a will that has been prepared in the UK. This means that your executors can manage the distribution of all your assets under the terms of a carefully-drafted English will. However, it is recommended that you set up a will in each country, dealing with the relevant assets in the UK and Australia separately. The two key reasons for this are: It ensures all your assets are considered It creates a clear demarcation between your UK- and Australian-based assets. https://bdhsterling.com/8-useful-estate-planning-tips-for-those-with-assets-in-both-the-uk-and-australia/ It's also worth bearing in mind that UK inheritance tax would normally be chargeable on any UK assets/properties your mum retains, even once she becomes an Australian resident for tax purposes.

That wasn't implied by the OP.

I totally agree, that's what I'd do - but I wouldn't advise someone else to go ahead and do anything that might result in tax evasion. If I had complex financial affairs involving double taxation scenarios then I'd be happy to pay the small amount of money for professional advice rather than trying to wing it.

They even unscrewed stuff from the walls like the key-hanger thingy you have by the door, which left a big mark on the wall. The people who bought my house must've thought I'm a right tight arse! I did leave the Aga for them though - I didn't see that fitting in here in Australia.

I'd take a big, deep breath - you sound stressed! If you follow the advice given by your shipping agent then you should be fine. I used PSS International at the time and they were very specific about what I should and shouldn't bring, and because they packed everything they picked up on a few things here and there. For example, the wicker laundry basket and the Christmas garland for the front door. I sold the basket and got rid of the garland, but shipped the rest of the Christmas decos without issue. I'd definitely sell those old rusty bikes. Bikes are no more or less expensive here than they are in the UK, so that's one less thing to worry about. Work tools and garden tools are expensive to replace here, so I'd bring those if they don't take too much cleaning but I wouldn't bother with the lawn mower - that will definitely set of alarm bells! If like me you have a first aid kit full of old/half-used medicines then you'll need to get shut of that. I'd suggest bringing any medication you actually need in your luggage, and don't put anything that sounds like 'drugs' in the container. When everything is packed there'll be a manifest that customs will receive at this end. If there's something suspicious on that manifest they'll open your container and you'll be charged an inspection fee. It's worth noting that they don't open the majority of containers, so you'll probably be fine. If, having opened your container, they find something they don't like then you'll be charged a cleaning or destruction fee (as Nemesis mentioned), so it's good if you don't give them a reason to open your container in the first place. As I said at the start, follow the advice of your shipping agent and you should be fine.