DBphoto

Thanks Alan, I've filled in the contact form.

I'll just bump this once.

I've read through the various business entity options "sole trader, company, family/discretionary/unit trust etc.) I believe that I understand them and probably the one I should use for my consulting business here in Melbourne, but I would like to talk with a highly-recommended advisor to see if I have it right and also to obtain assistance putting paperwork in place. If you have used such an advisor and can highly-recommend him/her, I would be grateful for a referral. If you are such an advisor and you can provide references from very satisfied clients, please PM me.

Hi Darren You are very welcome to come and have a look round as soon as you like. As long as you don't mind all the boxes for our move. I'll send you a personal message via this site with my mobile number so we can arrange a time. If it doesn't come through for any reason please let me know via this thread. The rent is $410 per week. We pay that to the landlord's agent, Biggin Scott in St Kilda. The agent is very responsive and helpful and says we could do a tenancy transfer, which would save all the usual malarky in trying to get somewhere decent to rent round here! I've just read your other posts. Exciting times! Cheers David

Having bought a house further out, we are moving out of a rented 2-bed apartment in trendy, leafy Elwood. We are breaking the lease (which has until February to run). The estate agent for the landlord advises that we can save ourselves some money on advertising if we can find someone who would like to take the apartment over. It is on quiet Spray Street, which is a very pleasant part of Elwood only one street back from the cafes and shops of Ormond Road. Easy reach of the CBD but what they call a "village" feel. (OK nothing like a UK village, but, hey, this is Melbourne!). It has a garage and there is some free parking outside. Please let me know if you are interested and I'll recommend you to the agent. If you are in Melbourne already, I'd be happy to show you round.

We've bought a house and I am looking for recommendations for local movers within Melbourne, please. Also, if you know anyone interested, we are breaking our lease on our Elwood 2-bed apartment. Good for people landing who may be interested in living in the area. The lease runs until the end of Feb but I am pretty sure the landlord would be happy to renew. I'll be posting a separate thread on this.

Hi and thanks. Please can you transmit their contact details. I don't think it matters too much if they aren't in the same post code as long as they are thorough and professional. Cheers David

Hi, we are trying to buy a house and we need an astute professional solicitor or conveyancer. One that has dealt with poms before so doesn't mind explaining what's going on, and won't (like the one I was just talking to) suggest I "take a punt" about the boundary measurements. Context: I've just sold a house in the UK and, while I believe the minutiae merchants in legal profession there were a bit over the top, here the couple of conveyancers I've spoken to seem so laid back that you could mistake their attitude for can't be a***d. Edit: I should add that we are in Melbourne and buying in the North Eastern Suburbs, Specifically Warrandyte.

Thanks Anya, I'll give him a call.

What it says in the title: please does anyone have recommendations for a building and pest inspection company in Melbourne handy for North Ringwood, Park Orchards, Eltham areas? And what did you pay for such inspections? Cheers David

Amaysim: http://www.amaysim.com.au/ The $39/month unlimited is all you can eat calls and texts to anyone in Oz, 4gb data/month. Reasonable rates to the UK. Best deal I've found and runs on the Optus infrastructure. Not so good in rural areas works everywhere in Melbourne I've been. If your iPhone does tethering, then you can use that 4gb data to avoid having to pay for broadband or a separate dongle. If you don't do video 4gb is plenty. I have no connection with Amaysim other than I am a customer. Your mileage may vary, etc

Having bought and sold a few houses in the UK I am well used to the process. In particular the information that I, as a seller, and vendors that I've bought from have had to disclose on standard format solicitors' documents. Then there is the sometimes pedantic, sometimes very valuable trading of questions of and answers via solicitors clarifying all manner of significant facts and irritating minutiae. In the UK the contracts are not exchanged until all these questions are answered to the satisfaction of the buyer. Now here in Oz ready to make an offer on a house, it seems that one reads the "section 32" documentation that the seller's agent provides and then signs the binding contract making the house sold. What I am trying to get my head around is when one can ask the some of the important questions that are not covered in the section 32 document and who to direct the questions at. Now some of the things that I should ask are things that I may not be aware of (perhaps only a local solicitor or conveyancer would know) but other questions (for example, tell me about any improvements you've made to the property in the last five years; the house is in a bushfire prone area, tell me about and show me copies of any CFA fire advice inspections; etc When does protocol dictate that these things are addressed? For it seems to me that after an offer has been accepted (and therefore legally the house is sold) that asking these questions is too late. Perhaps the answer to this is that I should just go and talk to a solicitor specialising in assisting house buyers. If that is the case, any recommendations in Melbourne would be useful. However, I've read in several places that if one takes legal advice after on a specific property before making an offer one isn't entitled to the three-working-day cooling off period. Although I also think I remember reading on this site that the later was no longer the case. I am open to professional advisors on these topics sending me a pm. Thanks David

Online, ahead of on-the-ground, research has led me to start looking at Park Orchards as a place to live for our family. I'd be interested to hear from anybody who has chosen to settle (or not to settle) in said suburb about the pros and cons of the area. Thanks. Especially interested in informed opinion about schools, community, transport, parking at nearby stations, and anything else that adds or detracts from quality of life. Thanks.

Thanks LS, we were careful but then again there are some things on the inventory that'll interest them: bikes (presurewashed), and we came from rural Cumbria, so the may suspect we are shipping a number of sheep ...

Hi my shippers Melbourne agent wants $440 before the ship arrives to cover "Quarantine Examination fee". Is this always payable up front whether or not the quarantine people go to town on the stuff? Is this a minimum default payment? I realise it could be more eventually if quarantine decide we are overtly interesting. Cheers David

Section six of "Unaccompanied Personal Effects Statement" asks: "Within one month prior to shipping these effects to Australia, did you or any member of your family who arrived or will arrive with you, visit a place where farm animals are kept, including farming communities, research farms, sanctuaries and sale yards or visit an abattoir or any meat processing plant." Just a tick box yes or no. No space to say, "Well actually we live in the British countryside and we do respect what you are trying to do and we've cleaned everything really well twice ...", rather than we've been hanging out in meat packing plants (like you would). This question concerns me because, unless one lives in a town, it seems one has to tick "yes", which has to be asking for them for the quarantine people to, er, fleece one. Thoughts and advice appreciated. Direct experience valued.

Thanks JoandJon. Looks like it might be worth the "risk" given that there's a container with room in it.

We are moving furniture from a large house to another large house via a smaller, medium-term rental that only has two bedrooms but does have a spacious and dry, non-flood prone garage very nearly the same size of the container. I have identified the garage as a useful medium-term store for stuff that we want to bring in container but don't have room for until we buy a three or four bedroom house. But I am investigating how humid Melbourne is throughout the year and concerning myself how things like sofas would cope in a dry, relatively well ventilated lock-up garage with no heater. I've looked at weather statistics so I have seen average humidity data for each month of the year. Statistics are all very well. Does anyone have experience or views about such storage in the Melbourne climate and the wisdom of it. Mildew and mould would be fairly disastrous for some items. Spiders etc: we could nuke with appropriate concoctions. Advice appreciated.

I'd say just call the case officer and let him/her know what the TA said. Give case officer the number to call the TA to check if needed. My case officer is easy to talk to and helpful. I shouldn't think it'd be a problem.

Thanks to everyone that has pitched in with info. We are feeling a bit more relaxed about it now

My wife is currently in Melbourne looking for a medium-term rental for us. She is targeting Elwood and suburbs not too far south of there. She reports that childcare for our three-year-old seems heavily oversubscribed with waiting lists of 6 months to a year or more. Any pointers/experience/recommendations to share would really welcome.

That's what I thought about the Jazz, so it'll be sold here. On the import of the VW Transproter, I'd be very interested in the costs of other schemes you mention and would be grateful if you could mail/message me when/if you have a chance to add the info to your website. Just to be clear: we are talking about a low-mileage and clean unmodified VW Transporter Van that I can buy inexpensively here that I would DIY convert or have converted to camper in Oz. Also it doesn't have to be that van. Much of the cost/benefitt calculation is based on the seemingly massive cost difference between such vans here £9K vs double that in Oz. Cheers David

Worth bringing a Honda Jazz 2006 model with 40K miles on the clock? After reading this thread it would seem, perhaps not since red book suggests I could buy one for about $9k and the same will sell for £4K here - assuming it'll cost about $2.5K plus hassle to ship. Have I got this about ball park? Next question. I am aware of the 12-month prior ownership and drivership requirement for personal import of a vehicle. Does this mean that it is not possible to import a vehicle that I haven't owned for that long? Or does it mean it is just very expensive? Before I discovered this thread I was thinking of buying a used VW transporter van that I'd then convert myself to a camper given how expensive campers seem in Oz. Cheers David