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Hi folks, I'm about to buy a motorbike. I've learned a few things possibly worth sharing, and have a few questions. Firstly - I found the bike on bikesales.com.au. Decent site, seems de-facto standard for buying/selling, and I went to view a Honda Blackbird on Saturday. The guy and bike both seemed to check out OK, the bike felt really good, and I placed a deposit. First tip is: use that site Second tip is: check the location. They only go as granular as the state, and AU states are a lot larger than UK counties, of course. They had 27 Blackbirds in NSW, but 12 of those were more than 2 hours' drive. I was flabbergasted twice by my insurance checks. The first was when I checked 3rd-party insurance rates: Around $120-160 for a 200mph superbike, third party! It would have cost a grand at home, so seemed really cheap. The second time was when I actually figured out how insurance works, and suddenly it was a lot more expensive. That quote doesn't include 3rd-party liability to people (injuries, deaths) - which is the compulsory green slip (CTP). For that, I had to look at the official site, pretend it was up for renewal, and discover the next renewal would cost me $800 a year, for starters! Add to that my optional insurance of $160 (third party property/car/etc damage) or $800 (Fully Comp), and yes, it is around a grand a year (£). That's an unmodified bike, no claims, points, etc. I didn't try to use my UK No Claims Bonus - but I tried quotes with and without claiming previous insurance/NCB, and there seemed to be no real difference. There also seems to be no Third Party Fire & Theft - or at least, it's a less common option than it is in the UK. They also a few different questions. Previous accidents, licence and years riding, etc. are there, but employment type is not asked for or considered. You can check the current reg and insurance on the bike on a NSW Gov Site, and pay for a full history check on another official NSW Gov database, price $18. Then you can check for outstanding finance for another $14 on the Revs site. As for paying: you can use a bank transfer like "Pay anyone", which may be instant if you're both with the same bank, but overnight if not; Westpac have a $10k limit on that. Or you can get a Bankers' Cheque (Draft) in-branch, instantly, for a reasonable fee. You apparently also need a customer number; this is in advance of an NSW Driving licence, and is a unique reference number for you, for life, that allows you to register a vehicle in your name. I picked one up in an RTA office in half an hour, with proof of ID, address, etc. etc. Finally - I took the bike for a test ride. I was.. amazed.. that the guy let me take it for a spin without giving him any ID, proof of bike licence, or arranging any insurance (although I guess the Green Slip covers that). The only reference was "You break it, you pay for it. OK?". Good on him! So - where I could do with some advice is: - Am I going to have any issues getting insurance on a UK licence? Some of the larger sites state in their initial assumptions that I have an Aussie licence, and I've said "Yes" to get to the quote. Should I be wary of any issues? - What docs should I ask the seller for (Green slip, Bike reg, I guess)? - What other steps do I need to take? Many thanks! Damo

My family and I lived in Tasmania for around 8 years before moving back to the UK. We moved a lot during that time and I cannot remember how often we rented or bought the houses we lived in, I only know that we owned (and later sold) a house in Cygnet for a while. We are thinking of moving back to Tassie (possibly mainland but more likely Taz) and I wanted to know a bit about renting houses. My mum's friend in Taz mentioned that finding places to rent has gotten harder as more people are turning their places into Airbnb's and stuff or prices have increased - I can't quite remember. We will most likely be getting some help from our friend in Taz but I would appreciate it if anyone here living/renting in Tassie can give some insight about the renting situation, what areas are best for renting etc. and some tips. (FYI - there will be 3 of us and most likely 1 cat and 1 dog (we have 2 cats and 2 dogs however one of our cats and dogs are quite old and becoming slightly unwell so we are unsure whether or not they will be coming with us). I do believe that this will make finding somewhere to live harder as we will have pets, but we will try our best! Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thankyou! PS. If you happen to know anything about Australian education I would appreciate it if you checked out my other topic)

Hi Can anyone tell me what costs are like to return to the UK compared to moving out in the first place? Has anyone returned and fallen short on money due to a massive difference in the housing costs, shipping and every other cost involved? Just heard that coming back can be very hard for people and want to be able to know that I can do it. My hubby is 100% certain he would not come back, but I am definitely not so sure and worry that I will be stuck. I know I shouldn't be thinking of this because we haven't left yet, (house here in the UK is about to complete). But with 2 kids under 8 and years of household goods coming with us, I need to understand the problems that may arise. Thanks Sarah

Dear all, Could someone pls recommend a good conveyancing solicitor in Brisbane? Currently based in London, we will be relocating back to Brissy in September and have now put a verbal offer for a house, which was accepted. Quick Google search returned quite some number of slicitor options. However having a 10 hours of time difference makes it hard to call numbers and choosing the right one. We’ve filled in a couple of online enquiry forms, but none have responded back to us yet.. If someone knows a trustworthy solicitor who we can address by email - pls kindly share one. Cheers

Is it possible to get a UK mortgage whilst living and earning in Australia?? I'm thinking that we could buy somewhere just before we move back so that we've got somewhere to move in to on our return or rent out until we get back...

Hey everyone, Got a simple question, hoping someone might know and help?: 1. Can we buy a car within the first 2 weeks of landing in Melbourne? or are there rules restricting temporary visa holders (we will be on a 457) from purchasing a car so quickly? And if you are a guru on these matters, what documents or items do we need to purchase a car? Many thanks in advance for any help.

Hi - moving over to Brisbane shortly and Im looking at buying a car. Can anyone give me any advice on where to buy, anything out of the ordinary that you need to do etc. I would be buying the car using finance / bank loan - is it best to borrow £ in the UK or Aus? Any advice would be appreciated!

Hi, looking at property for sale in Perth, quite expensive really, but then I see these new builds really cheap? What's the deal is this a con?

Hi all. We are moving to Melbourne very soon (hurrah!) and are not sure how to go about buying a car over there. Aside from the autotrader equivalent, any other good ideas? Can anyone suggest any car auctions that they have used? Cheers!

Once we have moved over to Oz, can we buy property as soon as we get there or eg once we have settled in and found a job, and been there say a couple of months? What's the deal with these land and new build prices? I have seen some for $250,000 is there a con?

WE have been renting in Leichhardt, which as been going pretty well, until now. Owner is ending the lease as they want to renovate. Was 10 months on the waiting list for nursery- have to pay deposit this week. Ow have 2 months to find alternative arrangements. I am a teacher and am on 89 k per year, hubby who has only been permant resident since End of July is self employed on about 75k. MY work is on the north shore and I don't drive so I couldn't live out west- and to be honest I don't want to. We just can't afford to buy in SYdney.h Ubby won't be able to until he has worked for a year in any case. We have two children so a unit wouldn't really fit , we have loads of furniture....just ranting .....sorry!!,

i been looking into buying some property in the uk as investments and have come up against a hurdle, ex pat mortgages are tuff to find and then we have been informed we cant buy in the uk with a UK mortgage buy to let, as there is a corporate law 2001 that prevents residents in Australia buying property in the uk unless they use Australian banks or unless they work for multinational companys anybody know a way to jump the hurdle, i have an offshore bank account and was thinking of setting up an offshore company and buy through the company or set up trust funds for the kids 2 of whom still live in the uk Thanks for any help:spinny:

Hi will be buying a car when we get to oz, how do you buy a car, understand they have rego !!what about insurance, dont realy understand whole process, also someone said somthing about tax when you buy a car even a second hand one,,,, can some one advise me THANKS

Hi everyone, I'm new here, but found lots of good info around so thought I'd join to post a few Q's of my own, hoping someone can help I'm going to Sydney for work between Sept > Feb, and was hoping to pick up a small second hand car for my time there to sell before leaving. From what I've read up so far, it sounds like if I buy a car with plenty of Rego to run then this will give me very basic third party insurance(?) and make it a bit easier to sell on if it still has some time to run? Other than the fee to change the car to my ownership, and the existing finance check, would there be any other fees to pay? and would I need additional insurance? I'd just be using it locally for commute to work really. Thanks in advance for any help/replies Viki

This is such a bizzare question! :embarrassed: But I need to buy an electric vegetable steamer (like a 3 tier stacker one) Which would be the best shop to get one? :unsure:

When buying a used car in Australia, what things do we need to ask &/or check? :unsure:

Help please - has anyone any experience of buying a business in queensland? If yes, did you use a broker, what are the banks like at the moment - any advice would be great, thanks

Hi All My old Sony laptop is getting a bit "creaky" so am about buying a new one here in the UK before we fly out late November. Is there anything I need to know regarding compatibility etc before going ahead? Secondly, what is the best way to get a temporary email address in Aus before we settle down. We shall be moving around WA quite a lot. Thanks

Just wondered if you had wrote your Chrissy present shopping list? I must admit this year I have no idea what to buy any of them:nah:

Hi all, Im a newbie on this & due to move out to brizzy in a fortnight, eeeks! Scary stuff. Anyway, one thing is niggling me .... Rent is just dead money & I'd really like to buy asap. But Im on a 457 working visa & its been suggested that I could only buy a new (developer's) home on that visa which sounds absurd. Im into my DIY & would much rather buy an old wreck. Any info appreciated! Great forum BTW, I could be here all week reading these threads & no doubt will be.

We are looking at buying a caravan in UK so we have somewhere to go as we spend more and more time there ( cheaper than a home). Has anyone done this if so where and what were the ongoing costs involved ???? Looking at yorkshire. Thank you for any adivce/stories Wishful :yes:

Hi all im a carpenter by trade and been looking at buying new powertools when i get over in oz. Been looking on the websites of a few but would be nice to get some feed back on wheres the best place. Been looking at milwaukee, makita and dewalt combo packages. Seems to me that its no dearer than english prices and you havent got to ship them over so you save on that.

Hi everyone, Does anyone have any tips on buying a car in Brisbane? I'll be in buying a car next week and really going into it a bit blind! What are the things I need to do? I've read previous threads on here and gathered a bit of info, but would really love to hear what you did (i.e from where you bought it, how you got it registered - the works. I need to know this stuff!) I've heard that the car auctions are the cheapest place to get a car. Are the cars here good quality? Or am I better off going to a car dealer and paying a bit more? Thanks for your help!

Hello, my partner and I have been living in Sydney for a year now. We're looking at buying a car very soon and wondered if anyone can spell out for us what you need to do in terms of rego, insurance, pink slips, green slips etc. We've done a lot of research so far, so have some understanding of the basics, but it seems to be very complex compared to the UK. Is rego like the UK's MOT, or is this simply a registration of the car in your name - and is this the pink slip? Green slip I understand to be a basic third party type of insurance, that covers you for injury and/or damage caused to the other vehicle. Then you also need to get further, more comprehensive insurance, is this correct? Also, do we need to have our licences converted to Australian licences? Hope someone can help us navigate the motoring minefield. Thanks in advance. Kate and David

We moved over here in March 2010. It took us a while to settle and do our research but we've been ready to buy for the last three months. We put in an offer on a house recently but were just outbid (it was a really good one) when it went to last offers. We're still looking but nothing quite so good has come up yet. In the meantime I am watching a large number of properties hang around on the market for months and months. A lot of these are being substantially discounted before a sale is finally agreed. Auctions are performing abysmally and there's a possible GFC2 looming on the horizon. Add into this that China is possibly slowing down and the Aussie economy may not be in such a strong position as it was in GFC1.... My question is this..... What are peoples opinions on the likelihood of house prices coming down substantially. Should we keep renting and saving or should we buy in the next six months? Thanks Guys