Karlthecamper Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Hey hey. Been a while since on here- drowning in paperwork and suchlike. Finally preparing to move to South Brisbane/ Gold Coast in less than 3 weeks but keep to-ing and fro-ing between the 4 areas we have narrowed down to live in. Any honest, useful advice would be really appreciated. The areas we think suits us best are: Robina Mudgeereba Ashmore Coomera now a bit about us: family of 4- early 30s and 2 children - aged 4 and 1. The 4-yr old will start school January 2016 so the local school is important to us. We are a v active family & keen runners and currently live in a rural part of England with a wonderful sense of community with down-to-earth people (which we like!). We much prefer newer-build properties. One of us will be working in Ormeau. Based on this, we'd love to hear which would be most likely to suit us and also anyone's experiences within these areas. Also, we're a little anxious because we keep being told how quickly rental properties get 'snapped up' as fast as they are advertised (unless it's a stinking hell hole!) - how true is this? Starting to get nervous about the prospect of being homeless once we are out of our 3-week holiday home! :0/ Please take the time to reply with any info you have to offer, good or bad- we'd appreciate it massively. we really want to begin our biggest life change in the right area (hopefully!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyba Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I can't give you any info on schools or the rental situation but as for an area coomera is where we will be going by the looks of it. We were there in jan and really liked all the areas you mentioned but spent a lot of time in coomera as we viewed lots of new build properties which coomera has a lot of and what you can get for your money around there is pretty good. We viewed a huge property 4 bed 3 living areas laundry, pantry 3 bathrooms. All in with the land and ducted air and white goods was around the $560k mark, and that was to the highest standard that particular company offered. Plenty there for much cheaper depending on size and finish and what you want included in the deal. There's a guy on here called Howard who lives in helensvale who will probably give you a much better idea of the schools etc. good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
calNgary Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 If it was i would have Mudgeeraba top of my list followed by Coomera, Robina then Ashmore, but to be honest im not sure id even contemplate Ashmore with a young family but thats just my opinion and choice after hubby working there for 9 years. Cal x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 I can't give you any info on schools or the rental situation but as for an area coomera is where we will be going by the looks of it. We were there in jan and really liked all the areas you mentioned but spent a lot of time in coomera as we viewed lots of new build properties which coomera has a lot of and what you can get for your money around there is pretty good. We viewed a huge property 4 bed 3 living areas laundry, pantry 3 bathrooms. All in with the land and ducted air and white goods was around the $560k mark, and that was to the highest standard that particular company offered. Plenty there for much cheaper depending on size and finish and what you want included in the deal. There's a guy on here called Howard who lives in helensvale who will probably give you a much better idea of the schools etc. good luck thank you for your reply and all the best for your move. We will be staying in Coomera to begin with for 3 weeks so we will get a little feel for that area at least. Then, if it's great, we could be looking to stay there for the imminent future too! Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 7, 2015 Author Share Posted August 7, 2015 If it was i would have Mudgeeraba top of my list followed by Coomera, Robina then Ashmore, but to be honest im not sure id even contemplate Ashmore with a young family but thats just my opinion and choice after hubby working there for 9 years. Cal x thanks for your honesty Cal, tbh Ashmore is the last on our list at the moment- so you have helped to confirm this. The other 3 areas (Robina,Coomera and Mudgeeraba) are all great for different reasons. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToowoombaBlue Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Robina is lovely, and if you like that sort of thing, very British. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyba Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Robina is lovely, and if you like that sort of thing, very British. Yeah we got that feeling of British when there lol. We actually stayed in an apartment in varsity lakes and when we got there the guy was English lol. He was definitely Living the dream, been there for 20 years and by the looks of it he just bought this apartment and lived in one half and turned the other half into two student/holiday lets, was perfect for short term but the kitchen wasn't quite kitted out enough for a long stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 All pretty nice to be honest but agree about Ashmore We live in Helensvale and love it here I travel a lot to Ormeau with my work (was there 3 times this week) and its a 15 minutes drive but Ormeau is so spread out with poor internet in some parts Each area has good and bad parts We've heard some very bad stuff said about Helensvale But to us its heaven but we do live in a great part of Helensvale its called the Shores We bought our house about 12 months ago for $435,000 having rented it for 4 years before hand It's actually pretty difficult to say live here live there as what we like you might not Good luck Any more questions for someone living here just ask away Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Robina is lovely, and if you like that sort of thing, very British. How is it very British? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 8, 2015 Author Share Posted August 8, 2015 Thanks Howard. I agree, we may like different things- been great to post on here anyway as its help us to rule out ashmore so at least only 3 to explore when we arrive. May at have to re-look at this when it comes to buying a house in the future though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyba Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 How is it very British? I think it's one of the most popular areas for British ex pats, when we were there we heard a lot of British voices around but I think you get that wherever you are in Gold Coast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyba Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 All pretty nice to be honest but agree about Ashmore We live in Helensvale and love it here I travel a lot to Ormeau with my work (was there 3 times this week) and its a 15 minutes drive but Ormeau is so spread out with poor internet in some parts Each area has good and bad parts We've heard some very bad stuff said about Helensvale But to us its heaven but we do live in a great part of Helensvale its called the Shores We bought our house about 12 months ago for $435,000 having rented it for 4 years before hand It's actually pretty difficult to say live here live there as what we like you might not Good luck Any more questions for someone living here just ask away Howard just out of interest what type of house are you looking at for that money? When we were looking at new houses it looks like you're spending about £500k to get a 4 bed with loads of room, we wanted to get new because we didn't want anything we'd need to work on but looking on the internet it looks like with the amount we could save by buying an older house that may need some sprusing, nothing major, new bathroom new kitchen cupboard doors/worktop and maybe some new flooring could be quite substantial and you would also be able to get somewhere that already has a pool. Initially we thought that the $15k great start grant would make new more worthwhile but I'm kind of re-thinking that now which obviously opens up a lot of newer areas for us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 just out of interest what type of house are you looking at for that money? When we were looking at new houses it looks like you're spending about £500k to get a 4 bed with loads of room, we wanted to get new because we didn't want anything we'd need to work on but looking on the internet it looks like with the amount we could save by buying an older house that may need some sprusing, nothing major, new bathroom new kitchen cupboard doors/worktop and maybe some new flooring could be quite substantial and you would also be able to get somewhere that already has a pool. Initially we thought that the $15k great start grant would make new more worthwhile but I'm kind of re-thinking that now which obviously opens up a lot of newer areas for us. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 living rooms, massive undercover outdoor area, pool. plus big garden. plot size is 800sqm It's in a very nice part of Helensvale So many new houses on small blocks Suits us but might not suit everyone especially if you don't like kangaroos lol *Edit* We had it revalued 6 months after purchase and it was over $50,000 up on what we paid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skyba Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom, 2 living rooms, massive undercover outdoor area, pool. plus big garden. plot size is 800sqmIt's in a very nice part of Helensvale So many new houses on small blocks Suits us but might not suit everyone especially if you don't like kangaroos lol *Edit* We had it revalued 6 months after purchase and it was over $50,000 up on what we paid To get that increase had you done some work or was that just a standing profit? I think we'll be looking at an older house, like you say the newer houses are on smaller plots and you'd be laying on top for a pool whereas a house with a pool doesn't always mean that it's more expensive. I'm an electrician but I now how to do quite a bit so I could easily do renovation work to increase the value of a house so i'm thinking that buying old will be a better choice. Also I've heard the housing market in Australia is starting to stall so maybe this will help us, the exchange rate being in our favour will help with our UK savings coming over. When buying in Australia is it similar to the UK where you make an offer? Is that the excepted norm?? I see a lot on the sites saying between $$k and $$k also a lot of houses go up for auction too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HelensvaleHoward Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 To get that increase had you done some work or was that just a standing profit? I think we'll be looking at an older house, like you say the newer houses are on smaller plots and you'd be laying on top for a pool whereas a house with a pool doesn't always mean that it's more expensive. I'm an electrician but I now how to do quite a bit so I could easily do renovation work to increase the value of a house so i'm thinking that buying old will be a better choice. Also I've heard the housing market in Australia is starting to stall so maybe this will help us, the exchange rate being in our favour will help with our UK savings coming over. When buying in Australia is it similar to the UK where you make an offer? Is that the excepted norm?? I see a lot on the sites saying between $$k and $$k also a lot of houses go up for auction too. Not done too much apart from convert the garage into an office, utility room and my workshop Prices have just risen simple as They seem to be raising the interest rate for investor mortgages atm No idea tbh on buying houses as we got the house valued they said over $435,000 and we offered the owners the bottom price which they were happy with as it didn't need to be advertised and no commision fee From what I read about houses on the Gold Coast there is sign of a slow down I guess when your here the market will have risen or fallen and you can decide then as lots can change in a short space of time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beddy Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 firstly your holiday home can you extend if needs be .. We stayed in Ashmore palms and got week to week after our initial 3 weeks stay so well worth inquiring this possibility beforehand just in case you don't find your desired rental property in time . Go on real estate .au and see if you can download some of the application forms for rentals this will give you a heads up of what info you need to provide .. My personal experienience is this is the hardest part of applying for rentals gathering all the necessary info together . We are currently looking for a new rental after 3 years being here simply wanting to upgrade and have to vacate our current property ( through choice) early September . We've got all our info ready in place to forward if we see and view the property we would like to rent . We've also got a plan B in place if we don't get a rental of our choice in time which is put our belongings in storage and go back to a holiday home and start again . Hopefully it won't come to this and it will all work out for us as new rentals come up all the time .dont be put off by the numerous people that turn up to view rental properties .. Good houses do get snapped up because some are more prepared therefore get their applications in on the same day of viewing or have already put a previous application in with the same agent and just transfer their application to a new property . Landlords however are looking for good reliable tenants with good references so the early bird scenario only works in those cases . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beddy Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 All pretty nice to be honest but agree about Ashmore We live in Helensvale and love it here I travel a lot to Ormeau with my work (was there 3 times this week) and its a 15 minutes drive but Ormeau is so spread out with poor internet in some parts Each area has good and bad parts We've heard some very bad stuff said about Helensvale But to us its heaven but we do live in a great part of Helensvale its called the Shores We bought our house about 12 months ago for $435,000 having rented it for 4 years before hand It's actually pretty difficult to say live here live there as what we like you might not Good luck Any more questions for someone living here just ask away Howard I've only ever heard good about Helensvale and the schools have a fab reputation ... We live a short drive away in pacific pines and heard lots of bad reports but we can't fault it and loved living here for the past three years . I totally agree it's very hard to say live here or live there . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 firstly your holiday home can you extend if needs be .. We stayed in Ashmore palms and got week to week after our initial 3 weeks stay so well worth inquiring this possibility beforehand just in case you don't find your desired rental property in time . Go on real estate .au and see if you can download some of the application forms for rentals this will give you a heads up of what info you need to provide .. My personal experienience is this is the hardest part of applying for rentals gathering all the necessary info together . We are currently looking for a new rental after 3 years being here simply wanting to upgrade and have to vacate our current property ( through choice) early September . We've got all our info ready in place to forward if we see and view the property we would like to rent . We've also got a plan B in place if we don't get a rental of our choice in time which is put our belongings in storage and go back to a holiday home and start again . Hopefully it won't come to this and it will all work out for us as new rentals come up all the time .dont be put off by the numerous people that turn up to view rental properties .. Good houses do get snapped up because some are more prepared therefore get their applications in on the same day of viewing or have already put a previous application in with the same agent and just transfer their application to a new property . Landlords however are looking for good reliable tenants with good references so the early bird scenario only works in those cases . Thanks for the advice. sadly our holiday accommodation doesn't have availability after our stay- it is also on the expensive side so we'd need to move on anyway. Can you recommend a good website/ company which would supply short term rentals by any chance? I guess it's hotels for us if we get v desperate! Eek! what sort of paperwork is needed usually do we can prepare? So far we have copies of our latest UK bank statement, job offer letter (with salary), a bank reference letter (as we are coming from the UK do no credit history yet) & copies of the funds held in Australian accounts. I recall a particular form which can be completed beforehand - is this what you are referring to, or do you literally mean proving it to each estate agent in preparation for property viewings? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp77 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Robina Mudgeereba Ashmore Coomera We are a couple late 30s 3 kids 9,7,5. Hi there we have just been over for 1 week on scouting mission. We had initially discounted south goldcoast due to commute time to Brisbane.. but whilst over there, we loved schools in Ormeau but never really settled on area in Ormeau. We went to Gilston and liked a couple of schools and only approx 20mins to beach... trian line, my hubby thinks there will be jobs for him on GC but happy to commute 1.5 hrs if needed, heres hoping he doesn't. Pros and cons to all areas but probably better seeing for yourself and getting a feel. We are in a street with new houses being built and established houses... V peaceful and near bush. Not too far from GC airport but obv far from international... Shops etc at Robina are fab. Where do you like running? If hills/ flat that may help you decide? I emailed a rental agent asking what info I needed to have with me to rent when we get there, we are lucky we can stay with family initially but they are not near the schools / area we moving to so I need to have stuff organised for when we get there to get somewhere and fingers x We live very locally to school and shops and trains / buses in the UK but we are aware we will not get the in Oz and will need 2 cars, as I say we drove length/breadth of GC and came at different times of day... Good luck keep us posted xx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karlthecamper Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 RobinaMudgeereba Ashmore Coomera We are a couple late 30s 3 kids 9,7,5. Hi there we have just been over for 1 week on scouting mission. We had initially discounted south goldcoast due to commute time to Brisbane.. but whilst over there, we loved schools in Ormeau but never really settled on area in Ormeau. We went to Gilston and liked a couple of schools and only approx 20mins to beach... trian line, my hubby thinks there will be jobs for him on GC but happy to commute 1.5 hrs if needed, heres hoping he doesn't. Pros and cons to all areas but probably better seeing for yourself and getting a feel. We are in a street with new houses being built and established houses... V peaceful and near bush. Not too far from GC airport but obv far from international... Shops etc at Robina are fab. Where do you like running? If hills/ flat that may help you decide? I emailed a rental agent asking what info I needed to have with me to rent when we get there, we are lucky we can stay with family initially but they are not near the schools / area we moving to so I need to have stuff organised for when we get there to get somewhere and fingers x We live very locally to school and shops and trains / buses in the UK but we are aware we will not get the in Oz and will need 2 cars, as I say we drove length/breadth of GC and came at different times of day... Good luck keep us posted xx hi Thanks for the reply and details. I must admit, we had to google earth Gilston as we had never heard of it. It looks a small area (but then again, we are perhaps still in a 'UK map' mindset!) - is it a small area? What is the local primary state school to this area and is it any good result-wise? Were you happy with it? Will perhaps drop by there when viewing areas then! I prefer road running than cross-country but happy with hills. Will get get in touch with rental agents then to find out what we can do ahead of arriving then. That means this week or next! Time is fast-approaching! When do you arrive? Best of luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lp77 Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 pm me your email and i will forward you the form and email I received from LJ hooker. We went to see one open house.. v busy but I just wanted to see what was on offer for money.. Do you use apps / web searches, real estate .com.au is a good website, you can type in what you want and areas you like and use map view to see around.. we arrive in January... Gilston state school is the feeder but we were looking at catholic schools. you can look the schools up online but tbh better going in to see them and get a feel.. Have you sold up to move and what made you decide to move? My OH is Australian. His brother is inland ( an hour from coast) but we love the beach so wanted to be within 30 mins of the beach. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beddy Posted August 14, 2015 Share Posted August 14, 2015 Thanks for the advice. sadly our holiday accommodation doesn't have availability after our stay- it is also on the expensive side so we'd need to move on anyway. Can you recommend a good website/ company which would supply short term rentals by any chance? I guess it's hotels for us if we get v desperate! Eek! what sort of paperwork is needed usually do we can prepare? So far we have copies of our latest UK bank statement, job offer letter (with salary), a bank reference letter (as we are coming from the UK do no credit history yet) & copies of the funds held in Australian accounts. I recall a particular form which can be completed beforehand - is this what you are referring to, or do you literally mean proving it to each estate agent in preparation for property viewings? TIA Sorry for late reply .. We stayed at Ashmore Palms holiday village which I know many other families stayed their also when they first arrived . You can also book their long stay cabins which are very basic which is what we did and booked it for 3 weeks whilst we looked for a rental which is much cheaper . They were extremely accommodating and let us add on an extra week . They are I must add very basic.. There is also treasure island resort at biggerra waters that also have short term holiday lets . As far as rentals go it can be a nightmare for hot properties but don't be disheartened by the amount of viewers ,always put your application in ... You need 100 points of ID for each application which varies , passport , drivers licence , birth certificate sufficed for some , Plus professional references and personal references we used our ledger from the holiday village and their address to go towards our 100 points . My advice is go on real estate .com.au and look at the available rentals as some let you download application forms .. Also look into the F1 forms as most agents accept these and once you have filled these in you can apply online . ... To secure our first rental we used our bank statements and Work references and personal references as we had nothing other . It's always best to be prepared so have all your information ready and your documents to upload ... Good luck on your journey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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