Buying on a 489

[Big A]

Hi all, we will be arriving in Perth at the end of year and was just wondering if you can buy a house on a 489 regional visa,obviously depending on having a steady job and a substantial deposit and have built up sa good credit rating.

[VERYSTORMY]

Yes, though I would recommend you rent for a while anyway. I believe you will be living in Mandurah and prices there have come down a lot!

[CaptainC]

Hi all, we will be arriving in Perth at the end of year and was just wondering if you can buy a house on a 489 regional visa,obviously depending on having a steady job and a substantial deposit and have built up sa good credit rating.

 

Only citizens and permanent residents are automatically permitted to buy property.

 

However, you can apply to the Foreign Investment Review Board to get the go-ahead. These applications are seldom rejected, so the answer to your question is technically yes.

 

There are some restrictions on owning the property though:

1. It must be your primary residence and you must live there;

2. You cannot rent it out;

3. You must sell it when the property ceases to be your primary residence;

4. You are only permitted to buy one residential property

 

The only real hurdle that I can see for you is that you're unlikely to get a mortgage on a 489 visa, regardless of how good your credit rating is. It is possible, but you might be paying a horrendous amount of interest.....

[Big A]

Hi again ,could the interest rates be lower if myself and my wife were both working and putting down substantial deposit .like 30% of asking price..or would you recommend renting for 2 years until I got my pr .

[Bungo]

Hi again ,could the interest rates be lower if myself and my wife were both working and putting down substantial deposit .like 30% of asking price..or would you recommend renting for 2 years until I got my pr .

 

If you wait until you have PR you would have more options in terms of where to live as well.

[CaptainC]

Hi again ,could the interest rates be lower if myself and my wife were both working and putting down substantial deposit .like 30% of asking price..or would you recommend renting for 2 years until I got my pr .

 

That would be down to the individual bank to assess that, so I couldn't offer an answer.

 

As Bungo mentioned above, the options open up significantly when you get PR, until then you are sort of living in limbo.

 

If it was me, I'd definitely rent until PR. There are several reasons for that but the main one is that having temporary residency has no guarantees, and making a huge investment in those circumstances would be far too risky for me.