Wanderer Returns Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Hi PIO members, We will be returning to Australia at the end of the year after a three-year stint in the UK. When we lived in Australia before we never got on the property ladder but we are just in the process of selling our house in the UK, so we will definitely be buying a place on our return to Cairns. I'm very fortunate to have a job there, starting next January. I lived in Australia for over 10 years before and I have always rented, so I'm a little unsure about what my obligations will be in terms of paying council tax, water rates etc. I recall when I was renting before this was always included in the price of the weekly rent, and the only thing we needed to pay on top was the quarterly electricity bill. I know these figures are likely to be quite different depending on where you live in Australia, but if anyone has some general figures for council tax and water rates in Cairns (or Queensland for that matter), that would be most appreciated. I believe that if we buy a unit/apartment there will also be an annual body corporate fee to pay too? Many thanks in advance for helpful replies, Martin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveshe Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 You pay Rates , Water rates , electric , gas . Our rates where i am are $1800 a year , but im on the lower end , it goes a lot higher . water rates are every 2 months . Electric is every 2 months and that is quite high . Gas is every 3 months . Then you have house insurance and general upkeep of property . This is in Perth . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 I'd read somewhere that in Australia council tax and water rates were charged together, but I guess this varies from state to state. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 I can't remember exactly what our rates were but I've got $2800 in my head a year. Put it this way we have moved to Lockyer Valley and have 40 acres and it's nearly half the price down here. Water rates are included in that for Cairns. Water usage is minimal. The main thing to look at is house insurance, please, please, please check that a) you can get insurance on that property and b) it's cheaper than $10,000 a year, no that isn't a mistype. A lot of us couldn't get insurance and move companies wouldn't entertain people in Cairns, we ended up raising our excess to $5,000 and managed to reduce it to $3,000. Take a read of this http://www.cairnspost.com.au/business/high-insurance-quotes-to-catch-unwary-far-northerners-offguard/news-story/aaa8e1d796264935a18b993b6340fe44 Electric is also high as we only have the one service provider so there is no competition. There is no mains gas so people use gas bottles, we used $120 a quarter which was really good, but our electric bills were around $1000 a quarter and that was will solar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest The Pom Queen Posted July 12, 2017 Share Posted July 12, 2017 Ps please be wary with body corp what you pay in BC you could rent another property with, I've seen them go from $100 a week to $500 a week. So all of a sudden that lovely little unit that's on the market for $120,000 isn't such a bargain after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wanderer Returns Posted July 12, 2017 Author Share Posted July 12, 2017 Thank you, Pom Queen. Yes, I've already heard some outrageous stories regarding body corp fees from my friends in Cairns. One pays $12,000/year for a 2-bed place on the Esplanade. How are BC fees regulated? - and how much are they allowed to increase them annually? Who knows, we may end up renting again - it might actually work out cheaper! :-o Cheers, Mart. P.S. By the way, please can you copy and post the relevant details from that Cairns post article you linked? It's a premium article, so I can't access it - many thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roberta2 Posted August 3, 2017 Share Posted August 3, 2017 Body corporate fees are not regulated. Before you buy a unit, you need to do your due diligence. You have the right to examine the Minutes of the Body Corporate Committee, to see how well run the building is. Find out how much is in the Sinking Fund etc. Or you can pay a lawyer to do it for you. If you go for cheap conveyancing when you buy, your lawyer isn't going to do this for you, and you might find an unpleasant surprise after you buy. Low BC fees are not necessarily a good thing, if insufficient money is being put aside for maintenance. I own a new unit in inner Brisbane in a small block. Worth about $500,000. BC fees about $5,000 a year. That's on the high side because we inherited lousy Body Corporate Managers, but we have sacked them and are now bringing these costs down. It has only one lift. If you have multiple lifts, pools, gyms and other fancy stuff, BC fees will be a lot more. But of course, so will the rental income for investors. Buying a unit can be an excellent way of getting into the property market, but you have do your research - just like everything else! If your pals in Cairns are paying $12,000 a year in BC levies, you might want to ask them how much units in that building are being rented for. Cairns is a tourist town of course. BC levies are paid quarterly, by the way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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