Buying / building a house in Perth

[gafuk]

Hi, Cards on the table , I now sell houses for a living but I am not going to use this as an advertising vehicle.

As  my wife and I came over recently on a 143 Parent Visa , we have had so much help from the forum and especially "the brand new parent visa thread" I thought I might be able to answer some questions if anyone has any. We had so many worries about work, finance, jobs and housing, I hope my experience so far might help some people. We have been in Perth since June 2018 but had spent a great deal of time looking at property on our many holidays leading up to our migration.

I now work for one of the largest home builders in the country and love being involved in the property market which has always been an interest of mine. The Australian property market for those wishing to buy is made up of whats known as the established market ( lived in) and the new builds which are normally referred to as House and Land packages.

If you are a permanent resident you can get help as there is a grant "The first home owners grant" (FHOG) and this is currently $10,000 ( if you meet the criteria)

• Your property in total is less than $750,000
• You’re 18 years or older
• You’re an Australian citizen or permanent resident
• You’ve never owned a residential property in Australia
• You occupy the home you buy as a principal place of residence for a continuous period of 6 months ( commencing within 12 months of completion of the home)

Also Stamp duty concession is as follows, As at 3 July 2014 the First Home Owner Rate of Duty applies to a dutiable transaction with a dutiable value of up to $530,000 for a house and land, or $400,000 for vacant land.

Every case may be different so read up and if in doubt get legal advice. I will gladly share what I know and as I am involved day to day I have the resources the company I work for so might be able to help.

Details are available on the government website and here is the link:  http://www.finance.wa.gov.au/cms/State_Revenue/FHOG/First_Home_Owner_Grant.aspx

Established houses are easy to move into but you might have the hassle of repairs etc, where with the new house and land option there is the build time but the house is how you want it and comes with builders warranty. Its pretty straight forward once you get started ,  I advise you sort your finance first, then its a case of finding the right block of land and choosing the design of house you want.  Many on the Parent Visa thread will be cash buyers after selling up in the uk, this speeds things up and you are in a strong position so negotiate with the builder !. 

We bought our block of land off a bank and we made them a lower offer, the legalities can be a little different here too as when we put the offer to the bank for our land if they say yes we were committed ( they did and we were )

We have now chosen our house plan and made a dozen or more changes to get it how we want.  We have today paid our deposit to our builder ( My employer) and when the legals are done the build will start. The legals are similar to the uk where plans are submitted for approval so that time is down to the local Shire ( Council).

I will be glad to answer questions to the best of my ability but whoever you build with and whatever your circumstances , obviously get legal advice.

I will be happy to answer private messages if preferred

I intend to have a blog and perhaps a youtube video to record our journey when the build starts so if you are interested I will post the details on here.