Best way to save house deposit

[Kelpie]

What's the best savings or investment vehicle to save up the required 20% deposit (I know you can get insurance if you can't quite manage the 20%)?  What with the low oil price and COVID I'd be amazed if there's any equity left in my Aberdeen property so I've resigned myself to starting from scratch again.

[Tmduk]

By putting money into a savings account

[Kelpie]

 

1 minute ago, Tmduk said:

By putting money into a savings account

Helpful 

[Marisawright]

It’s probably the best advice you’ll get, with interest rates so low. If you’re in the age range, Westpac has the best interest rate for a young person’s account right now

[Tmduk]

2 hours ago, Kelpie said:

 

Helpful 

Interest rates are terrible, if you’re not looking to buy in the next 5 years, then investing money into Exchange Traded Funds (ETF’s) would give better returns than a savings account. Depends on your situation. 

[Skani]

The Oz government introduced a First Home Super Saver Scheme a few years ago.  You can check here for details including eligibility:

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/

[Wanderer Returns]

5 hours ago, Kelpie said:

What's the best savings or investment vehicle to save up the required 20% deposit (I know you can get insurance if you can't quite manage the 20%)?  What with the low oil price and COVID I'd be amazed if there's any equity left in my Aberdeen property so I've resigned myself to starting from scratch again.

Disclaimer: this isn't intended to be financial advice. I invest in EFT funds through the Vanguard platform, which are available in the UK and Australia - and they've performed well over the years. Equities are a longer term investment and they can go down as well as up of course, but funds are a less risky option than individual shares. In the short-term the Westpac under 30 savings account pays 3% up to $30,000, which isn't too shabby. And I'd stop buying avocados if you haven't done already!

[Kelpie]

15 hours ago, Skani said:

The Oz government introduced a First Home Super Saver Scheme a few years ago.  You can check here for details including eligibility:

https://www.ato.gov.au/individuals/super/withdrawing-and-using-your-super/first-home-super-saver-scheme/

I looked at this before and I thought there was a upper income limit but I might have been getting confused with the home builder grants.  I'm a bit nervous about tying money up in my super in case they change the rules but I'll have another look as it seems the most tax efficient way to save.

[Kelpie]

13 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Disclaimer: this isn't intended to be financial advice. I invest in EFT funds through the Vanguard platform, which are available in the UK and Australia - and they've performed well over the years. Equities are a longer term investment and they can go down as well as up of course, but funds are a less risky option than individual shares. In the short-term the Westpac under 30 savings account pays 3% up to $30,000, which isn't too shabby. And I'd stop buying avocados if you haven't done already!

I had to cut back on the avocados in order to buy my new iPhone 12.  I looked at Vanguard in the UK where I could have an ISA with EFT but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much in the way of tax efficient savings and investment wrappers in Australia.

[Wanderer Returns]

19 minutes ago, Kelpie said:

I had to cut back on the avocados in order to buy my new iPhone 12.  I looked at Vanguard in the UK where I could have an ISA with EFT but unfortunately there doesn't seem to be much in the way of tax efficient savings and investment wrappers in Australia.

Haha! You can't beat British humour. Personally I'd be happier with avos than a new iphone  

Where are you living and where do you want to buy? If you can afford to buy somewhere now without the full 20% deposit, I'd be inclined to try and get on the ladder. By the time you've saved up that deposit, property prices could've increased beyond your reach. We're renting on the Sunshine Coast and my current concern is that there will be a big hike in property prices here when people realize that working from home isn't just a passing phase, and there will be a mass exodus from the cities to the coastal regions.

[Kelpie]

1 minute ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Haha! You can't beat British humour. Personally I'd be happier with avos than a new iphone  

Where are you living and where do you want to buy? If you can afford to buy somewhere now without the full 20% deposit, I'd be inclined to try and get on the ladder. By the time you've saved up that deposit, property prices could've increased beyond your reach. We're renting on the Sunshine Coast and my current concern is that there will be a big hike in property prices here when people realize that working from home isn't just a passing phase, and there will be a mass exodus from the cities to the coastal regions.

I'm in Perth and I have an idea of areas I'd like to buy in if I were to stay.  At the moment things feel to uncertain to buy, not that I could because I am skint.  I don't know if I'll settle in WA or indeed Australia as I'm here on a 482 at the moment.  My savings have been completely decimated by the move and I suspect I should have asked my employer for a larger pay rise for coming here.  Woe is me!  

[Wanderer Returns]

1 hour ago, Kelpie said:

I'm in Perth and I have an idea of areas I'd like to buy in if I were to stay.  At the moment things feel to uncertain to buy, not that I could because I am skint.  I don't know if I'll settle in WA or indeed Australia as I'm here on a 482 at the moment.  My savings have been completely decimated by the move and I suspect I should have asked my employer for a larger pay rise for coming here.  Woe is me!  

Sorry to learn that your situation is not the best, but the look on the bright side, you're employed and you're here in Australia - where the sun is shining and the birds are tweeting. You could be back in the UK, which presently has no redeeming features! Stick with it - things will improve  

[Marisawright]

 

3 hours ago, Kelpie said:

 I'm here on a 482 at the moment.  

If you're on a 482, then you'd be a fool to buy a place. For a start, you'll have to  apply to FIRB for permission (and pay a few thousand in fees).  Then you'll be whacked a Foreign Buyer's fee on top of the purchase price.  On a $400,000 property, it's an extra $30,000.  

There's no guarantee you'll be able to transition from the 482 to a permanent visa - the refusal rate is very high even now, and likely to get harder after Covid - so if you end up having to go home and sell the property in a few years, there's a risk you won't be able to recoup all those fees.  

[Kelpie]

15 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

 

If you're on a 482, then you'd be a fool to buy a place. For a start, you'll have to  apply to FIRB for permission (and pay a few thousand in fees).  Then you'll be whacked a Foreign Buyer's fee on top of the purchase price.  On a $400,000 property, it's an extra $30,000.  

There's no guarantee you'll be able to transition from the 482 to a permanent visa - the refusal rate is very high even now, and likely to get harder after Covid - so if you end up having to go home and sell the property in a few years, there's a risk you won't be able to recoup all those fees.  

Yet more reasons why I wouldn't buy a place now even if I did have the money.  Just because it might not make sense to buy somewhere now doesn't mean that it is foolish to start thinking about a deposit now.

Ideally I'd be here on a 494 but my university didn't bother its arse getting my engineering course accredited for a 3 year period.  If I started 3 years earlier or one year later I'd have met the requirements for a 494 but they didn't so here I am on a 482 although my visa agent thinks I've got a very good shot at the GTI so I'm looking into that.

[Kelpie]

2 hours ago, Wanderer Returns said:

Sorry to learn that your situation is not the best, but the look on the bright side, you're employed and you're here in Australia - where the sun is shining and the birds are tweeting. You could be back in the UK, which presently has no redeeming features! Stick with it - things will improve  

I keep telling myself things will get better.  The home I'm missing doesn't really exist anymore with all the restrictions. 

[Wanderer Returns]

5 hours ago, Kelpie said:

I keep telling myself things will get better.  The home I'm missing doesn't really exist anymore with all the restrictions. 

I don't know how long you've been here, but if it's more than 10 years then the home you're missing doesn't exist regardless of current restrictions. When we went back to look after my mum in 2014 I really thought that we might stay, but I couldn't find the love for the old country any more. British society has changed so much, and not for the better in my opinion. Despite the crappy weather, unaffordable housing and other social problems, Britain was always an interesting and fun place to live. Now it feels like all the joy has been sucked out of the place - or maybe I'm just a boring old fart that hasn't changed with the times?! 

I agree; it's not foolish to start saving for a deposit as one day you'll want to buy a place, whether it's here or elsewhere.

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, Kelpie said:

I keep telling myself things will get better.  The home I'm missing doesn't really exist anymore with all the restrictions. 

If you're missing home, then go home. Yes, things will have changed, but the fundamentals are still there.  If you're feeling homesick, that feeling will never go away - in fact it will get stronger and stronger - until you go home. 

[Kelpie]

49 minutes ago, Wanderer Returns said:

I don't know how long you've been here, but if it's more than 10 years then the home you're missing doesn't exist regardless of current restrictions. When we went back to look after my mum in 2014 I really thought that we might stay, but I couldn't find the love for the old country any more. British society has changed so much, and not for the better in my opinion. Despite the crappy weather, unaffordable housing and other social problems, Britain was always an interesting and fun place to live. Now it feels like all the joy has been sucked out of the place - or maybe I'm just a boring old fart that hasn't changed with the times?! 

I agree; it's not foolish to start saving for a deposit as one day you'll want to buy a place, whether it's here or elsewhere.

I’ve only been here since January so I’m still finding my feet and building up a social network. Quite a few of my colleagues came to Perth by way of Aberdeen and they’ve been lovely, one used to live right next door to one of my closest friends there. None of them would go back to the uk now. 

[Kelpie]

37 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

If you're missing home, then go home. Yes, things will have changed, but the fundamentals are still there.  If you're feeling homesick, that feeling will never go away - in fact it will get stronger and stronger - until you go home. 

I don’t think it’s unusual for people to miss home in their first year of being away especially during a pandemic with the travel restrictions and social distancing. I was lucky to end up in WA so the restrictions weren’t too bad at all. If I’d been in Victoria I may very well have left by now. 

[Marisawright]

57 minutes ago, Kelpie said:

I don’t think it’s unusual for people to miss home in their first year of being away especially during a pandemic with the travel restrictions and social distancing. I was lucky to end up in WA so the restrictions weren’t too bad at all. If I’d been in Victoria I may very well have left by now. 

If it’s only been a few months then that’s different 

[Wanderer Returns]

13 hours ago, Marisawright said:

If you're missing home, then go home. Yes, things will have changed, but the fundamentals are still there.  If you're feeling homesick, that feeling will never go away - in fact it will get stronger and stronger - until you go home. 

I think that's an assumption based on your own personal experience Marisa, but everyone will feel differently based on their personalities, needs and personal circumstances. When I emigrated in December 2003 I purchased a return ticket because one of my closest friends was getting married the following June, and he asked me to be his best man. I'd planned to temp in Sydney for 6 months so I'd have a bit of money behind me for the trip back, and then the return flight to Australia. Even though I had PR, I decided to treat it like a working holiday for the first few months to see how it would work out. After about 3-4 months in Oz - and convincing myself how 'amazing' everything was here - I had this complete meltdown when I realized I'd been living in denial of just how homesick I was. I'd only planned to go back to the UK for a month, but in the end I stayed 3 months and it was one of the best summers ever. My mum and I did an impromptu trip to Italy and I spent a lot of time catching up with friends, and it was a glorious summer. There were a couple of weeks when I started thinking about staying, but by the time September arrived I felt the pull to return down under. After I returned there were times when I felt homesick, but nothing like the first time. It was 4 years before I returned to the UK again, by which time felt like a stranger.

I appreciate it's not practical at the moment, but my advice to anyone who feels homesick is go back for a visit and see how you feel. Most expats I know say they felt homesick during the first 6 months to a year, but after 2 years they felt quite settled - and if you don't then that might be the time to return permanently.

[Wanderer Returns]

13 hours ago, Kelpie said:

I don’t think it’s unusual for people to miss home in their first year of being away...

Not at all. It's when most people miss home the most.

[Kelpie]

On 16/11/2020 at 07:19, Wanderer Returns said:

Not at all. It's when most people miss home the most.

Thanks Wanderer Returns.  I'm definitely still flip flopping between staying and going but whatever I do it would seem sensible to have a nice buffer of savings behind me.

[Ausvisitor]

On 15/11/2020 at 03:20, Kelpie said:

Yet more reasons why I wouldn't buy a place now even if I did have the money.  Just because it might not make sense to buy somewhere now doesn't mean that it is foolish to start thinking about a deposit now.

Ideally I'd be here on a 494 but my university didn't bother its arse getting my engineering course accredited for a 3 year period.  If I started 3 years earlier or one year later I'd have met the requirements for a 494 but they didn't so here I am on a 482 although my visa agent thinks I've got a very good shot at the GTI so I'm looking into that.

Not sure why you are blaming your university. They would have been crystal clear in their course syllabus about what it was and what it meant

The fact you chose a degree that doesnt meet your needs is your fault not theirs surely???

 

[Kelpie]

4 minutes ago, Ausvisitor said:

Not sure why you are blaming your university. They would have been crystal clear in their course syllabus about what it was and what it meant

The fact you chose a degree that doesnt meet your needs is your fault not theirs surely???

 

Not sure why you bothered to post on this thread when you have no idea what was or was not communicated to those of us in my year’s intake or have anything nice or useful to say. 

Edited November 20, 2020 by Kelpie