Getting a Mortgage in Australia

[vongole83]

Hi

 

We are moving to Melbourne around April/ May this year and are wondering about mortgages:

I am the primary earner (and the inbound Pom) and my partner, the Aussie is likely to earn quite a lot less than me. Will this affect our lending eligibility?

On a 100 (PR) visa, how easy/ hard is it to get a mortgage? Could we expect to get the same rates as citizens given I will have a relatively light credit history in AUS? Will HSBC (my bank here UK) for instance be more sympathetic to my situation given they know my UK credit history than -for example- NAB or Westpac might be?

When looking at mortgage  calculators, how much is bonus/ OTE taken into account by lenders in Aus?

Interest rates on Aus mortgages seem quite a lot higher than the UK- is this the case?

 

Thanks!

 

[Marisawright]

Credit ratings don't matter nearly as much in Australia as they do in the UK.   They'll look at your Australian salaries and the value of the property, and that will decide how much you get. No difference between citizens and residents. 

[Ken]

It makes no difference to have PR rather than citizenship.

Having a light credit history in AUS will be an advantage. Australian credit history is still based on the number of black marks (e.g. missed payments, number of credit applications) detracting from your score not on a good repayment history adding to it.

Australian banks don't seem to use salary multiples the way British banks do so it's impossible to say how they take bonuses into account but expect to be able to borrow a much larger multiple of your salary than you can in the UK (not that that's necessarily a good thing). You can expect to need at least 3 months employment in Australia - although if you are transferring from the same employer in the UK that may well be waived. If self-employed you'll need at least 2 years of accounts.

Base rates in Australia and the UK are currently identical (0.10%). I'm paying a higher rate on my mortgage in the UK than I am on the one in Australia - although that's because I can't shop around in the UK as it's practically impossible to take out a new mortgage on a property in the UK when you live in Australia. Shop around in either country to find lower rates.

 

[vongole83]

Thanks both!

 

sorry one more question - do properties tend to go ‘under offer’ below/ close to asking price like the UK? Or is it normal to end up paying above the guide price? (Looking at suburbs in Melbourne like Northcote)

 

Thanks

[Guest The Pom Queen]

It really does depend on the suburb. If there is a price on a property for example $600,000 you could try offering $550,000. To put an offer in is a pain in the backside because you literally have to do all the contracts to place the offer. It’s not like the UK where you say will you accept ex amount and they say yes or no over the phone. 
‘When you do the contracts they ask you to put down a deposit, we were lucky with our current house because we did the contract “subject to the sale of the property we were in and we only paid $1 deposit.  Feel free to add any clauses you wish, they may refuse but you can try. Our first house we did it subject to them leaving the furniture.

[bowbow]

Hi, I also have a mortgage related question so thought I'd post here rather than start a new thread. 

Depending on how long my onshore partnership visa takes to come through, I may be on a bridging visa for some time. Assuming I am working and have an income, does anyone know about obtaining a mortgage when on a bridging visa? Google suggests it's possible but wondering if anyone has direct experience. My wife is an Australian citizen. If it matters, it's likely that our loan to value ratio should be small (well under 50%) as we should have a fair bit of cash from selling our UK home before moving. 

Thanks