Buying a house in Adelaide

Ok, so my PR was granted last week. I'm already in Adelaide as was on a temp visa and I'm renting in warradale.

I'm keen to buy somewhere. My Qs are...

Can I gain a home loan so soon after getting my PR? I'm in casual locum work but aim to get a permanent job at the RAH (where I locum).

Has anyone used the Home Start SA Gov home loans? I can't help but feel there's a catch here! Would you recommend going to a bank as opposed to using Home Start?

While I plan on living in the house I buy, I also want an investment. What areas in Adelaide are worth investing in. I like it where I am but would be keen to be slightly closer to the city, and I'm more beach than hills but not opposed to it.

Basically I'm not sure where to start or if this is even possible for me! I do have savings of course. I'm just not sure how to get started!

Any info at all would be appreciated.

Thanks!

F x

I would recommend that you chat to an independent mortgage broker first.

They know all the rules and the options that will be open to you.

I don't know much about the present SA Govt Home Start, but when we looked into it several years ago, the qualifying income limits were quite low. This may have changed.

Hi cliffy, thank you. Yes I'll need to visit one. Any recommendations for any brokers out there? Were you able to get a home loan as soon as you got your PR? The home start does look like is for low income groups etc but they also specified skilled migrants which made me wonder if it was difficult securing a home loan as a migrant?

My granddaughter bought her first home through Homestart because it was easier to get her mortgage that way ,not sure why but she was advised by a mortgage broker and I think it was because of a lower income as she was only working part time and her partner allthough full time was casual

She has recently after two years with Homestart remortgaged and saved herself $100 a week so it's worth shopping around

I can highly recommend Andrew at Vista Financial (he posts on here sometimes). He (or Stacy anyway) helped us to get approval on a mortgage after only being in the country a couple of months.

This is all very helpful. Thank you guys x

Any views on suburbs that are good to invest in that aren't too far from the city. I heard mile end but the airport noise must be crazy so that puts me off!

Much will depend on your budget and what you want. Are you after a unit, a small house, crap house on a decent sized plot for sub development, a home for the medium to long term with potential for rental after....

See what a broker says and how much you could borrow and then narrow down areas.

In the subject of buying my son has recently bought and will move in May

He had his offer accepted by the owner then used the same realtor to sell his place

it was only when he signed up to sell that the realtor told him he had put a second contract on the house my son was buying !

Sons sale and purchase etc has all gone through but I had never heard of any estate agent doing this

Has anyone else !

My son said he felt he was under pressure as it was as if Well if you don't complete in time tough the house will go to someone else

My understanding is you put in an offer and have to prove funds such as finance within a very short time to secure the deal. Also have the survey done within 48hours. Thats how it went for us anyway when we bought our house. After that you are bound into the contract. I guess if you don't do these things within this very short window the agent continues to market the property.

My understanding is a bit different. You have a 48 hour cooling off period from when the contract is signed. This is for the buyers and you can pull out at any time during this, say if the property inspection is dire. After that, you and the vendors are locked in and they cannot pull out of the sale. If after the 48 hours the finance falls through or doesn't come through, this is pretty much the only way the prospective buyers can withdraw from the sale at a later point. The house then returns to the open market. Properties quite often fall through due to finance not coming through and this seems to be after the 48 hours cooling off, least when we were looking. A few properties went under contract, the 48 hours passed and it was a couple of weeks later the actual sale fell through.

Most people seem to have finance agreed and in place before they go house hunting, so know what their budget is and the lender has agreed to the amount so the finance isn't an issue. People do put in offers and sign contracts without finance being agreed and sometimes this backfires, sometimes it all comes through fine.

We put in an offer on a house but they accepted someone else's offer. A few weeks later the house was re listed for sale having been under contract stating failed finance. We had by then put an offer in on a different house but had it been re released a week before we may have asked them to reconsider our original offer.

In the subject of buying my son has recently bought and will move in May

He had his offer accepted by the owner then used the same realtor to sell his place

it was only when he signed up to sell that the realtor told him he had put a second contract on the house my son was buying !

Sons sale and purchase etc has all gone through but I had never heard of any estate agent doing this

Has anyone else !

My son said he felt he was under pressure as it was as if Well if you don't complete in time tough the house will go to someone else

Philly, you are a beacon of light.....

- I'm in the process of selling and buying at the moment, myself.

I was beginning to think it was just background paranoia.... you know- the feeling that Real Estate Agents are alien beings in league with some vast incomprehensibly vile malevolent force from Satan's Nether Regions

-But you're absolutely right ....they are all completely whacked ....and horribly nasty

Give me a run-in with a Suburban Snake, or any number of Redbacks, and throw in a Bar Room Brawl with the Hells Angels, any day

JB

sorry Fran...got a bit carried away there

-Back to your question:

Suburbs:

Do you really want (- or, indeed, do you need) to commute into the Hospital by car.

Would it be easier to spend $2 a day Park and Ride on the Tram from The Entertainment Centre, for instance

....this would open up a whole bunch of interesting options like Prospect etc etc

Brokers:

Just a thought, but no one seems to have mentioned Aussie Home Loans, yet

JB

Hi john, no worries it's interesting seeing what everyone has to say! I'd be working shifts 24/7 so can't rely just on public transport sadly so would need to drive esp late at night / early in the morning. Prospect I've heard good things about. I was always told south of the city was better than north. No idea if this is the case or just biased Adelaidians I've spoken to.

Are there any 'up and coming' areas that would make a decent return? I'm guessing buying closer to the city is better?

My understanding is a bit different. You have a 48 hour cooling off period from when the contract is signed. This is for the buyers and you can pull out at any time during this, say if the property inspection is dire. After that, you and the vendors are locked in and they cannot pull out of the sale. If after the 48 hours the finance falls through or doesn't come through, this is pretty much the only way the prospective buyers can withdraw from the sale at a later point. The house then returns to the open market. Properties quite often fall through due to finance not coming through and this seems to be after the 48 hours cooling off, least when we were looking. A few properties went under contract, the 48 hours passed and it was a couple of weeks later the actual sale fell through.

 

Most people seem to have finance agreed and in place before they go house hunting, so know what their budget is and the lender has agreed to the amount so the finance isn't an issue. People do put in offers and sign contracts without finance being agreed and sometimes this backfires, sometimes it all comes through fine.

 

We put in an offer on a house but they accepted someone else's offer. A few weeks later the house was re listed for sale having been under contract stating failed finance. We had by then put an offer in on a different house but had it been re released a week before we may have asked them to reconsider our original offer.

Haha.....hmmm...maybe thats what I meant Snifter! Your explanation sounds about right!

Look at Bowden, lots of new development and quite a funky vibe.

"no one seems to have mentioned Aussie Home Loans, yet"

I believe it is owned by the Commonwealth Bank now.

My daughter was happy with Mortgage Choice, but they are franchises, so I would imagine they vary.

You can certainly shop around for a good deal as to both application fees and interest.

Yes that's what happens 48 hours cooling off period in that time you need to get a survey done then if you don't back out you pay your deposit and the dates for finance approvals etc are written into the contract

His finances had to be approved by March 15th and his contract finalised by March 30th with settlement due in May

My son had pre approval for finances so he knew he was all good as he could have borrowed the full amount if necessary if he hadn't sold his house by the time the contracts were due to be finalised

But after his 48 hours cooling off period and having signed a sales contract and agreed to use the same realtor that sold him the new property to market his property the realtor suddenly came up with Oh by the way I have put another contract on the property !

My sons conveyancer said she had not had that happen before and we have bought and sold 3 houses in SA over time and never heard of it either

i just thought it seemed unethical but don't know if it's illegal ?

"

 

 

 

Philly, you are a beacon of light.....

 

- I'm in the process of selling and buying at the moment, myself.

 

I was beginning to think it was just background paranoia.... you know- the feeling that Real Estate Agents are alien beings in league with some vast incomprehensibly vile malevolent force from Satan's Nether Regions

 

-But you're absolutely right ....they are all completely whacked ....and horribly nasty

 

Give me a run in with a Suburban Snake, any number of Redbacks , and throw in a Bar Room Brawl with the Hells Angels, any day

 

 

JB

Son not happy with the agent at all JB he turned up late for two open inspections my son sitting outside his home with the dog in the ute and keys to the gate with a queue staring at him as if he was nuts

Then the agent tried to get him to take the first reasonable offer ( the agents words ) but my son hung on to his guns and ended up with another 10 grand and got the figure he had wanted with some negotiation with the buyer

The realtor is now trying to add bits and bobs to the bill plus said my son told him verbally he would leave some equipment in the home theatre room

He didn't both his Dad and I were there when he told the realtor exactly what would and would not stay !!!

Said son is not a happy bunny with the estate agent but he has got the place he wants and I will also say he dealt with Bank SA and the lass who dealt with his loan has been brilliant

yes...it's a strange thing about the big banks -really nice people face to face behind the counter, but then ranks of toxic sociopaths behind them.

strange organisations...remind me of the Australian Public Service

As for RE Agents, does your son have recourse to a complaint procedure? Guessing that most of us buy and sell so infrequently, that very few people get around to lodging a complaint. Of course, just because something isn't illegal doesn't mean it's OK-presumably the RE Institute has some sort of Code of Conduct. Come to think of it Consumer Affairs ought to have something to say given that this was a purchase situation

- Anyhow......I'm seriously thinking of finding a way to take Hells Agents out of the equation with my own relocation, by using Private Treaty contracts

JB

Ok, so my PR was granted last week. I'm already in Adelaide as was on a temp visa and I'm renting in warradale.

 

I'm keen to buy somewhere. My Qs are...

 

Can I gain a home loan so soon after getting my PR? I'm in casual locum work but aim to get a permanent job at the RAH (where I locum).

 

Has anyone used the Home Start SA Gov home loans? I can't help but feel there's a catch here! Would you recommend going to a bank as opposed to using Home Start?

 

While I plan on living in the house I buy, I also want an investment. What areas in Adelaide are worth investing in. I like it where I am but would be keen to be slightly closer to the city, and I'm more beach than hills but not opposed to it.

 

Basically I'm not sure where to start or if this is even possible for me! I do have savings of course. I'm just not sure how to get started!

 

Any info at all would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

F x

Hi Fran,

Congratulations on getting PR.

in answer to some your questions, there is not a minimum timeframe that you have to be PR for a loan.

Being a casual worker will not necessarily stop you from obtaining a home loan but the longer you have been employed with them the stronger your application will be, as well as being potentially open to more lenders.

If you do go permanent full time, we have access to lenders where you will only need 1 payslip for a full pay period.

You can find out your potential borrowing power here:

http://www.vistafs.com.au/main/page_borrowing_power_calculator.html

You will also find a stamp duty calculator here as well which you may find useful.

Generally you will require a deposit of 5-10% of the purchase price and normally a Lenders Mortgage Insurance charge would apply when borrowing over 80% of the purchase price (the amount payable depends on the insurer and can be added to the loan in some cases). Stamp duty will also be payable on the purchase.

If you require futher assistance please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Thank you, say if I was looking to buy a property for around 450k how much money would I need in savings to achieve this?

I'm also assuming that if I have a permanent job I'll get better rates as not so risky to lend to?

Thank you, say if I was looking to buy a property for around 450k how much money would I need in savings to achieve this?

I'm also assuming that if I have a permanent job I'll get better rates as not so risky to lend to?

Hi Fran,

If you were looking to purchase for $450,000 you would be looking at a deposit of 5% of the purchase price as a minimum ($22,500), plus stamp duty and Govenment fee's for the purchase ($22,349) plus lenders mortgage insurance if only contributing 5% of the purchase price. Lenders Mortgage Insurance charges do vary but a ballpark figure would be around between $11,000 and $14,000 however most of this could be added to the loan in certain cases. Some lenders will only add the lenders mortgage insurance to the loan to a maximum of 97% though so in that case you would require a higher deposit of around 6-7%.

You should also allow around $2,500 for Conveyancer fee’s and contingencies.

If you were to go permanent it would not necessarily give you a better rate. It would open you up to more lenders who can offer better rates than competitors however there is no better rate offered to casual employees as opposed to permanent employees.

Hi Fran,

I'm more than happy if you would like to give me a call and I can discuss the Conveyancing process with you and explain about the cooling off period and the contract conditions like finance approval, building/pest inspections etc.

Good look!

Kerry

I can highly recommend Andrew at Vista Financial (he posts on here sometimes). He (or Stacy anyway) helped us to get approval on a mortgage after only being in the country a couple of months.

Thanks Nic, let's call it a joint effort ...appreciate your recommendation!