Heading for the Sunshine Coast!

[Jamescuk]

Hi All,

Just thought I'd drop in and say hello.

I'm a UK property investor and will shortly be moving out to the Sunshine Coast (end of May) where my wife is planning to do a degree course at the University. I will be looking after my UK portfolio and I also hope to train as a mortgage broker once I get out there. Maybe even look at buying some IP's while we are there.

I have been reading through some posts and learning about the differences and similarities between the countries. I'm looking forward to learning all about it. You certainly seem to have missed the worst of the GFC, as it's been a real rollercoaster for us over here!

If anyone needs any advice on the UK market, please let me know!

Cheers

James

 

[tigers63]

How did the Uk market fare during the last few years. I was over there about 7 years ago and the market was going gang busters. The papers were saying that teachers, fire fighters, nurses, police etc couldn't afford to live in London and therefore had to move out of the city.

It is nearly the same now in Melbourne.

 

[Jamescuk]

Tiger63,

The last couple of years have seen drops of 10-15% and even higher for the more expensive properties, obviously interest rates have dropped to 0.5% so that's helped anyone who was on a variable rate. The market really slowed down for the last 2-3 years, it is starting to pick back up now that mortgage lending is slowly returning. Properties prices are still high and you generally need 10-20% deposits to buy PPOR or 30%+ for IP's. Which is stopping people from buying. Mortgage rates are currently around 4-5%, so a great margin for the mortgage companies, but will not be so good for the mortgagees when rates start to go back up, unless they have fixed of course.
London leads the way as usual and is currently on an annual +11.9% house price change and average property price is £333,394, so not very affordable for teachers, fire fighters, nurses, police etc.

Hope that helps,

James

 

[tigers63]

intersting!!!!!
And welcome to Australia (when you finally arrive)

T63

 

[BV]

Hi James

Many of us are familiar with the UK property market due to some UK property programs shown on Foxtel. The rollercoaster you are describing is not much different to what we've experienced here.

You're welcome to come over but things are not as rosey as they seem.

They're telling us that we've escaped the GFC but hundreds of thousands of people lost their job and many of them were reemployed but at a lower wage due to the GFC excuse. The ones who didn't lose their job got minimum or no payrise at all this year.
Also, a lot of people are still underemployed and therefore not shown as unemployed on the government's list

We also have our reserve bank telling us how well our economy is doing and jacking up interest rates on a monthly basis ....
Rental vacancies in many areas are around 1% or lower so it's hard to find a place to rent. For every property there could be 20 or more applications so the landlord will pick the best applicant.

When you come over make sure you have some solid references otherwise you may be required to pay 3 months of rent upfront as security (in addition to the 4 week bond).

Other than that, things are looking good.

cheers

 

[Jamescuk]

Thanks Tigers63, Our visa was granted today , so hopefully we'll be over soon!

Bill, thanks for your post, it's interesting to get peoples perspectives on what's actually happening. I wouldn't pay much attention to what our property programs say, they tend to be out of date by the time they air. Just enjoyed watching the first episode of series 3 Selling Houses Australia. What a transformation.

I think a lot of companies are using the GFC to lower their wage bills and clear out the dead wood, we are seeing it everywhere here. Although its going to kill off a lot of small businesses.

Glad to hear that the rental market is strong, that's good for investors, but not so good for me! I'm pleased you said that 3 months rent upfront might be enough, as I was expecting having to pay 6 months upfront! What sort of references would they like to see from me, I've not rented since I was in uni years ago, so no landlords reference available. Would they accept a reference from one of my agents? What about my Mortgage statement?

Cheers

James

 

[BV]

What sort of references would they like to see from me, I've not rented since I was in uni years ago, so no landlords reference available. Would they accept a reference from one of my agents? What about my Mortgage statement?
Cheers
James

James

Regarding references, it depends on what the agent/landlord are willing to accept. Your mortgage/bank account statement would be enough for me but paying rent upfront usually overcomes all suspicions and helps you jump the rental Que.

It depends on the area though, it may be easier to find a rental at the coast