Relocating to Brisbane - Buy/Rent

[dr3tz]

Hi all,

First time poster here. I am after some inputs on my current situations

Recently I decided to accept a job offer that requires me to relocate from Perth to Brisbane. Before I accepted the offer I was actively looking to buy a residential property in WA. Now that I'm moving, I am currently deciding whether to buy or rent a property in Brisbane.

Some background on my current situation:
- I've never been to Brisbane before, so obviously the lifestyle there is still a big mistery for me
- This will be my first property - I'm not sure how the First Home Buyer grant works in QLD?
- No partner/dependents - I'll be living by my self
- I'm in my mid 20's so I can probably can afford a long term mortgage
- There's a possibility that I'll be relocating again after 2-3 years

I was thinking of getting a property under the $400k mark - I prefer not to get an apartment as the running cost is a tad too high to my liking. Bear in mind that I'll be borrowing most of the money to get the house (I have about $100k as the deposit)

Do you think it will be worth it for me to buy a property if I only live there for say 2-3 years? Or will be much better for me to rent and invest the money somewhere else? Any suggestions?

Thank you in advance

 

[Rolf Latham]

Hi DR


Welcome to the forum.

Thats a hard question ...............much depends on your longer term goals. South East qld is still moving in terms of house prices generally, and given the fact that 1500 people move into the region every week, would suggest sustained demand for housing.

If you do choose to buy, id be looking to get a 95 % Interest Only Loan with capitalised mortgage insurance and a 100 % offset acct.

This will then maximise the amount of deductible loan that you will have against that property when you move on, and preserves your tax paid cash to put into the next PPOR.

ta
rolf

 

[Ray Brown]

Hiya dr3tz

any relation to c3po or r2dt?

We just relocated to Brisvegas from Cairns for work - don't know how long we will be here....
Just renting at the moment, our PPOR is rented out.
When we arrived the real estate agents warned of a tight rental market - now having been here for some time, we can see many excellent properties for rent at cheap rents on the market for some time. If you are thinking of IPs - the yields here are fairly low....like any capital city I guess.

First impressions on lifestyle are that everybody seems not to mind driving alot. The motorways are always choc a bloc full of single occupant cars. Some people I know regularly commute over an hour to get to work. But they are driving from the gold or sunhine coasts every day!
Coming from cairns, that seems pretty strange to me.

The iconic Queenslander architecture looks nice but are generally poorly contructed IMO. Many Qld'ers have no insulation, no flyscreens and no ceilng fans. These are all mod cons.

Having said that, I reckon there are good opportunities for capital growth still.

There are lots of great areas in Brisbane - it depends what you like. Inner city, bayside, the burbs etc.

Climate is pretty good here - now that the hottest summer on record is over.

In my opinion, I would steer clear of apartments - if only to avaoid body corporates and low land content.

And Rolf is right about the population.....its going up quickly.

cheers

 

[Qlds007]

Hi Ray

Welcome to the forum and from a fellow Brissiemite welcome to the Sunshine State.

I guess if you are single and enjoy the outdoor life this is the place for you. As has been mentioned all points N/S/E/W have their own pluses and minuses and we can share those with you.

Which area will you be working in and do you or want to drive to work?

With regards to the FHOG in Qld it operates the same as the other States although the general cost of purchase is that much lower here in Sunny Qld.

On the loan front i am with Rolf id be looking to get a 95 % Interest Only Loan with capitalised mortgage insurance and a 100 % offset acct.The other thing to double check is the cost of the LMI between P & I and Int Only.

 

[Ace73]

I think you will like Brisvegas, coming from Perth it will feel fairly similar in regards to layback style of living. Although if you want to go to a decent beach with waves you will have to drive either to the Gold Coast or Sunshine Coast. My favourite when living in Brissy was to drive down to Burleigh Heads.

I would look at buying a house, and you will have plenty of options with a budget of under 400k. Depends on where you will be working, but if I was working anywhere near the city then I'd take a look at East Brisbane and Woolloongabba. This area is very close to the city but has been overlooked a lot in my opinion. Also if you are single you will have the option of renting out the other bedroom to bring in some extra cash to help out with the repayments.

 

[dr3tz]

Hi all,

Thank you for the warm welcome and the very informative comments. Just answering a few q's

any relation to c3po or r2dt

?

LOL, no. It's just some random name that I came up when I was registering my email way way back

Which area will you be working in and do you or want to drive to work?

I"ll be working in Milton and no I don't think I'll be driving to work. So I would prefer to get property which has easy access to public transport, and if possible not too far from the CBD.

Just to clarify a few things:

If you do choose to buy, id be looking to get a 95 % Interest Only Loan with capitalised mortgage insurance and a 100 % offset acct.

I'm sorry but I don't really get this. Wouldn't it be cheaper if I just pay the 20% deposit so I can avoid to pay mortgage insurance? Or will the tax deduction coming from the initiation of the mortgage insurance will outweight the amount of the mortgage insurance it self?

.... but if I was working anywhere near the city then I'd take a look at East Brisbane and Woolloongabba.

I'll definetely have a look at this suburb. Just curious, is there a particular reason why the east side of brisbane is often overlooked by people? Is it because it's to industrialised? or maybe it doesn't have the infrastructure in place?

The other thing to double check is the cost of the LMI between P & I and Int Only.

Thank you, I will definately have a look at this.


Regards,

Andre

 

[Elizabeth L]

Andre
The suburbs of East Brisbane and Wooloongabba have had a certain reputation in years gone by. But hey, that never lasts. Would have to agree with others - those suburbs have solid growth prospects for the future. Especially given infrastructure and redevelopment in the area. I actually lived at East Brisbane in the 90's, and things were so close. Five mins to CBD and easy drive to Bay suburbs.
Cheers
EL

 

[Rolf Latham]

on the 95 % lend.

major thing with this is your intent to rent the property in the future.

The LMI premium isnt a cost in that case. Its a depreciable investment which you can tax deduct over 5 years IF its an Investment.

If you put in the extra 15 % to avoid LMI, you then need to use 15 % less for your longer term home,,,,,,,,, and that makes no tax sense.

It would be helpful Im sure to sit/caht with a good independent broker in regard of this. Regardless of the cost of the LMI, it can be clearly recouped in your apparent circumstance and intent.

ta
rolf

 

[dr3tz]

It would be helpful Im sure to sit/caht with a good independent broker in regard of this. Regardless of the cost of the LMI, it can be clearly recouped in your apparent circumstance and intent.

Thank you for the advice. I just notice that you're a mortgage agent. I'll be in touch with you once I'm in Brisbane.

 

[arriety]

Definitely buy and use FHOG esp if you plan to stay there for over 1 year. Chose carefully and look at it as future IP not as home sweet home - so keeping it close to public transport, shops and schools is a must. I agree with others not to bother with unit/apartment esp if you can afford something with land. Bris population is still growing and rents are increasing. In 3 years you will have a property you can rent out and get equity out of to purchase another place when you move.

 

[straight]

i think the idea of buying first as future IP not PPOR is a good'un.
milton is on the train, there are some great suburbs on that line, check out whereis.com and follow the line back, back, back.... it's dear as in milton.

do your homework, its a great time to rent in brisbane... i think it all depends what you do with your money if you DONT buy!!