Home Buyer's Survival Guide and Getting the Right Finance

Home Loans and Buying your first home

The Home Buyers' Survival Guide for WA is produced by the Department of Commerce. The Guide aims to provide relevant and useful information for Western Australians when buying or building their first home.

The guide which can be viewed here, has details about housing options, buying a home, building a home, finance and other special items that you should know when embarking on the purchase of your first home.

For assistance with finance we recommend that you speak to a certified Finance Broker, to fully explore your options.

Ty Middleton based here in Perth has been able to help out several of our clients over the past few years, and he has in fact become a good friend. He is affiliated with over 20 lenders and is experienced in tailoring loans to suit the special circumstances of buyers that are new to this country. Ty has his own blog in which you will be able to keep up to date with happenings in the finance market, and get tips for buying your first home.

Contact Ty on 0414 673 536 or email him for a no obligation consultation

Beach that rocks the rest - The West Australian

Rockingham Beach is compared to the iconic Cottesloe beachfront and comes out tops!

Beach that rocks the rest - The West Australian

Well we all knew that, but perhaps this will give 'Rocko' the boost it needs to shed its negative image, and will attract more tourists and more money to this area.

Part of me says NOOOO don't tell anyone, I want to keep it like it is, and be able to enjoy the restaurants and bars to myself.

I love Emma's on the Boardwalk for fine dining, oh and now they have a bar area and can offer more relaxed dining too, and breakfast and coffee and cakes mmmmm...... I also love to stop off at R Bar after taking the dog on the beach for an early evening glass of wine and chat. And Masterchef's Trevor's Cappricis is a must for traditional and contempory Italian food. There is so much to sample hear and the views and beaches to die for too.

WA's Best Beach Is Rockingham Beach

Rockingham has been awarded WA's cleanest beach in 2010. this is a great achievement and confirms what us Rockingham residents have known for a long time - Rockingham beaches are the best!!

From the rugged coastline of Point Peron, to the manicured beach at Rockingham foreshore, there are more than enough beaches to go around, you can generally find a beach to yourself, and there are beaches you can walk your dog on, and even a beach where you can swim your horse.

I took the picture of our friendly dolphin in Rockingham waters, and it's not unusual to see sealions, stingrays, penguins and even turtles in our beautiful clean waters.

for more information on this story:
WA's Best Beach Is Rockingham Beach

One for the girls

Don't know your Aussie Rules from your 20/20 or your wipeouts from your tries (or is that trys??) Well help is at hand with a new Aussie based web site just for us....

http://www.sheknowstherules.com/ She Knows the Rules...or will soon A new website designed to connect women with sport in a way that makes them feel more confident about attending, watching and engaging with sport is here!

Ok not very PC, but here in Aus you have to get used to that, the Aussies say it how it is and don't worry too much if they might offend - personally I think it's great.

The best thing about this site is you can get the info to show the boys how much you know about sports - oh and Pommie guys you can gen up on the Aussie sports so you don't sound like too much of a girl when you get to the pub with your new Aussie mates.

Sports are really big over here, this quote from the site says it all 'Former Prime Minister John Howard once suggested that the only job in public life more important than his own was that of Australia’s cricket captain.' So learn, and enjoy.

I have to confess I went to the WACA to see a 20/20 match, ok I still don't quite get the cricket, but to sit in the sun for an afternoon, drinking wine and watching guys playing sport....it was a great day out.

Vote Confidence - The Case for Confidence

The case for confidence. Check out this great site showing the positive attitude currently in WA!

Life's pretty good over here in W.A. While the rest of the world is running around like a bunch of headless chooks caught up in recession fever, West Australians are busy getting on with the job of making this state a top-notch place to live.

Everywhere you turn, you'll find confidence. It's in the people. It's in the economy. And no, that's not lavender in the air, that's confidence and a can-do attitude.

In the last few months, surveys have shown that consumer confidence is back to where it was before the global economy went kerplunk. Just take a look at how we're spending our hard-earned cash. Between April and May 2009, retail purchases were up 3.4%* and car sales up 3%*. And according to 59%** of people surveyed, current buying conditions are positive. In fact, property developers are planning on expanding retail businesses over the next five years***. Not bad considering we're supposed to be in the midst of a global financial thingamaggiga.

The mining sector is on the rebound too. Billions of dollars have been invested into major oil and gas operations, including the massive Gorgon gas project that's just been given the green light. So it comes as no surprise that W.A. employers have the highest rate of confidence in Australia. Even one in five international businesspeople**** believe there's nowhere better to be living right now, than right here.

But it's nothing West Australians didn't already know. We're already busy buying up houses and homes in preparation for a brighter future. Real estate sales have jumped by 23%*****, and home loan approvals have skyrocketed by 30.8%* in the last year. That's what happens when 56%** of West Australians reckon our economy will go from strength to strength in the next 12 months.

References:
*Chamber of Commerce and Industry - "Economic Trends"; 9 July 2009
**Curtin Business School - "CCI Survey of Consumer Confidence; June quarter 2009
***Press Release - "Development survey shows long-term confidence in WA retail property"; 19 December 2008
****Press Release - "Nowhere better than Australia to ride out crisis: survey"
*****Press Release - "Real estate is safe as houses for investors";8 July 2009

First Home Owner Grant (FHOG) and Stamp Duty

FHOG
In Western Australia, the government has made a grant available to first home owners of $7,000 to put towards the cost of their first house.

As a permanent resident visa holder you too will be eligible for this grant when you buy your first home in Australia.

Even better news is that if you buy (or build) your house before 31st December 2009 you will also be eligible for the First Home Owners Grant Boost, which is in addition to the WA Government funded $7,000 First Home Owner Grant.

If your contract is made before 30th September 2009, this is:

• an additional $7,000 if you are buying an established house or;
  
• an additional $14,000 if you are buliding or buying a new house.

Or if your contract is made after 30th September 2009 and before 31st December 2009, this is:

• an additional $3,500 if you are buying an established house or;
  
• an additional $7,000 if you are buliding or buying a new house.

You can find out more about this at the Government of Western Australia, Department of Treasury and Finance

Stamp Duty
In addition to this grant if you are a first home owner you may also be eligible for no or reduced stamp duty on your property purchase. Currently, if the property is bought for under $500,000 there will be no stamp duty to pay. Further details are available here.

In addition to these incentives you may also be eligible for the

Home Buyers Assistance Account
The Home Buyers Assistance Account is established under the Real Estate and Business Agents Act 1978 to provide first home buyers with financial support.

The scheme provides a grant of up to $2,000 for the incidental expenses of first home buyers when they purchase an established or partially built home through a licensed real estate agent for a purchase price of $400,000 or less.

Again for more details of this and your eligibility see here.

All in all as a first home buyer in Western Australia you get a pretty good deal.

If you have any specific real estate questions please feel free to contact John (john@ozhouserental.com) as he is a real estate agent in Rockingham and can help you out.

Another Happy Customer :)

"We stayed at 14 Haselmere Circus for a month when we first arrived in WA.

The house was great, well furnished and spacious with everything we needed.
The garden was gorgeous and backs onto a park.

The location was very convenient for all the shops and services in Rockingham and also close to the train station for trips to Perth.

Moving straight into a house was great as it gave us a residential address for accessing services and getting established. It also helped us to settle quickly as it was much more homely than other types of accommodation.

John and Tracey were a great source of local information and support and helped us to find our way around, organise cars etc. Most of all, it was a huge benefit that they had been through the process themselves, so knew what we were experiencing both practically and emotionally.

Renting out 14 Haselmere definitely helped to make our big move smooth and as hassle free as possible. We would recommend it to anyone else like us, planning to move over from the UK.
Sam and James"