Matters needing attention for Australian students to buy second-hand houses
Relevant regulations
First of all, let's interpret the relevant legal provisions. According to Australia's Foreign Acquisition and Merger Act 1975, "temporary resident" refers to a person who lives in Australia and meets the following conditions:
Hold a temporary visa that allows them to stay in Australia for more than 12 months;
They have submitted applications for permanent residence and hold transitional visas that allow them to stay in Australia until their applications are finally decided.
Conditional restriction
Official website, the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board, made it clear that temporary residents can usually buy a second-hand house in Australia as their residence in Australia, but they must meet the following conditions:
Residents must use the property as their main residence in Australia;
The tenant is not allowed to rent the property or any part of it, and needs to ensure that the property is vacant and uninhabited during the property transaction;
Sell the property within 3 months after the residents stop using the property as their main residence. It should be emphasized that temporary residents are not allowed to buy any second-hand houses in Australia for investment or rental.
It can be seen that international students with a student visa of 12 months or more can buy a second-hand house in Australia, but they must take the second-hand house as their residence.
Before buying a second-hand house, students must submit a purchase application to the Australian Foreign Investment and Review Board and pay the corresponding application fee. Only when you get the approval can you legally buy a second-hand house.
For the specific application method, please be sure to contact a lawyer to prepare the corresponding materials before buying a house.
The competition of second-hand houses may be more intense than that of new houses and uncompleted residential flats. Generally speaking, uncompleted residential flats and new houses are sold at fixed prices, while second-hand houses are generally sold by bidding or auction. Simply put, the highest bidder wins.
At the same time, if the buyer submits an application for FIRB overseas purchase permit, but ultimately fails to win the bid for the second-hand house, the FIRB application fee will not be refunded.
At present, FIRB's approval letter will indicate the maximum price for purchasing the property, and if the final bid exceeds FIRB's approval letter, it may face additional fees. Therefore, when buying a second-hand house, you may need more skills and preparation.
If students want to apply for a loan when buying a house, please contact their loan managers and lawyers before buying and understand the corresponding policies before buying.
As a full-time student in Australia, banks mainly look at the value of the house and the repayment ability of the lender when handling loan business, so it is difficult to meet the income requirements of bank loans. International students in Australia, in particular, have only 20 hours of legal working hours per week. Therefore, foreign students must prepare sufficient funds to buy second-hand houses.
After purchasing a second-hand house, foreign students must regard it as their main residence in Australia, and may not rent or sublet any part of the property to obtain investment income. Strictly speaking, after buying a second-hand house, you must move in, even if it is empty, which is not in line with FIRB regulations.
The property must be sold within 3 months after the student visa expires or the student leaves Australia or stops using the property as the main residence. Generally speaking, if students obtain a permanent residence visa in Australia, they are free to use the property.
It is worth noting that parents of students are not allowed to buy second-hand houses in Australia without valid visas, and they can only buy them in the name of their children. When buying a new house or uncompleted residential flats, you can freely choose whether to write it under the name of your child or your parents.
Introduction to the living expenses of studying in Australia
As the bulk of living expenses, rent accounts for the bulk of students' overseas living expenses. As we all know, the cost is different in different regions. Among them, the living standards of cities along the southeast golden coastline are relatively high and the expenses are more.
The cost of living in Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, Australia, but Melbourne is a city with reasonable consumption value, high living standard and many accommodation environments. The average student needs 12000 Australian dollars a year * * * excluding tuition * * * to pay for living expenses.
The cost of living in Sydney
Speaking of Sydney, we are familiar with it. In fact, the cost of living in Sydney depends on your lifestyle. Students living in Sydney need at least 15000 USD a year. As a first-tier city in Australia, Sydney's living standard is slightly higher, and the rent is higher than Melbourne and Brisben, so the cost of living will be higher.
Living expenses in other areas
In New South Wales/Victoria: 12000- 15000 Australian dollars/year.
In Queensland/Western Australia/Capital Region: 8000- 12000 Australian dollars/year.
In South Australia/Tasmania/Northern Territory: 6000- 10000 Australian dollars/year.
You can work while studying in Australia. With a student visa, you can work up to 25 hours a week * * *, and the minimum wage is 10 Australian dollars per hour, which is also a way to earn living expenses.
Tips for Australian students to save money
1. Arrange accommodation reasonably
A single apartment in Sydney near China is 260-290 Australian dollars/week; A single room near townhall is 275-300 Australian dollars/week; Houses near the school district are 250-280 Australian dollars/week; A single room with an ocean view costs 300 Australian dollars per week.
The off-season for renting houses is usually in July and August when students have a holiday. 12- 1. For example, a shared double room costs 390 Australian dollars/week in the peak season. Off-season rent is only 140 Australian dollars per person per week. Live around Sydney and take the train 10-40 minutes to the downtown area. The price of a single room 140- 160 Australian dollars/week. Some older houses in the city, with a single room of 170- 180 Australian dollars a week, are cold in winter and haunt in summer. Of course, for the sake of safety, girls should choose accommodation with better conditions.
Changing shopping habits
Studying in Australia saves money to buy second-hand furniture, which is suitable for renting children's shoes in Australia. Second-hand furniture can be said to be both practical and economical, because we only live here temporarily after all, and there is no need to buy brand-new furniture. There are good second-hand furniture stores in major cities in Australia, and you can also go to the second-hand market we recommend.
And second-hand books. Many Australian universities sell second-hand books in bookstores, billboards and BBS, and these books are absolutely authentic, usually at a discount of 4 to 20%. If you are very lucky, you will also get attached class notes, which is great to think about. Some students have had the experience of using senior books and notes to get high marks successfully. But when buying second-hand books, you must pay attention to the publication time, because different versions are likely to change, so try to buy the closest version.
The fruit market in China City will have a big sale at the price of $ 1 when it closes every day. Things are very fresh. A dish in a Chinese restaurant in Sydney costs more than 10 Australian dollars. The price of the vegetable market in China City is very reasonable. For example, the special price of potato supermarket is 3.68 Australian dollars/kg, and it only sells 1.5 Australian dollars in the vegetable market. The dumping price of a basket of 1 Australian dollar can be met before the stall is closed. Sydney's delicious jasmine scented rice is 3 Australian dollars/kg. The previous bag of 10 kg rice was discounted. Nearly 30 Australian dollars, only after the discount 18.9 Australian dollars. Lock in China supermarkets, such as a hot sauce. The price of the supermarket in China is 2.29 Australian dollars, which is cheaper than that in Australia 1/3.
RUBI: 15 two pairs of shoes, and the cheaper one is only 10 two pairs. But passwords are often cracked.
Cotton-padded jacket: A bottoming shirt is 5 Australian dollars, and a good black skirt 10 Australian dollars. With a small coat, you can shine at the party.
Never go to duty-free shops in Australia. You can go to some shops in China. The price of the same commodity is two thirds lower. For example, sheep oil, Australian duty-free shop 8 Australian dollars/bottle, China duty-free shop only 2.5 Australian dollars. The flea market on weekends is not expensive, and you can bargain. For example, PADDY can buy coats as low as $8 in Sydney, China.
3. Save traffic expenses
Many cities have certain preferential policies for international students, such as watching movies, musicals, transportation or buying books. Your student ID card will give you a good preferential policy. Therefore, you must make good use of your student status.
Living in the suburbs: try to choose a concentrated day for class, buy a round-trip ticket, and travel after 9: 00, with preferential tickets. High school students attend classes five days a week, so it is recommended to buy weekly tickets. The one-way fare from Band-Aid Beach to the city is 6 Australian dollars. If you buy a weekly ticket, the round-trip price is not limited to 28 Australian dollars.
Living in the city: You can take bus No.555 for free, or walk for 30 minutes to reach your destination.
Many of our children's shoes choose to drive to school by themselves, so the cost of gasoline must be our intention. In Australia, gasoline is usually cheaper on Tuesday and Wednesday mornings than at other times. Refueling on Tuesday or Wednesday may save 5- 10 cents per liter. Don't underestimate the money, every little makes a mickle.
Use group buying
In China, we can use all kinds of coupons, and group buying is more popular. In Australia, you can still do this. Why pay full price is Australia's largest discount coupon download website, where you can find all kinds of businesses, find the businesses you want to visit, download and print coupons, and you can get them. Besides, you can also find group purchase coupons, so where can I find them? Cudo, Scoopon, Catch of the day and GroupGo are all good choices, and some websites also provide exchange areas to share discounts and shopping experiences.
There may be discounts for students to watch movies, but there is also a common sense that most cinemas have discounts on Tuesdays, not only in China, but also in Australia. Movie tickets will be cheaper on Tuesdays than on other days.