New Blog : Click Here

Thanks for visiting. This blog has moved. Please click on the title above to visit:

http://www.getinthehotspot.com/

Because dreams do come true: Annabel Candy moved from New Zealand to Costa Rica and Australia with her family. To hear how she made her dreams come true, get help making your dreams a reality and find out how not to move overseas just read it and subscribe now.

Many thanks and good luck with all your travel plans!

Real Estate and the First Home Owner Grant

All new expats to Australia should be eligible for the first home owners grant so that is a nice welcome. It is currently about $14,000 for an existing house and $21,000 for a new one. It does expire in June but most sources say the government will continue it after that date. On the down side, some pundits believe this grant is what is propping up the Australian housing market which is remaining resilient compared to the 20% drops in the US and UK housing markets. Hence, if you sell up in GB, USA or NZ your house money may not go as you would have hoped. Unless things drop here in the future of course. Time will tell.
See http://www.firsthome.gov.au/ for more information.
My husband, who is a real bear, says that $14,000 is nothing anyway if the value of your home goes on to drop by 20% and that it certainly true. It is definitely a case of buyer beware.