Hi Onthemove,

Your credit rating starts again out here so there is no taking your credit rating from the UK (or anywhere else).

The banking system isn't as sophisticated as some others so most things rely on income so your salary is important here.

To buy an existing property here I think you have to be a permanent resident, but you can still buy new property (apartment, house or house & land package) if you are not permanent.

I've been told that having credit cards with a high limit in Australia can actually work against you when getting a mortgage since a bank can assume that you spend all that money and then have to pay it off.

Most people rent initially to check out the area and also to make sure that they have a job before applying for a mortgage. We actually bought our place here while we were still in the UK since we knew our income would drop dramatically when we moved, but it meant that we could only borrow up to 70% of the value of the property as non-residents.

If you check out some of the banks websites they may offer more specific help or contact a mortgage broker over here.

Regards,
Karen

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