Expat Forum For People Moving Overseas And Living Abroad banner

Has anyone bought houses overseas from money earned in Australia?

790 views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Bbay2Oz 
#1 ·
Since the cost of living is so high in Australia, it seems to make sense to save money there and then purchase a house in one's home country if the cost of living is low.

I worked out that if I save up a lot, I could literally buy a house in my home town in about 1-1.5 years.

Has anybody thought of investing overseas with the savings from Australia? What are the advantages and disadvantages?
 
#2 ·
I guess that depends on whether you plan to eventually return to your country and live in the house? Also, if house prices are really going up fast in your country then you could buy and then sell it at a profit and use that money to buy a place in Australia. You'd have to consider tax, currency risks, maintenance etc.

Not all places in Australia have expensive housing - if you plan to retire in Australia then it makes sense to buy a house here itself. Ignore Sydney and Melbourne - consider Adelaide, Brisbane, Queensland where prices are relatively less expensive. Work out your budget and then start house hunting.

Compared to Mumbai (where I used to live once upon a time), I personally don't find house prices (or even cost of living) too expensive. I could buy a house in Melbourne (in a good inner Eastern suburb) whereas the same amount of money only buys me a 3 bedroom apartment in the same suburb I used to live! The quality of life here is incomparable and you can't put a price to that. Do a comparison to the quality of life with your home country as well.

Good luck with your decision.
 
#3 ·
even in melbourne there are outer suburbs where the housing is cheap. I know a lot of people living closer to the city but eventually they buy in outermost suburbs when they retire or even those who stay an hour by train from the ciy and are happy with the travel because they managed saving so much while buying the house or those who could only afford house so far. it is peaceful, they dont have issues travelling so much everyday. in my office there are people who travel 2 hours one way each day.
 
#4 ·
in my office there are people who travel 2 hours one way each day.
This. I will never be able to understand how/why people do this. Two of the main reasons I work in the same company I did for over 2 years is because I can wear jeans(casuals) to work every day and my house is 4 miles away (10 minutes), which is the farthest I have lived from work in these 2 years.
 
#5 ·
:) people do that, there are all sorts of people in this world
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top