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AusGAF 11 - Twice the price, a year late but still moving forward

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EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.
Do you want my copy?

Or are you trying to get rid of yours?

:p

I figure I don't need Ground Zeroes and a couple of other games any more, so I was gonna go trade them in to see if I could get The Order cheap.
 

Rubixcuba

Banned
Has anyone bought a prebuilt computer from PC Case Gear? Or just a prebuilt computer in general? Is it a better route that buying individual parts in consideration of cost? My 5 year old gaming PC has bitten the dust :(
 
Has anyone bought a prebuilt computer from PC Case Gear? Or just a prebuilt computer in general? Is it a better route that buying individual parts in consideration of cost? My 5 year old gaming PC has bitten the dust :(

It's usually cheaper to buy the parts, yeah, but you don't need to pay a crazy mark up. I got my PC from PC Case Gear in 2012 for $60 odd above the price of buying individual parts. I'm happy to be lazy and pay someone that much to construct it for me but ymmv.

I'd have a look on Whirlpool or something and see if there are any good deals going at the moment.
 

EatChildren

Currently polling second in Australia's federal election (first in the Gold Coast), this feral may one day be your Bogan King.

Cheers, looks like I don't have the goods to trade in for 2-for-1 anyway.

If you want to borrow my copy for a while EatChildren I can post it up. Just have to finish up a few trophies tonight.

I want it back though!

Cheers! But all good, I'll add it to my collection eventually. I normally don't sell or trade in games, but I've got some bricks here that I will never touch again. Might as well get something for them.
 
I started the Order 1886 tonight.

Impressions: Shooting bits are ok, the Heavy Rain bits are not, and the world they've created just seems off to me. Dishonored did a similar type of world so much better.

Graphics are pretty, especially if you are cosplaying Ned Kelly while playing.

So far, as far as gameplay is concerned, it's dull more than anything else.

If it doesn't improve, I shall start referring to it as The Odour.
 

Gazunta

Member
Don't buy a house in a suburb that is like four hundred hours away from where you actually want to be. Alternatively invest in a great sound system coz you're gonna spend a looooot of time in your car. ><
 

senahorse

Member
So, I think I'm going to buy a house.

Little help?

Work out how much you can afford, and then factor into that interest rate rises. We are close to bottom at the moment, it will go up at some point. Once you have a number you are comfortable with, consider using a mortgage broker, makes the process much easier.

Try (it's hard these days) to have 20% deposit, or expect to pay LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance). Also check out what concessions are available in your area, FHB (first home buyers grant), Stamp Duty concessions etc.

Look at a lot of places, don't just put an offer on the first place you look at (within reason). Scope out broadband availability, transport, close to schools etc (always helps with resale), also check to see if council works are scheduled to run in the area (e.g. a new road or overpass going in right beside you.

When you make an offer and potentially sign a contract, make it conditional on finance and pest/building inspections at the least, read the fine print of what's included (I have heard stories of previous owners taking light fittings, blinds etc).

That's just a few tips off the top of my head. But most of all, don't borrow at your limit, you need wiggle room for unforeseen circumstances.
 

Shaneus

Member
Don't buy a house in a suburb that is like four hundred hours away from where you actually want to be. Alternatively invest in a great sound system coz you're gonna spend a looooot of time in your car. ><
It isn't, so that's a positive thing. Also, this is the "man cave":
SenV4CP.jpg


I'd be lying if I didn't say that was almost the main reason I want to buy it (not that the rest of the house is crap, but all that extra room just to store shit is making me salivate). Also, it comes with solar panels on the roof already.

I just have no idea about calculating things like mortgage and how much I should pay and loans and all that sort of thing (I suppose they can always be reorganised as time goes, so maybe it's not as big a problem as I'm making it out to be). Oh, and it's an auction as well but obviously I'd like to try and get it sorted before it comes to that. I could never buy a house at an auction, I'd have a heart attack :/


Work out how much you can afford, and then factor into that interest rate rises. We are close to bottom at the moment, it will go up at some point. Once you have a number you are comfortable with, consider using a mortgage broker, makes the process much easier.

Try (it's hard these days) to have 20% deposit, or expect to pay LMI (Lenders Mortgage Insurance). Also check out what concessions are available in your area, FHB (first home buyers grant), Stamp Duty concessions etc.

Look at a lot of places, don't just put an offer on the first place you look at (within reason). Scope out broadband availability, transport, close to schools etc (always helps with resale), also check to see if council works are scheduled to run in the area (e.g. a new road or overpass going in right beside you.

When you make an offer and potentially sign a contract, make it conditional on finance and pest/building inspections at the least, read the fine print of what's included (I have heard stories of previous owners taking light fittings, blinds etc).

That's just a few tips off the top of my head. But most of all, don't borrow at your limit, you need wiggle room for unforeseen circumstances.
Amazing info! I absolutely do not have anywhere near enough money for a deposit, they're looking at around $350k (I'd push them to $330k at least) and there's no way I have $70k kicking around. Pretty sure I qualify for FHB though.

Broadband is a goer, they can get cable via iiNet. Transport is fine (it's 5 mins from the Geelong bypass and maybe 10 mins drive from the train station), it's within walking distance of schools and basic shops (indy supermarket, take away etc.) and from what I can tell, there's not much for the council to bother doing in the way of works etc. (roads and footpaths seem fine considering it looks to be a ~1960s-established area).

Edit: Having a look at that LMI stuff, I think I'd even struggle to scrape up the basic cost of the deposit even with that Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Fuck this economy.
 

Shaneus

Member
bravo :)

Shaneus, that room looks fucking awesome and I'm sure it'll look great when filled with pinball tables :)
That's the idea ;) But I've been looking, and apparently the first home owners grant now only applies to newly built homes and not existing ones. So...
kAGjgxZ.gif


I think at least, anyway :/
 

kyser73

Member
It isn't, so that's a positive thing. Also, this is the "man cave":
SenV4CP.jpg


I'd be lying if I didn't say that was almost the main reason I want to buy it (not that the rest of the house is crap, but all that extra room just to store shit is making me salivate). Also, it comes with solar panels on the roof already.

I just have no idea about calculating things like mortgage and how much I should pay and loans and all that sort of thing (I suppose they can always be reorganised as time goes, so maybe it's not as big a problem as I'm making it out to be). Oh, and it's an auction as well but obviously I'd like to try and get it sorted before it comes to that. I could never buy a house at an auction, I'd have a heart attack :/



Amazing info! I absolutely do not have anywhere near enough money for a deposit, they're looking at around $350k (I'd push them to $330k at least) and there's no way I have $70k kicking around. Pretty sure I qualify for FHB though.

Broadband is a goer, they can get cable via iiNet. Transport is fine (it's 5 mins from the Geelong bypass and maybe 10 mins drive from the train station), it's within walking distance of schools and basic shops (indy supermarket, take away etc.) and from what I can tell, there's not much for the council to bother doing in the way of works etc. (roads and footpaths seem fine considering it looks to be a ~1960s-established area).

Edit: Having a look at that LMI stuff, I think I'd even struggle to scrape up the basic cost of the deposit even with that Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Fuck this economy.

You can roll LMI into your mortgage. We did - enabled us to put 10% in which bought the LMI down from $14.5K to $8.5K. We figured we're borrowing $470K, another 8 on top isn't worth quibbling about.

I don't know about other states, but in Queensland the contract you sign is where things like the fittings and conditional stuff like B&P inspection are covered.

You'll have to engage a solicitor for the conveyancing. They will organise and carry out the land and various other searches. Some - like the council permits (example - for work done on the house) & transport search -will be included in their basic fee, some like Flood & Sewage and telecoms you will pay an additional fee for.

You'll need to see a JP or other notary at least once or twice - once to get the mortgage, and once to get the stamp duty concession (which won't apply to you as your property is under $500K).

You'll also need to take out buildings insurance as soon as possible as once you're under contact you need coverage for any damages to the property, and its also mandatory when you have a mortage (and your lender can withdraw the mortage at a future date if you don't keep the policy in place).

We're currently enquiring if we can bring settlement forward by a week as we've had a pretty easy ride of the buying process, and can't wait to move in! Its all very exciting.
 

senahorse

Member
It isn't, so that's a positive thing. Also, this is the "man cave":
SenV4CP.jpg


I'd be lying if I didn't say that was almost the main reason I want to buy it (not that the rest of the house is crap, but all that extra room just to store shit is making me salivate). Also, it comes with solar panels on the roof already.

I just have no idea about calculating things like mortgage and how much I should pay and loans and all that sort of thing (I suppose they can always be reorganised as time goes, so maybe it's not as big a problem as I'm making it out to be). Oh, and it's an auction as well but obviously I'd like to try and get it sorted before it comes to that. I could never buy a house at an auction, I'd have a heart attack :/



Amazing info! I absolutely do not have anywhere near enough money for a deposit, they're looking at around $350k (I'd push them to $330k at least) and there's no way I have $70k kicking around. Pretty sure I qualify for FHB though.

Broadband is a goer, they can get cable via iiNet. Transport is fine (it's 5 mins from the Geelong bypass and maybe 10 mins drive from the train station), it's within walking distance of schools and basic shops (indy supermarket, take away etc.) and from what I can tell, there's not much for the council to bother doing in the way of works etc. (roads and footpaths seem fine considering it looks to be a ~1960s-established area).

Edit: Having a look at that LMI stuff, I think I'd even struggle to scrape up the basic cost of the deposit even with that Lenders Mortgage Insurance. Fuck this economy.

Sounds like you have already done some recon :). You can actually borrow up to 97% with some lenders, like mentioned above you can roll the LMI into the mortgage cost depending on the financier. Just don't get suckered into the dodgy lenders, stick with credit unions banks etc, this is where Mortgage brokers really help. Also Principal plus Interest loans are typically the way to go (basically your repayments go towards covering interest plus off the bottom line). Interest only loans I would only even begin to consider if we had those god awful interest rates around the Keating era (believe they got to 17%). Also with your mortgage, one with an offset account is a good thing. Basically with an offset account, any money you have sitting in there comes off the bottom line of the loan before interest is calculated, so you just have your pay go into that and withdraw if needed. I am far from a being finance expert though so make sure you do plenty of reading and asking.
 

kyser73

Member
We got our mortgage from Aussie, and went to them on the back of more than a dozen recommendations from people. They offer their own mortgages (backed by CommBank IIRC) as well as being a broker for other lenders.

We actually ended up with an Aussie mortgage, fixed at 4.74% for two years and decided against an offset account for the first couple of years - we just wanted something basic and simple to start off with before getting fancy, and this way we know exactly what we'll be paying for the next 24 months.

I'd also echo going with a standard repayment mortgage, rather than interest only. That kind of mortgage is probably useful if you're investing in buy-to-let.
 

Fredescu

Member
Can I poop in the garden?

It's good for the soil.

Edit: So for those with houses, is having one as stressful as I'm making out in my mind? Because it feels like it could be damn stressful :/

It would mostly be stressful if you over extend yourself financially. As long as you have a decent fund for maintenance, it should be fine. Expect five figure repair bills.

I will add to that, fuck timber retaining walls.

A guy at work had his rear neighbours six meter high retaining wall collapse in a storm and land on his house. This was six months ago and I don't think he's back to living in his house yet. The fun part is, the building insurance didn't cover retaining walls.
 

senahorse

Member
It's good for the soil.



It would mostly be stressful if you over extend yourself financially. As long as you have a decent fund for maintenance, it should be fine. Expect five figure repair bills.

Pretty much this, and when something needs attention, fix it (or get someone to asap), for example we had a few small leaks in the guttering, because it's a very high roof and I didn't have a 6M+ extension ladder at the time I left it. I finally got one a week ago, got up there and found the guttering to be pretty much fucked (or soon will be). What could have been fixed rather easily has now turned into replacing all the guttering, the entire 70M :(

A guy at work had his rear neighbours six meter high retaining wall collapse in a storm and land on his house. This was six months ago and I don't think he's back to living in his house yet. The fun part is, the building insurance didn't cover retaining walls.

Horrible things, we have 25M of retaining wall to replace, but only about 1.5M high, costs a bit more but we will replace it with sandstone. If ours falls it won't fall into the house but part of it will fall into the pool, still don't know if that would be a blessing in disguise, because another thing, fuck pools
 

Shaneus

Member
It would mostly be stressful if you over extend yourself financially. As long as you have a decent fund for maintenance, it should be fine. Expect five figure repair bills.
From the basic calculators (and I'm obviously assuming they're VERY loose) on a 25-year loan I'd be paying about half of what I earn now per month. No idea if that's enough to live on or not, never really had to pay water or repair bills before now.

Pretty much this, and when something needs attention, fix it (or get someone to asap), for example we had a few small leaks in the guttering, because it's a very high roof and I didn't have a 6M+ extension ladder at the time I left it. I finally got one a week ago, got up there and found the guttering to be pretty much fucked (or soon will be). What could have been fixed rather easily has now turned into replacing all the guttering, the entire 70M :(
Thankfully, looks like the gutters are fairly new. And the roof has been done... and it has solar panels (so that should mitigate electricity bills somewhat).
 

senahorse

Member
From the basic calculators (and I'm obviously assuming they're VERY loose) on a 25-year loan I'd be paying about half of what I earn now per month. No idea if that's enough to live on or not, never really had to pay water or repair bills before now.


Thankfully, looks like the gutters are fairly new. And the roof has been done... and it has solar panels (so that should mitigate electricity bills somewhat).

Solar's great, our yearly spend on electricity is around $150-200. Without our solar panels it would be around 3K (for a couple we use a lot of power).

My mate has a pool and it's awesome.

fuck pool maintenance

Other peoples pools are great.
 

Fredescu

Member
From the basic calculators (and I'm obviously assuming they're VERY loose) on a 25-year loan I'd be paying about half of what I earn now per month..

30 year loans are pretty common now, figure it out based on that. I think the guideline is for about a third of your income. They might not approve your loan if it's half, but going to a mortgage broker (or three) and getting an indicative approval is free and you should do it.
 

Shaneus

Member
30 year loans are pretty common now, figure it out based on that. I think the guideline is for about a third of your income. They might not approve your loan if it's half, but going to a mortgage broker (or three) and getting an indicative approval is free and you should do it.
Would that be income counted before or after tax? I'm working it out based on what I take home a month (and in that respect, it's about half) but if it's excluding tax then it'd be closer to a third.
 

Fredescu

Member
Would that be income counted before or after tax? I'm working it out based on what I take home a month (and in that respect, it's about half) but if it's excluding tax then it'd be closer to a third.

You know, I have no idea.

I found this: http://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/avoid-the-stress-zone-on-your-home-loan-20120714-222t9.html

'The common definition of ''mortgage stress'' is this: if you spend more than 30 per cent of your pre-tax income on your home loan repayments, then you are officially in the danger zone"

So I guess you're about there.
 

Gazunta

Member
Can I poop in the garden?


lAfR7Yfm.jpg

Damn straight.

Edit: So for those with houses, is having one as stressful as I'm making out in my mind? Because it feels like it could be damn stressful :/

The first few years were pretty damn stressful. Dealing with paperwork, legal and financial shit, and then spending every (every) weekend repairing / cleaning / painting / digging is just ugh.

But years later when the mortgage doesn't seem so bad and most of the house projects are done it's bloody nice to have a house you're happy with
so I hear
 
You know, I have no idea.

I found this: http://www.smh.com.au/money/borrowing/avoid-the-stress-zone-on-your-home-loan-20120714-222t9.html

'The common definition of ''mortgage stress'' is this: if you spend more than 30 per cent of your pre-tax income on your home loan repayments, then you are officially in the danger zone"

So I guess you're about there.

What is the definition of spending 30% of your pre-tax income on rent? :/

I bought plans to build a boat. They arrived yesterday.
BUILD a boat? That doesn't sound like something a millennial like me would do :/

I will add to that, fuck timber retaining walls.
Yeah they fucking suck. Hate hate hate dealing with them. Messy and expensive.
 

Darren870

Member
I don't know what the market is like in Geelong, but in Melbourne all the houses that went to auction sold for 60-100k more then the listed price.

We went to about 30-40 open houses and were interested in 5 total.
 

Fusebox

Banned
I have bought and sold multiple houses and my advice is thus: fuck plumbing.

If you can, try to avoid using the toilet and shower.

Damn this is true, one of our places has just hit the 'all the plumbing is starting to break at the same time' stage of its life. Must be time to dump and run.
 
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