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This blog explains how buying, building or renting a house works in Australia. It makes an interesting reading for newbies and outsiders, expats and newcomers, basically anyone who is not familiar with Australian real estate market.

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I used to think those two terms (solicitor and conveyancer) mean the same, but they really are quite different. The difference is in what those lawyers can and can not do and even in what they charge you for their services.

Every time a property changes hands the process is called conveyancing. The transfer from one owner to another has to be done in a certain legal way, you can do it yourself or with help of either solicitor or conveyancer.

If you do the transfer yourself, all you need is a DIY (Do-It-Yourself) conveyancing kit. You can purchase one online via several websites, such as diyconveyancingkits.com.au or legalkits.com.au .

When I saw how many lenders and mortgages are available these days, to be honest I freaked out. How on Earth do I start to compare hundreds of different mortgages, each with its own interest rate, length, fees, conditions, etc? Sometimes it just feels like too much – first the huge task and responsibility of choosing a house that is right for me and my family, and now this loan business? Let me tell you – in the world of mortgages you need every help you can get. So this is where mortgage brokers come in. There are many countries where they don’t exist, so I’ll explain what mortgage brokers do.

Mortgage brokers are people who work with (hopefully) many lenders and - at no cost to you – help you pick the loan that suits your financial situation the best. They are supposed to sit and carefully explore your wants and needs, your finances, find out what your borrowing capacity is and recommend a loan. If you decide to proceed with that loan, they help you with the whole process; handle the paperwork and everything else until you get the money. So who pays for their services, you ask? The lenders – banks and companies they work with.

The advantages of using mortgage broker are obvious:

I have found another option that falls somewhere in-between building your own house and choosing a pre-fabricated one. On the one hand you can design the house any way you like, and on the other hand you can still build it quickly as if it was pre-made and only had to be assembled. As the matter of fact it looks a lot like LEGO.

This option is offered by ZEGO, they offer hollow foam blocks that you use to build the “shell” of your house and then fill those with concrete. Their website has a video that explains everything in a really fun and easy manner (click here to watch). It says that one level of a house can be built in one week. They even lay out a costs comparison table, have a look. According to that table, ZEGO wall is the cheapest (100$ for square meter) compared to brick veneer (111$), double brick (169$) or concrete block (142$).

Besides the advantage of quick construction they also mention that the house becomes more energy efficient (because it is better insulated) and consequently home owners saves on heating and cooling costs (up to 80%!). Plumbing and electrical works are made easier because of the form blocks (no need to drill in concrete) and the house is 4 time stronger than traditional house.