Overseas Buyers

Overseas Buyers can purchase property in Australia, although the property laws and lending requirements differ from those applying to Australian residents. Mortgage Australia regularly assists overseas buyers to purchase and finance property in Australia.

There are three main categories of people overseas who wish to buy property in Australia:
•     Australian permanent residents or citizens (ie., Expats) currently residing overseas.
•     Non-permanent residents or citizens living overseas.
•     Non-permanent or Temporary residents or non-citizens living in Australia.

Foreign Investment Review Board

Foreign purchasers intending to acquire residential real estate in Australia must seek prior approval from the Government through the Foreign Investment Review Board, unless:

•    specifically exempted by the Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Regulations
•    the buyer is an Australian citizen resident abroad
•    the buyer is a foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa, or who is eligible to hold, a 'special category visa' (eg., a New Zealand citizen)
•    the buyer is a foreign person purchasing, as joint tenants, with their Australian citizen spouse, property that is zoned residential.

Mortgage Australia can help you determine whether FIRB approval is necessary for you, can can even help you find a suitable property if required.

How Much Can I Borrow?
Overseas buyers have many lending options available to them. Loan terms can be as long as 30 years with the ability to pay the loan off as early as required. The below table shows the maximum amount of the property’s value that can be borrowed.

Foreign Currency Loans
By taking out a Foreign Currency Loan Overseas borrowers can actually obtain loans much cheaper than Australian residents – as low as around 2% per annum. The benefits are you are not subject to currency exchange rate risks, you can match your loan repayments to the currency you are earning and you often can obtain a much better interest rate. Mortgage Australia can assist you to obtain a loan in Australian dollars AUD, Hong Kong dollars HKD, United States dollars USD, Singapore dollars (SGD), UK Pound Sterling (GBP) New Zealand dollar (NZD) or Euros (EUR).

What fees will I incur?
Lending fees and interest rates vary from lender to lender. We will provide you with a number of fully-costed options suitable to your specific situation. There is no fee to you for our service as are paid by the successful lender with whom we organise your loan.

How Do I Get Started?
All aspects of the financing of your Australian property can be organised by us via email, phone and fax. Please directly contact our Overseas Buyer team for a discussion of your situation:
Phone: +61 XXXX XXXX (from overseas)
Phone: 1800 789 017 (from within Australia)
Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Talk to Mortgage Australia today about your next home loan.