Temporary Resident Home Loans
It is a dream for many to take a trip to Australia to stay a while and enjoy the scenery, the environment, and the culture that most can only admire from afar. But if you’re looking to stay a while, whether you’re on a 457 working visa or a spousal visa, you can apply for a temporary resident home loan and have a mortgage-financed home while you stay!
First off, make sure you have your visas properly squared away. Obtain the correct visas for your situation, whether it be a 457 visa sponsored by an employer in Australia, or a spousal visa. There are four different kinds of visas, including residence, temporary residence, migration and visitor, so make sure that you have the proper visa in order to obtain a mortgage finance or home loan for property in Australia. Once you have your visa taken care of, it’s time to apply for approval through the Foreign Investment Review Board. The Australian Government understands that foreigners traveling from abroad enjoy purchasing property on their land. In turn, the Australian Government wants to ensure that if a foreign citizen is buying property in Australia that it is of benefit to the surrounding area, neighborhood and community. Whenever a foreign citizen is applying for a real estate loan or non-resident home loan during their stay, it must receive Foreign Investment Review Board approval in order to pass. This review by the Foreign Investment Review Board can take around thirty to forty days to be processed and approved, and this process does not need to be done if you are buying the property from a developer in Australia that has the FIRB approval letter to show foreign citizens are allowed to purchase the property.
Once you have the Foreign Investment Review Board approval, you can now finance your new property investment in Australia. Now, in regards to financing your property purchase from afar, you can take care of your mortgage from outside the country, but you can also take care of it once you get to Australia as well. If you’re doing so, be sure to bring a copy of your credit report and history, along with any letters of recommendation from your current bank and investment companies. This will not be fully relied upon by Australian or UK banks, but it can definitely help your case for a mortgage finance in Australia. Financing mortgages no matter where you live can be confusing, and it is especially important to know your numbers before applying for a home loan in Australia and fully understand the terms that may be brought up during your application. For example, it’s a good idea to understand the term LVR, or “Loan to Value Ratio.” Mortgages can range from 75% LVR to 95% LVR, with percentages in-between. Let’s say your LVR with the bank you are applying for mortgage finance with is 90% LVR. This means that if you are financing a mortgage on a property that is valued at $100,000, the LVR would be $90,000 of the $100,000, hence 90% LVR.
It’s also a good idea to do your research before you leave for Australia and when you arrive to make sure that you know your numbers, know what you can afford, and have all the correct paperwork in order to buy a home during your temporary residence in Australia.
