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FIRB approval


Silverteen

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Hi All

 

We are in Adelaide on a 457 visa and currently we are renting.

 

We have seen a property we love and have arranged pre approval with ANZ to allow us to bid in the auction for the property.

 

ANZ have now said that we need FIRB approval to purchase the house.

 

I filled in the form online and was told it would be $5k!! for the fee!

 

Is this right? what happens if we pay this fee then lose out on the auction?

 

Seems a lot of money to throw away and not end up getting a property. Would I need to get this done again if we missed out on this property but later found another property we wanted to buy?

 

This would be our main residence.

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Hi All

 

We are in Adelaide on a 457 visa and currently we are renting.

 

We have seen a property we love and have arranged pre approval with ANZ to allow us to bid in the auction for the property.

 

ANZ have now said that we need FIRB approval to purchase the house.

 

I filled in the form online and was told it would be $5k!! for the fee!

 

Is this right? what happens if we pay this fee then lose out on the auction?

 

Seems a lot of money to throw away and not end up getting a property. Would I need to get this done again if we missed out on this property but later found another property we wanted to buy?

 

This would be our main residence.

 

 

Hello

 

Unfortunately so.

 

Other points to be aware of particularly with auctions.........you cannot make it a conditional offer and so whilst you may have a pre-approval in place this is not guaranteed.

 

For example the price you agree to buy it for is not necessarily the price the bank will agree (there isn't too much of this happening in Adelaide at the moment but it is still possible) therefore given as a temporary resident banks will typically lend up to 80% max the end loan to value may be higher and that means you would have to find the difference.

 

ANZ will give pre-approvals with lots of subject to be evidenced, I'd make sure other than the property itself there are no other subject to's.

 

Also you should consider a building inspection beforehand so you know what you are playing with.

 

I always advised my clients to tread very carefully when considering buying at auction even more so if temporary residents.

 

Regards

 

Andy

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Hello

 

Unfortunately so.

 

Other points to be aware of particularly with auctions.........you cannot make it a conditional offer and so whilst you may have a pre-approval in place this is not guaranteed.

 

For example the price you agree to buy it for is not necessarily the price the bank will agree (there isn't too much of this happening in Adelaide at the moment but it is still possible) therefore given as a temporary resident banks will typically lend up to 80% max the end loan to value may be higher and that means you would have to find the difference.

 

ANZ will give pre-approvals with lots of subject to be evidenced, I'd make sure other than the property itself there are no other subject to's.

 

Also you should consider a building inspection beforehand so you know what you are playing with.

 

I always advised my clients to tread very carefully when considering buying at auction even more so if temporary residents.

 

Regards

 

Andy

 

Thanks for your reply Andy.

 

Is there a way you can get a general FIRB approval so it is not specific to a property?

 

This is putting us off the auction massively as we have a budget so if we lost out then we would have wasted the $5k fee for FIRB approval.

 

In terms of building inspection are there any companies you would recommend?

 

We are on the 457 visa and wishing we had gone the PR route now, as transferring to PR we will have to wait until we complete the 2 years.

 

Any advice is appreciated

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Thanks for your reply Andy.

 

Is there a way you can get a general FIRB approval so it is not specific to a property?

 

This is putting us off the auction massively as we have a budget so if we lost out then we would have wasted the $5k fee for FIRB approval.

 

In terms of building inspection are there any companies you would recommend?

 

We are on the 457 visa and wishing we had gone the PR route now, as transferring to PR we will have to wait until we complete the 2 years.

 

Any advice is appreciated

 

 

I do not believe so as understand it is property specific unfortunately.

 

Yes it is unfortunate as a temporary resident that this is now the case.

 

We have always recommended Houspect to our clients: http://www.houspect.com.au/sa/

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If you qualify for PR now then you don't have to wait two years. TBH I wouldn't be buying until I was PR. And I wouldn't be buying at auction either.

 

The FIRB rules changed recently and it really means that auction buying is a real risk. Better to put in an offer outside of an auction with mortgage, inspection and FIRB approval as conditions.

 

There are other houses out there.

 

It also used to be the case with FIRB that if bought on a temp visa you have to sell the property when you leave Australia and it cannot be let. A real consideration on a 457.

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[h=3]Established Dwelling Exemption Certificate[/h]Foreign persons who are temporary residents may also apply for an established dwelling exemption certificate which will allow them to purchase one unspecified established dwelling up to a specified value within a specified state or territory to use as their principle place of residence. This certificate means that foreign persons don’t have to seek individual approval for each property they are interested in and only pay one fee on application for the certificate. The established dwelling can be purchased by any method (such as auction, ballot, private offer, expression of interest or tender).

Established dwelling exemption certificates will normally be subject to the conditions that apply to established dwelling approvals, and require the temporary resident to report on any purchase made.

For more information, see Guidance Note 9;http://firb.gov.au/resources/guidance/gn02/

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You'll still have to pay the fee I think

 

It was brought in in response to media beat ups about Chinese buyers in Sydney and Melbourne allegedly "overheating the market". Can't speak for Melbourne but it has made 0 difference in Sydney by my obersvations and backed up by a friend (father of son's schoolmate) who is an agent for Chinese buyers and says his business has detected no change

 

Sorry. It has made it prohibitive to try and buy as a TR especially at auction. We bought as TRs but back then there was no fee, it was still a risk but not an actual cost

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