S11MMX Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Hi I am looking for some advice. My mom has recently moved over here to Oz from the UK and on the 804 bridging visa (for 30 years approx). She wants to purchase a property (no mortgage required) here in the Gold Coast to live in; she's currently in Sydney renting. Questions are - Can she purchase a property in her name being on this visa? - How do we go about looking for property there when we live in Sydney? We can fly there for weekends to view but it would have to be worth our while - is there a company that can look for us and arrange viewings for when we get there all in the one weekend? Any help or advice would be great Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rammygirl Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 They will need FIRB approval if not a PR. See here http://firb.gov.au/resources/guidance/gn02/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeTowers Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 Yep second what @rammygirl says - If you are not a permanent resident you have to apply for approval as she will be a foreign investor. I did it in Sydney for approval to go to auction - there are 2 types of approval, one for an auction pass which means you can go to multiple auctions until you secure a property. The other is for an actual named dwelling that you are buying not at auction. Do your research because they can make you sell your house if you don't get the correct approval to purchase it as a foreign investor! Its also quite expensive to get approval and can take 2-4 weeks. I now have PR so if I buy again I don't need approval. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted March 20, 2018 Share Posted March 20, 2018 (edited) There are things called "buyer's agents" who will look for properties for you. They charge a fee, of course. Do some Googling, no idea whether there are any on the Gold Coast. What DeeTowers says - I'd say she'd need to find a good property lawyer who is used to dealing with foreign investors, because if you put a foot wrong, they can make you sell the property again. One alternative that might be worth looking at - there's a group called Sterling Life which might be worth looking into. Instead of buying a property, you buy a lifetime lease on one of their properties. It would be cheaper but more importantly, as she's not buying the property, she wouldn't have to jump through all those legal hoops. https://www.sterlingnewlife.com.au/ BTW are you planning to stay in Sydney yourselves? If so, I'd have thought she could get the Gold Coast seaside lifestyle in Port Macquarie or Coffs and be handier for you. Edited March 20, 2018 by Marisawright Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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