Monday, July 22, 2013

Overseas Australian Property Loan: How It Is Possible To Get Home Loan Approval While Living Abroad!

By Kate Ross


Did you know that expat Aussies can still qualify for an Australian home loan? The secret to approval is to apply with a bank which has credit policies that are expedient for non-resident borrowers.

So what are qualifying standards for Aussie expats? As a general rule most banks and building societies do not accept loans from non-residents. This is due to the fact that they either don't have systems to stay in contact with and manage loans for people who are overseas, or because they aren't comfortable with the additional risk connected with this kind of mortgage. The banking sector has never been known for being simple to cope with!

The banks that do accept non-resident home loans, have a tendency to have additional credit factors, and require extra documents before approving your loan.

You can borrow up to 90% of the value of your property in Australia. 95% LVR is available on a case by case basis.If you aren't an Australian Citizen or Permanent Resident then you can borrow up to 80% of the property value.Purchasing a property or refinancing a current loan are both acceptable loan purposes.Only Australian property/real estate can be employed as security for the loan.You must be able to afford the loan nicely. This is known as having powerful serviceability, ideally 1.1x cover.The lender may only use 80% of your income in their assessment of your borrowing capacity to allow for exchange rate fluctuations.

Your credit report in Australia must be clear of defaults & other difficult credit listings.Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) approval is not required for Australian Subjects and PR holders, regardless of if you're a foreign resident for tax purposes or not.Expatriate Australian Subjects frequently find the hardest part of trying for their loan is to supply the backup documents needed for approval. In numerous cases the bank may need JP certificated ID or may ask you to take your ID to the nearest Australian consulate. This duty varies between lenders.

If you are in a place that does not use English as their primary language then there can be extra challenges, in the sense that the bank may be unable to understand your tax returns or payslips! Fortunately , some banks have an expert non-resident credit department that's staffed with multi-lingual credit managers.

Other banks have streamlined application processes for non-residents loan, and will only require a letter from your employer as evidence of your income if you are borrowing up to 80% of the property value.

If your revenue is received in a foreign currency then you will like to consider borrowing in that currency, to reduce the risk of exchange rate fluctuations. Some Australian lenders will allow foreign currency home loans in GBP, SGD, USD, HKD, JPY or CNY. The great majority or folk seeking foreign currency home loans are expat Australians living in Britain (UK), the USA (USA) or Singapore.

Nonetheless foreign currency loans carry some additional risk that are not present if you borrow in Australian Dollars. If the FOREX rates move significantly then the bank may decide that your loan is no longer tolerably secured by your real-estate in Australia. They may request that you provide extra funds to rein in their risk, if you can't provide more funds then you'll be in default.

Choosing a house loan for a foreign resident is sort of different to selecting a loan for somebody resident in Australia. While pro package kickbacks are usually preferable for folks living in Australia, for those overseas there is little benefit received from the additional loan features. In numerous cases expats choose to choose basic loans which are more easy to manage and have a competitive interest rate.

When choosing a mortgage broker make sure that they've an Australian Credit Licence (ACL), are an affiliate of the Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia (MFAA) and that they are an affiliate of the Credit Ombudsman Service (COSL). Your broker should assist you from application, and approval through to settlement. If you have any questions on your loan after it's been advanced, or if you are considering fixing your interest rate, then you need to ask your mortgage broker for information.




About the Author:



No comments:

Post a Comment