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Buying Residential Real Estate in Australia
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We will be posting updates on Australian immigration, case
studies and legislation changes on these pages as they become
available.
- an Australian citizen with a foreign spouse and you intend to
buy residential real estate as joint owners;
- an Australian citizen living overseas;
- a foreign national who holds a permanent resident visa or a
special category visa, such as a New Zealand citizen.
You should not sign a contract to purchase
real estate before you obtain foreign investment approval, unless
the contract is conditional on such approval.
In general, requirements for approval of purchases are as
follows:
- if you are buying vacant land, continuous construction on the
land must commence within 12 months of purchase;
- if you are buying an existing residence for redevelopment, the
house must remain unoccupied during redevelopment, and you must
show that the redevelopment will increase the supply of housing;
- normally, approval will be given to purchase units, townhouses
and house and land packages in new developments, provided that:
- the dwelling has never been occupied or sold before;
- not more than 50% of the dwellings in the development are sold
to foreign investors.
- approval is not normally given to buy houses, flats or units
which have previously been occupied. The exceptions to this rule
are:
- temporary residents who hold visas to live in Australia for
more than 12 months;
- overseas companies who are buying homes for senior managers or
executives who will be living in Australia for more than 12
months.
If you do not obtain the necessary approvals in advance of
entering a contract:
- you could have to withdraw from the contract, which could
result in you forfeiting your deposit;
- if you have finalised the purchase, sell the property,
possibly at a loss;
- you could be fined or in a serious case imprisoned, for not
obtaining the necessary approval.
For further information, you should visit the Australian
government's Foreign Investment Review Board website at www.firb.gov.au.
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