Do I need a mortgage broker to arrange my home loan?
Unlike other countries, most Australian mortgage brokers do not charge fees for their services and offer the same loans at the same prices!
There are over 300 banks and other lenders in Australia and over 1,000 different types of loans.
For this reason it is essential to obtain the help of an expert when applying for your loan.
This is why more Australians choose to obtain their home loans through a broker than by approaching banks directly.
Why use us as your mortgage broker?
The majority of Australian brokers do not regularly deal with foreign investors or people living in Australia on temporary visas.
We are experts at obtaining the cheapest home loans for non residents and can help guide you through the borrowing and buying process.
For those of you with more complex transactions or larger investments you can deal with one of our experts that has experience in high value or commercial finance.
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What do banks think about non-residents?
Australian banks see lending to non-residents as risky, whether the customer is a foreigner living, a temporary Australian resident, or even an Australian citizen living overseas (Australian expat).
These risks include:
- Difficulty in tracking down a customer if they stop making their mortgage repayments. https://www.homeloanexperts.com.au/non-resident-mortgages/applying-for-a-mortgage/
- Difficulty in verifying assets and income that are overseas because of differences in income and financial documents, as well as differences in tax systems.
- Difficulty in determining what you will do with money if you release equity from an existing property.
- Having less than 12 months to go on a visa – it will help you case if you’re married or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen.
- Changes to temporary visa programs, particularly if it’s a relatively new visa program – there’s simply a greater chance that it will be scrapped and you may be forced to sell your property.
- Country risk, such as China, which is cracking down on its citizens sending money overseas, or countries that don’t have a joint tax system with Australia.
On top of all of this, most lenders simply don’t have the credit skills to handle complex borrowing situations and this is common with non-resident borrowers.
This combination of different credit issues may inlude a UK citizen with an Australian permanent residency visa living in Singapore earning United States dollars.
Not all banks are the same! and there can signficant differences in your chances approval and the amount you can borrow depending on your situation.
Are you married to an Australian?
If you’re married or in a de facto relationship with an Australian citizen, or even an permanent resident, you have a better chance at borrowing up to 95% of the property value.
The currency of your income
If you earn an overseas income, your chances at approval will come down to the foreign currency that you earn a living in.
The lenders that work in this space have a list of preferred and secondary currencies that they review on regular basis.
That’s why it pays to speak with us because we’re specialists in getting non-residents approved for an Australian mortgage.
Foreign income mortgage calculator
Discover if the bank will accept your foreign income
Gross income or net income?
Most lenders take your gross income and then apply Australian tax rates.
However, Australia has high tax rates which means that many people who could afford the mortgage repayments using their country’s tax rates find that their application gets declined.
We know lenders that will apply foreign tax rates instead!
Is FIRB approval required?
Foreigners and temporary residents (including spouse visa , 457 work visa and a Temporary Skill Shortage (TSS) visa holders) are required to get approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
There are exceptions! Please check out the FIRB page for more details.
What about the foreign buyer stamp duty surcharge?
There is both a stamp duty and land tax surcharge that applies to foreign buyers in several states and territories in Australia.
Luckily, this surcharge doesn’t apply to all Australian states.
There are other tricks to getting around these extra property buying taxes so check out the foreigner stamp duty surcharge page for more details.
Do we finance properties outside Australia?
If you are looking for assistance with a loan in your country to buy a property in a country other than Australia, we cannot help you.
How are Australian mortgages different?
Obtaining finance in Australia is quite different from other countries such as the UK or USA. Many new migrants find that the service from our banks is very poor and inefficient and that the banking fees in Australia are relatively high.
Despite this, the loan types available in Australia are very flexible and easy to manage once they have been set up:
- You can manage the loan using internet banking.
- You can normally make unlimited additional repayments, except with fixed rate mortgages.
- You can normally access / redraw the extra repayments that you have made.
- Some banks have specialist non-resident / foreign customer call centres or credit teams.
- Some banks offer packages which include a cheque account, credit card and mortgage all with special discounts.
- A few of our lenders have flexible policies and fewer restrictions for people overseas that are buying a property in Australia.
The biggest mistake that most non-resident borrowers make is to apply with a bank that has inflexible policies for foreign borrowers. If you use a mortgage broker and apply with the right lender, then you can get a very competitive mortgage approved in no time at all!
What kind of banking packages are offered?
Many of the major lenders in Australia offer banking packages with their mortgages, these are known as Professional Packages or Pro Packs for short.
A typical Professional Package will have an annual fee of $300 to $400, however in return for this fee, you will be eligible for a large rate discount on your loan, waived application fees, waived monthly account keeping fees, a free credit card with rewards and discounts on insurance.
As a general rule, these package discounts are better suited for home loans over $250,000.
Apply for your loan today!
Before applying for your loan you should read our buyers guide page and the relevant page for your residency type (e.g. Australian citizen living overseas, foreign citizen investing in Australia or temporary visa holder).
Once you have determined that you may be qualified for a home loan then enquire online or contact us via phone on +61 2 9194 1700 from overseas or 1300 889 743 from within Australia between 9am – 5pm Sydney time (GMT +10) and one of our consultants will discuss the various options with you.