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Buying Property In Melbourne From Overseas

Australia is recognized as one of the most secure real estate markets for global investment. Understanding the intricacies of the individuals required on your team for property acquisition and obtaining necessary permissions is crucial.

Let’s explore some of the challenges you may face when purchasing property and discuss strategies to overcome these obstacles.

A crowd attracts a crowd. 

A desirable property tends to attract tenants promptly when leasing is required, and when the time comes to sell, potential buyers are likely to show considerable interest, driving up the property’s value.

Acquiring a house in Melbourne poses various challenges that demand meticulous consideration. Beyond navigating the complexities of real estate transactions and ensuring the purchase of a structurally sound property at an optimal price, buyers must also select a location that aligns with their preferred lifestyle and provides essential daily functionality features.

Buying A House

Buying a house with daily functionality.

Distance to the city, commute to work, shopping centres, traffic peak times, pubic transport, schools and property maintenance.

Buying a house with lifestyle benefits:

 Amenities like parks or beaches, walking tracks, coffee shops and restaurants, community centers, a backyard, multiple living areas etc.

The next challenges a buyer may face includes things like: obtaining finance (without having to use expensive mortgage insurance), negotiating with Real Estate Agents to ensure they don’t pay too much for a property, making sure the house is structurally sound, the tax’s payable on the property and seeking the right legal representation. So, here’s some information that will get you started. 


Step 1, To Buy A House In Melbourne You Need: 

Finance Approval

The best people to speak to about how much you can safely spend are mortgage brokers. They have access to many banks and hundreds of different loan products.

They are experts at understanding the process involved in submitting paperwork for finance approval and can make all the difference by avoiding the use of LMIs (Lenders Mortgage Insurance). The best part of using a mortgage broker is their fees are paid by the bank you draw your loan from, hence you don’t pay them anything upfront.

Legal Representatives. 


Conveyances or Property Lawyers take over once the contract of sale has been signed. It is wise to get the property contact of sale read over by them before signing.

So, what do they do? They focus on fulfilling any conditions listed in the contract, they help settle the property (which means making sure the property is signed over to the buyer) and every implicated party knows it is yours (local council, water authority’s, power authorities etc). Visit the Law Institute of Victoria to find a solicitor in your area.

Legal representatives will also assist in helping you pay the Government taxes involved in buying real estate.

Paying taxes and stamp duty. 

Stamp duty is a tax associated with every property purchase, is paid at the time of settlement. The state revenue office has provided a Land transfer (stamp duty) calculator to give you an accurate estimate. 

Temporary residence. 

If you are a temporary resident, such as a provisional visa holder, it is necessary to inform Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board when acquiring any residential real estate.

Temporary residents are allowed to purchase one established dwelling for personal residence. Additionally, they are permitted to construct new dwellings or develop vacant land for new dwellings, contributing to the augmentation of the available housing stock in Australia.

On the other hand, holders of permanent visas do not need foreign investment approval to buy residential property, including established dwellings for investment purposes.

Why Choose Wise Buyers Agent To Buy Your Property in Melbourne?

Success of Purchasing Properties

Wise Real Estate Advice will provide you with all the assistance that you need, where we been able to purchase a quality property within 2 to 4 weeks of clients makes contact with us, whether that is an investor or an owner occupier. By contacting one of our buyer’s agent, not only will they secure a quality property, but they will efficiently secure a property so that time is not wasted. The reason why we do not waste any time with our clients is because we understand the market properly, meaning that we won’t attend any auctions that our advocates don’t think they can’t win.

Another reason why we are successful in securing properties, is because we have access to properties that are not publicly available. We also have access to off-market properties through close relationships with real estate agents, meaning we have a larger pool of properties that we can potentially secure.


Expertise in the Industry

Wise Real Estate Advice are experts in matching your needs with the best property. The way we do this is that we take the time to fully understand our clients, where we sit down with them over coffee or if they are overseas we face time, and discuss important information in order to meet their needs. We often buy properties for buyer that are wishing to move back to Australia, where they may need to secure a property within a matter of a few weeks. While we try to secure a property for our overseas clients, we are constantly ticking off boxes that our clients want, whether that is buying a property close to schools, or whether it is purchasing a property near public transport, or both. Regardless if you are planning to move in quickly or to hold onto a property for investment purposes, Wise Real Estate Advice will ensure that your needs are met.


Assisting our Investors

If you decide to purchase an investment property, Wise Real Estate Advice is perfect for you as we store important items for the management of your property, including lease agreements and inspection reports. We also work as an intermediary as we are a central connector to many other service providers, relevant to your property, such as financial planners, solicitors, building inspectors, accountants and mortgage brokers. Lastly if you are a foreign investor, Wise Real Estate Advice will ensure you purchase a property within Australia’s legislations.

Wise Real Estate Advice, take a fixed fee for their services and not a percentage, regardless of your circumstances, whether you have a high budget or a low budget, meaning we have no incentive of trying to push your budget.

Top 5 mistakes made by home buyers.

Underestimating the full costs of buying a home.

Many first homebuyers fail to budget for the full costs associated with buying a house. A buyer’s advocate will take into consideration the hidden cost’s when negotiating a final price for a property. 

  • Mortgage insurance.
  • Stamp duties.
  • Unpaid rates.
  • Legal representation. 
  • Building inspections.

Clauses are added to a contract of sale to protect the buyer interests.

Example: a finance cause allows a buyer to terminate the contract if finance is declined, hence all deposit moneys will be paid back to the buyer with no penalty charges.  

A common mistake property buyer’s make is letting real estate agents influence what you insert into a contract of sale. The correct wording of a contract clauses can allow a buyer to terminate a contract of sale without losing any money hence reducing the risk involved in purchasing. Incorrect clauses can force a buyer in to purchasing a dodgy house, major repair bills or not losing a 10% deposit. Below are a few example clauses real estate agents should not insert into a contract as they represent the sellers interest not the buyer:

  • Building inspection clauses. 
  • Pest inspections clauses. 
  • Finance clauses. 

Short financing periods

Short finance periods can allow vendors an opportunity to end a contract of sale due to the buyer not being able to obtain finance approval in time. The benefit to the vendor terminating a contract is accepting a higher offer from another buyer, a common occurrence in a hot real estate market. It’s much better to have a longer period to secure financing at least 21 days.

 

Don’t assume you have bank approval 

Not having finance lined up exposes first homebuyers to the emotional distress of losing their dream home. ‘The devil is in the detail,’  and when bank’s offer conditional approval it’s up to the buyer to meet the conditions of the approval. A good buyer’s agent will make sure these conditions are fulfilled to reduce risk to the buyer. Example: buying a property at auctions with a conditional approval can expose the buyer to huge financial loss if finance is declined. 

Some more areas of risk:

  • Not attending the final inspection before settlement, 
  • Over spending on a house
  • Choosing a risky loan
  • Not visiting the property multiple times.

Regardless of where you live, whether that is China, Singapore, New Zealand or even London, buying a property can be a difficult process, and this is where our Senior Buyer Advocates, can assist you and make sure that your purchase will be handled in stress free environment.

Wise Real Estate Advice is based solely in Melbourne based buyers agent where we have experts who have been in the field of real estate for over 20 years and full understand Melbourne’s Property Market. Because we are just in Melbourne, this will ensure all our clients will receive quality properties due to the high expertise of the local property market.

At Wise Realestate Advice we ensure all boxes are ticked and that sincere care is taken when providing a buyer with the wise advice and action required throughout the buying process. To speak to one of our friendly buyer’s agents click here to fill out an enquiry form or just simply call us on 1300 00 WISE. 

Step 2, Finding the right property. 

The next step is the physical inspection. You might have to fly down to melbourne for this step or hire someone that works in the market place like a buyers agent.

Buyers agents are former real estate agents specializing exclusively in property acquisition. They engage with agents regularly and are adept at overseeing the entire process, including house selection, determining market value, negotiating with agents, and finalizing the deal.

Typically, they provide videos of their inspections, market valuations, and coordinate processes such as building and pest inspections.

This phase becomes challenging because each property is unique in terms of value, build quality, and structural integrity. The price of a property can fluctuate based on factors such as land size, proximity to transportation or shopping centers, and the condition of fixtures and fittings.

Upon identifying the ideal property, the buyers agent will act on your behalf in auction or private negotiation. Given the competitiveness of the Melbourne property market, it’s crucial to employ a strategic approach when negotiating with real estate agents and other buyers.

This underscores the significance of selecting a buyers agent with the highest success rate.

Are you a first home buyer?

Over the last 20 years the first home buyers population has shrunk due to the high price of property in Melbourne, so the State and Federal Governments can offer assistance.

The Victorian Government’s First Home Owners Grant offers a one-off payment of $10,000 to people who bought their very first home.

There may also be some concessions that you are eligible for as a first home buyer. As with every government assistance offer, there is a small mountain of paperwork involved but well worth it.

The only requirement for availing first home owners grants is typically the need to reside in the property for a consecutive 12-month period immediately following the purchase.


Regardless of where you live, whether that is China, Singapore, New Zealand or even London, buying a property can be a difficult process, and this is where our Senior Buyer Advocates, can assist you and make sure that your purchase will be handled in stress free environment.

Wise Real Estate Advice is based solely in Melbourne based buyers agent where we have experts who have been in the field of real estate for over 20 years and full understand Melbourne’s Property Market. Because we are just in Melbourne, this will ensure all our clients will receive quality properties due to the high expertise of the local property market.

At Wise Real Estate Advice we ensure all boxes are ticked and that sincere care is taken when providing a buyer with the wise advice and action required throughout the buying process. To speak to one of our friendly buyer’s agents click here to fill out an enquiry form.

Top 5 mistakes made by home buyers.

Underestimating the full costs of buying a home.

Many first homebuyers fail to budget for the full costs associated with buying a house. A buyer’s advocate will take into consideration the hidden cost’s when negotiating a final price for a property. 

  • Mortgage insurance.
  • Stamp duties.
  • Unpaid rates.
  • Legal representation. 
  • Building inspections.

Clauses are added to a contract of sale to protect the buyer interests.

Example: a finance cause allows a buyer to terminate the contract if finance is declined, hence all deposit moneys will be paid back to the buyer with no penalty charges.  

A common mistake property buyer’s make is letting real estate agents influence what you insert into a contract of sale. The correct wording of a contract clauses can allow a buyer to terminate a contract of sale without losing any money hence reducing the risk involved in purchasing. Incorrect clauses can force a buyer in to purchasing a dodgy house, major repair bills or not losing a 10% deposit. Below are a few example clauses real estate agents should not insert into a contract as they represent the sellers interest not the buyer:

  • Building inspection clauses. 
  • Pest inspections clauses. 
  • Finance clauses. 

Short financing periods

Short finance periods can allow vendors an opportunity to end a contract of sale due to the buyer not being able to obtain finance approval in time. The benefit to the vendor terminating a contract is accepting a higher offer from another buyer, a common occurrence in a hot real estate market. It’s much better to have a longer period to secure financing at least 21 days.

 

Don’t assume you have bank approval 

Not having finance lined up exposes first homebuyers to the emotional distress of losing their dream home. ‘The devil is in the detail,’  and when bank’s offer conditional approval it’s up to the buyer to meet the conditions of the approval. A good buyer’s agent will make sure these conditions are fulfilled to reduce risk to the buyer. Example: buying a property at auctions with a conditional approval can expose the buyer to huge financial loss if finance is declined. 

Some more areas of risk:

  • Not attending the final inspection before settlement, 
  • Over spending on a house
  • Choosing a risky loan
  • Not visiting the property multiple times.
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