| Foreign Ownership of Australia Property |
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Foreign ownership of Australia property has restrictions and is governed by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). Investors do have options for owning property within the residential and commercial sectors of the Australia property market. Following is information related to this and how Healy Consultants assists investors with their objectives in foreign ownership of Australia property: | ||||
1.
| Foreign ownership of Australia property is assisted by the property management services provided by Healy Consultants. By project managing activities such as organizing property maintenance and refurbishments, implementing property security requirements, organizing property valuations, finding tenants and ad hoc problem solving issues, our firm saves clients from these time consuming aspects of property investment, allowing them to focus on their business and families. | |||
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| Foreign ownership of Australia property is generally open to non-residents in the following categories: i) Real estate for residential redevelopment, ii) vacant land, iii) home units, townhouses that have not been occupied or previously sold. Construction on vacant land or redevelopment of property must begin within 24 months of purchase.
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| Foreign ownership of Australia property has a diverse range of options. Australia's two largest cities and the two main commercial hubs are Sydney
and Melbourne. Another option is 'the sunshine state' of Queensland
, which received a record of A$621 million (US$410m) in property investment from foreigners during the July 2007 - June 2008 period. Of this total Queensland investment, 48% was spent in the holiday haven of the Gold Coast.
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4.
| Individuals seeking foreign ownership of Australia property are required to gain approval via the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The FIRB is a non-statutory body established in 1976 to give guidance to the Government on foreign investment policies. Their role is to protect Australian citizens while at the same time allowing investment which benefits communities within Australia, so while there are restrictions, foreign ownership of Australia property is not discouraged. Approval is more likely to be given to foreign individuals who are purchasing an apartment in a new development, rather than residential property that has been owned, or occupied before.
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| The popularity of foreign ownership of Australia property is partly due to the desirable quality of life in the country. In their 2009 Quality of Living Survey, Mercer Human Resource Consulting rated Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth 10th, 18th, and 21st respectively on a global scale. Within the Asia Pacific region, all three cities were in the top five.
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6.
| The tax system in Australia can be complicated and so it is advisable to have professional advice on this area. Healy Consultants provides comprehensive tax and accounting advice to investors to ensure all the tax obligations associated with foreign ownership of Australia property are met and tax incentives are taken advantage of. Two such incentives are: i) negative gearing, which is where an investor borrows to purchase an investment property and the difference between the amount of rent received and the expenses incurred by the investor is tax deductible and ii) capital gains is payable on investment properties but only half of the gain is taxable if the property is kept for more twelve months. |
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For clients who are migrating to Australia, Healy Consultants assists by managing the process of gaining the relevant visas, coordinating relocation services and familiarizing clients with their new country. | |||
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| Arranging property finance is another important step managed by Healy Consultants to assist clients with their objectives of foreign ownership of Australia property. Healy Consultants will source financing options, including international mortgages, and negotiate the mortgage terms and conditions. Leading international banks including Commonwealth Bank, ANZ Bank, DBS Bank and OCBC Bank are preferred for obtaining mortgages. |
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| Healy Consultants will appoint and supervise a local lawyer to undertake all the legal matters associated with acquiring foreign ownership of Australia property. Using an experienced lawyer is advised in order to avoid problems occurring and so that the strengths of local laws can be utilized to protect our clients new asset. |
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| Contact Us | ||||
For further information on foreign ownership of Australia property, call us in Sydney at +61 280 147 568 or contact us at email@healyconsultants.com
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