THINKING OF BUYING A PROPERTY WHILE YOU ARE OVERSEAS?
As an Australian citizen or permanent resident, you can buy property in Queensland when you are living or travelling overseas. However, to ensure your transaction runs smoothly, there are a couple of points to keep in mind prior to signing a contract.
Mortgage documents
If you are obtaining a loan to purchase a property, you will need to sign mortgage documents. Currently, whilst some documents with the lender can be signed electronically, the mortgage documents (that will be lodged with the Titles Office) need to be signed with a ‘wet’ signature and witnessed by an appropriate person, and the originals need to be provided to your lender.
If you are overseas, you will need to ensure that you can have the documents signed, witnessed and couriered back to Australia in time for settlement. This may mean including a longer settlement timeframe in the contract.
You will also need to ensure you have access to an appropriate witness. The mortgage documents need to be signed by:
- An Australian consular officer or authorised employee of the Australian Government; or
- A notary public; or
- An Australian lawyer.
If you will not be available to sign and post original documents from your location to your lender, you may need to have a power of attorney sign the documents on your behalf – this would need to be in place ahead of time and the power of attorney may need to be registered with the Titles Office.
Time differences and your ability to be contacted
Time is of the essence in Queensland REIQ contracts. This means that failure to meet various deadlines can result in you being in breach of the contract, allowing the seller to terminate the contract and keep your deposit, amongst other consequences. It is therefore critical to let your conveyancer know if you will not be available during business hours so they can ensure they obtain your instructions early.
Australian bank accounts
Given money laundering concerns, the Queensland Law Society has strict rules for where law firms can transfer funds. As such, it is important to ensure you have access to an Australian bank account should your conveyancer need to transfer any surplus funds back to you as part of the conveyancing process.
Pre-settlement inspection
As part of the standard terms of an REIQ contract, buyers are entitled to conduct a pre-settlement inspection of the property. This is generally conducted a day or two before settlement and allows the buyer to view the property and ensure there has been no major change to the property since the contract date.
If you are overseas, you may wish to have a trusted family member or friend do a walk-through of the property in your place or ask the real estate agent to do a video walk through with you so you can view the property. Once settlement goes through, if items are identified later, you will have little recourse.
Tax implications
If you are residing overseas, it is important to have a chat with your accountant about the tax implications of your property transaction, even if you are an Australian citizen.
