Loan for an Australian Citizen working overseas

[Durka]

Hi all,

I'm currently an Australian citizen (born here) living and working in Sydney. I am considering moving to the USA to work for the medium term (5-10 years), so during that time I'd be looking to return a lot of my money to Australia to invest (capitalising on what I feel will be a depressed AUD over the medium term).

Is it harder to get a loan for an investment property from an Australian bank when working overseas? How do the banks treat living overseas, being employed by a foreign company, and being paid in another currency (I feel that this would be the biggest issue). I'd be keen to work out the likely implications of the move before I commit to it. Thanks

 

[Shahin_Afarin]

As long as you can show payslips and bank statement showing salary credits then you are fine.

Some lenders do it better than others - i.e. CBA will go to 95% whereas Suncorp don't lend at all, NAB limits the LVR to 80%, etc.

Currency is also good in that its USD - all the lenders that accept foreign income will accept the greenback.

 

[Jamie M]

Agree with Shahin - Oz citizen working in the US and earning USD shouldn't be too difficult to source finance for.

Cheers

Jamie

 

[Ausprop]

lot's of professionals currently heading for the exits, banks have no problem with foreign earnings they love it

 

[Redom]

Adding to the above, generally they'll discount your salary income if its in foreign income - to buffer against exchange rate uncertainty. As a guide, deduct 20% of your income and use that as a basis for borrowing power calculations (almost parity!)

You may also need to adjust lender choice. Can also be difficult getting into LMI territory, fewer lender options available (CBA/St George come to mind, Westpac have just stepped out).

Cheers,
Redom

 

[Durka]

Thanks for all the advice everyone. Good to remember that they will add a buffer for exchange rates. Luckily the USA pays much more than a 20% premium for my profession.