VIP Property Buyers purchase property for people who are transferring with their jobs from around Australia to Sydney, Overseas buyers and Australian Expats located anywhere around the world.
Whether you are returning home, relocating around Australia or looking for an investment property, we take care of the complete property buying process for you - from start to finish.
With VIP Property Buyers you only deal with one company. We will search, locate and negotiate the right property at the right price when you can't be in Australia.
VIP Property Buyers provide access to every property listed by every real estate agent in Australia - and we have access to unlisted properties or 'silent listings' before the properties go onto the market.
We personally inspect all properties before recommending a property.
We provide detailed RP Data property reports that match your brief to show comparative sales in the area, capital growth, expected rental return with digital photos, videos, floor plans and location maps. We arrange all building and pest inspections, strata searches and property management for investment properties including lawyers, tax consultants and insurance.
We arrange for inspections by family or associates if required and if you visit Australia personally we ensure that inspections are co-ordinated to suit your time frame.
Foreign Investors
If you are not an Australian Citizen and do not hold a permanent resident visa for Australia, we assist you with your property purchase which will need to be approved by the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).
VIP Property Buyers assist Foreign Investors with their application for FIRB approval to acquire residential real estate in Australia, which is subject to strict conditions as outlined below.
Do I need Government approval to buy real estate in Australia?
You may need to apply for foreign investment approval if you are a foreign interest who is:
• purchasing residential real estate (includes established or new residential property, vacant land and hobby farms)
• purchasing rural land
• purchasing developed commercial real estate
• making an application for designation as an Integrated Tourism Resort or Strata Titled Hotel
• purchasing vacant commercial real estate for development
• acquiring shares, business assets or dealing with some other interest in an existing company
• creating a new business or project
• dealing with some other form of interest
A foreign interest is defined as:
• a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia;
• a corporation in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a substantial interest;
• a corporation in which two or more persons, each of whom is either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation, hold an aggregate substantial interest;
• the trustee of a trust estate in which a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation holds a substantial interest; or
• the trustee of a trust estate in which two or more persons, each of whom is either a natural person not ordinarily resident in Australia or a foreign corporation, hold an aggregate substantial interest
New Dwellings (Off the Plan Purchases)
New dwellings acquired 'off the plan' (before construction commences or during the construction phase) or after construction is complete are normally approved where the dwellings:
• have not previously been sold (that is, they are purchased from the developer); and
• have not been occupied for more than 12 months.
There are no restrictions on the number of such dwellings in a new development which may be sold to foreign persons, provided that the developer markets the dwellings locally as well as overseas (that is, the dwellings cannot be marketed exclusively overseas).
This category includes dwellings that are part of extensively refurbished buildings where the building's use has undergone a change from non-residential (for example, office or warehouse) to residential. It does not include established residential real estate that has been refurbished or renovated.
A property purchased under this category may be rented out, sold to Australian interests or other eligible purchasers, or retained for the foreign investor's own use. Once the property has been purchased, it is second-hand real estate and is subject to the restrictions applying to that category.
Second-Hand (Established) Dwellings
This category includes all residential dwellings which are not new dwellings (that is, they have been previously owned and/or they have been occupied for more than 12 months).
Foreign persons are prohibited from acquiring established dwellings for investment purposes (that is, they cannot be purchased to be used as a rental or holiday property), irrespective of whether they are temporary residence in Australia or not.
However, temporary residents can apply to purchase one established dwelling to use as their residence in Australia. Approval is usually provided subject to a condition that the temporary resident sells the dwelling when it ceases to be their residence.
Acquisitions by companies
Proposals by foreign-owned companies to acquire second-hand dwellings for the purpose of providing housing for their Australian-based staff are normally approved subject to the following condition:
• the company undertakes to sell or rent the property if it is expected to remain vacant for six months or more.
You do not need to submit an application for approval to acquire real estate in Australia if:
• you are an Australian citizen living abroad;
• your spouse is an Australian citizen (not a permanent resident) and you are purchasing residential real estate in both names as joint tenants (not tenants in common);
• you are a New Zealand citizen and you are purchasing residential property;
• you hold a permanent resident visa and you are purchasing residential property;
• you are purchasing new dwelling(s) from the developer, where the developer has pre-approval to sell those dwellings to foreign persons;
• you are acquiring an interest in a time share scheme which does not permit you (and any of your associates) more than 4 weeks entitlement per year;
• you are purchasing certain residential real estate in an Integrated Tourism Resort (ITR);
• you are acquiring an interest in developed commercial property valued at less than $50 million or $1004 million (indexed annually) for US investors, or $5 million for heritage listed properties where the acquirer is not a US investor;
• you are acquiring an interest in developed commercial property where the property is to be used immediately and in its present state for industrial or non residential commercial purposes. The acquisition must be wholly incidental to the purchaser's proposed or existing business activities;
• you are acquiring an interest by will or by operation of law (such as, a court order regarding the division of property in a divorce settlement, but not if both parties simply agree to transfer property without a court's intervention); or
• you are purchasing property from the Government (Commonwealth, State or Territory, or local).
Vacant Land
Proposed acquisitions of vacant land for residential development are normally approved subject to development condition(s) imposed under the FATA.
Acquisitions of single blocks of vacant land (that is, land which is zoned to permit the construction of no more than one residential dwelling per block of land) for the purpose of building a single residential dwelling on each block are normally approved subject to the following condition:
• continuous substantial construction must commence within 24 months.
Acquisitions of other vacant land (not single blocks) for the purpose of building multiple residential dwellings are normally approved subject to the following conditions:
• continuous substantial construction must commence within 24 months; and
• at least 50 per cent of the acquisition cost or the current market value of the land (whichever is higher) must be spent on development.
Once these conditions have been fulfilled, properties acquired under this category may be rented out, sold to Australian interests or other eligible purchasers, or retained for the foreign investor's own use.
For further information and detailed government policies are available on the Foreign Investment Review Board website:
http://www.firb.gov.au
For any property purchases up to $1 Million dollars our fee is a flat fee of $15,000 +GST.
For any property purchases above $1 Million dollars to $3 Million dollars our fee is 2% + GST of the final purchase price.
For any property purchases above $3 Million dollars and above our fee is 1.5% + GST of the final purchase price.
Call us now on 1300 66 11 25 or +61 2 8084 1122.
See below
VIP Portfolio were reliable in providing the 'leg work' in finding a suitable home and also took all the stressful and angst out of the whole buying process of securing a property. They negotiated the purchase of the property with a very difficult real estate agent and vendors. We will always use VIP Portfolio to buy our future properties. We got the perfect house with a huge discount.
My wife and I are now very happy in our new place of residence and this is all due to the incredible service provided by Michael and Michael at VIP Portfolio.
Damien and Xenia Cotter - Melbourne
Michael worked hard to buy it before auction, knowing the property was in demand. He came very close to buying it before auction. On auction day my sister was there and 6 other parties were bidding for this very popular home in the eastern suburbs. It was difficult to be on the phone but Michael's expertise, experience and calmness during the auction was a great relief. This helped us win the property ahead of everyone else. Having hired a professional negotiator made us confident in an industry we knew nothing about and we felt it made the purchase much easier than if we had have been on our own.
This is definitely a service I would use again and recommend to others, Michael was worth every cent!
Kieran & Melissa Hansen - Singapore
I engaged the 2 Michaels to help me find, inspect, select and buy a unit and they did not disappoint. Starting with an assessment of my budget and requirements, through to researching properties prior to my arrival for a short visit, and then accompanying me on property inspections, they were professional, dedicated and extremely knowledgeable.
They weren't scared to express a negative opinion about a property they didn't like or which did not suit my investment goals. They were just as focused as me on getting the right property, not just any property.
Once I had my eye on a particular property and I gave them the O.K. they went to work and started the negotiation process. They kept me fully informed throughout, and were able to assist with closing the property even though my bid was not the highest. They used their negotiation experience to make my offer too good for the vendor to refuse.
They managed the process every step of the way and I highly recommend them for anyone who is either overseas or even in Australia. A bit over 12 months later I am very satisfied with the property that I bought and believe that it will prove a sound investment even in tough economic times.
Bob Lang - Madrid, Spain
