Written by Jack Freestone, Buyers Collective
The most common thing we hear from Australians living overseas is that they assume they need approval to buy back home. Most of them do not.
Australian citizens are not foreign persons for foreign investment purposes, regardless of where they live or how long they have been away. Permanent residents and New Zealand citizens generally sit outside it too. If that describes you, the ban on foreign purchases of established dwellings does not apply to you, and the whole Ashgrove market is open in the same way it is to a buyer living in Brisbane.
Where it gets complicated is structure. A non citizen spouse on the title, a purchase through a company or trust with foreign ownership, or a joint purchase with an offshore party can all change your position. That is worth resolving before you make an offer, not after.
Why expat families keep landing on Ashgrove
Ashgrove sits about six kilometres from the CBD on the northside, and it is one of the few suburbs that does two things at once. It has the leafy, established family character that people picture when they think about coming home, and it has the schooling that makes the decision easy to justify.
Ashgrove State School, Mt St Michael's College and Marist College Ashgrove are all in the suburb. The Herston hospital precinct is a short run for clinical households. Waterworks Road carries you into the city, and the surrounding suburbs of The Gap, Bardon and Enoggera give you options if Ashgrove itself does not produce the right home.