For anyone still following this thread, I just rang Wells Fargo (www.wellsfargo.com) who will open bank accounts for foreign nationals over the phone. You don’t need an American place of residence and you don’t even need an ITIN (though you won’t be able to get interest on your money if you don’t). They can be contacted by calling +1 800 869 3357. Their phone lines are open 24/7.

hey there.

Ok so to set the scene I have a property in Mt Isa – Its a 2 bedroom unit in a block of 4, and a 3 brm house in Maryborough. Not quite sure what you want, and I'm by no means an expert. If you have specific questions send me an email, but here's some general advice:

1. Population. So If you're looking below $250k, it means, like you said, regional. But make sure that regional is big enough to have a viable rental industry. I always try and keep my investments in areas above 10,000 as a general rule of thumb. I say this because I notice some people trying to go out and buy houses in mining areas with 500 people in them… fine if you want a risk, but I want something I know I can rent.
2. You want something that's not going to be damaged easily – remember you won't be around to do minor repairs, you'll have to pay someone to do it. So my Mt Isa bessablock unit is great – it can take a bit of punishment. My house in maryborough has polished floors and I'm constantly stressed that they're going to get scratched.
3. Strata title, someone please correct me on this if I'm wrong, simply means that you own the part of the block of land that the unit is on, but not the rest. So you've got the right to make changes etc, but usually not to bulldoze the building (the other owners probably won't like it ). Its pretty common, nothing to worry about. you'll probably have to pay body corporate, which is basically a running fund that looks after common areas of the block of land and (some?) outside areas of the buildings… but please check this, its just my understanding like I said.
4. So leading on from this, make sure you factor into if you can afford the property not just the bank loan repayments, but also the body corporate stuff. It will be at least a couple of thousand extra a year. Of course there's an upside here, and that's that if you pay body corporate you probably won't have high council rates – because you only actually own a small part of land on the block so you'll pay less than if you buy a house with a big backyard. Make sense?
5. I've found in Mt Isa that repairs and renovations are really hard to get done – so keep that in mind too if you're buying in a mining area. Basically, from what I can understand, if you're good enough to be a builder you're pretty much ideal for the mines, and the mines pay a hell of a lot more money. So builders in these areas are more expensive, and there are less of them… just my personal experience.

All I can think of at the moment, hope this helps.

Bell, Dixon and Butler are pretty much the best regarded Lawyers in Hervey Bay. If anyone can help they can… they've settled two properties for me so far, though I've never done a wrap.