My prayer has been answered.

So, the currency exchange rate rose to above $1.40, almost reaching $1.50 Australian for every American dollar yesterday! This is going to be very helpful in purchasing this home because our money is worth a lot more over there in Oz (nickname for Australia).

I chose my solicitor which was referred by my real estate agent. I am going to contact my loan officer at Westpac Bank today to keep her updated on where I'm at in the process.