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.

My offer has been accepted.

The builder of the home in Sydney, Australia has accepted my offer of $511,250 for the home I am purchasing for my mother. The home was listed for $569k when I was there in August of this year. It's a beautiful home and definitely too large for my single mother, however we're getting the most for our money on the property versus all of the other ones for sale. Now, I have to get approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) in Australia before I can enter a sales contract on the home. I have contacted Solicitors (basically an escrow company) to help me through the process. I have been quoted $1,500 for their services which is reasonable. I am really happy to see that the exchange rate has improved drastically for the U.S. dollar (USD) to the Australian dollar (AUD). Currently on XE.com, it's showing that I will get $1.38 AUD for every USD which is much better than last week. I am praying for a rate over $1.40 AUD which will be really helpful in the amount of USD that I need to wire over there for the purchase.