michellemac

sorry to ask such a personal question but just wondering about investment options for our equity in the 6(ish) months between our house sale and move to Oz. We are about to complete on the sakle of our house and move into rental accomodation.

We have a sizeable chunk of money from the equity in our house, certainly enough for a few percentage points to make a difference to our interest earnings over 6 months. Can anyone recommend any accounts and/or tell us what they have done to maximise their money before taking it all to Oz!

We have an internet account with very good interest rates and an ISA each which we can invest £6K each a year as per tax guidelines but other than that, are the any other options (low risk!! Not stock exhange!!).

Michelle

Three Legs

It's a bit of a risk but I'd suggest on-line gaming ...



Stick the lot on Black.

marco121068

MY ACCOUNT!!!

OK didn't think you'd go for that one.

ING Direct seems like one of the best at the moment at 4.75%.

Check out http://www.moneysupermarket.com/savings/

If you haven't used up your ISA allowances yet each person can put £3000 and get the interest tax free.

EDIT : Just reread original post and noticed you've already got ISA's (though annual amount is £3000 not £6000 pp)

Caroline G

Maybe seek advice from an Independant Financial Advisor. They will either take commission from what they sell you or you pay a one off consultation fee. You decide which option you think is best for you.

We discussed our situation with a couple of IFA's. I'm so glad we did this as we decided to use our UK property to raise funds via remortgage (offset mortgage & have some money on stand-by in the savings account) We are going to let our property out. If all goes well in Australia & we eventually decide to buy there. We will either use the funds raised by remortgage as a deposit or sell up completely & buy an all singing, all dancing property with knobs on.

If you don't think that's what you want to do the papers (particularly the Sunday editions) often have useful money sections. As long as you know how much money you want to tie in for how long you could sort out a suitable account(s).

But don't drink or gamble it all away

walaj

not only should you consider the interest element, but accessibility to it so you can exchange it to Aussie $ should the rate rise to an amount you are happy with or get it before it falls too much.

Remember interest rates are higher in Oz, so if you can get it into an Aussie account you could be even better off. Although that raises one point, if there are any tax issues with gains/interest made BEFORE you emigrate? At a guess probably should be declared to UK for amounts up until date of departure.

ozzygirl

Hi'a

We have put most of our money into an ING account (4.75%) we probably could have found a higher interest rate but with ING you can get to your money instantly.

We have also put a smaller chunk into premium bonds, which seems to be working out ok as we have had a few small wins but we are hoping for the million pound win before we go.

Hope this helps

Angie

(checking our e-mail 200 times a day to see if we have our visa)

bradfordlad

Hi Michelle
I think you should save 10% in your bank ready to do a forward contract with an exchange company just incase rates go up substancially in the period you mention.Stick the rest in Premium Bonds.No risk and you could win a million.Also get pound for pound back at short notice.

GUD LUK

Ian

glittababe

Glad you mentioned this as it's something we have to think about shortly. We both know nothing about finances at all and it all seems really confusing.

glittababe

ok how does the premium bond thing work?

bradfordlad

GO TO POST OFFICE.GET APPLICATION FORM.FILL OUT AND SEND MONEY,I THINK YOU MAY STILL BE ABLE TO PAY OVER THE COUNTER.
Bonds need to be in 1 clear month before they are in the draws.So buy towards the end of the month!! £30000 max PER PERSON.So if you have enough dosh,get them for yourself,your wife and your kids.

I just think they are a good, no risk investment for a short term and they could win you a million.

GUD LUK

Ian

glittababe

so its like the lottery? or do you get the money back, like a savings account?

bradfordlad

You get back the exact ammount you buy.Buy £1000 worth of bonds and get back £1000 when you want your money back.Obviously this is just a thought for a short time scale and you may not even get a win! However,any winnings are completely TAX FREE (within the U.K.)and you get back ALL your original investment.

I am not a tax wizard or have any connection with premium bonds.Just look a good short term plan for any decent ammount of money.

GUD LUK

Ian

cat5

Caroline, we seem to be in the same position as yourself, we have a offset mortgage, but was advised by our accountant to change to re-mortgage to a standard type, but we prefer to stay with the offset as it is very flexible.
When you say you put your raised funds into a savings account, was it linked to the offset, or a completely separate account?
Just wondering the best way, as we are renting our house out too, our prospective tenants have told us, they may be interested to buy after a while.

Caroline G

Our savings account is linked to the mortgage account. I liked our offset mortgage because it is so flexible i.e. interest only (reduce monthly outgoings in UK) no early settlement charges for early repayment or lump sum payments (so effectively if we pay more it will reduce the outstanding capital balance).

Reorganising our finances has basically bought us some breathing space.

We have had several wonderful Australian holidays but realise that living in a country is a totally different experience. Plus, not being depressing but you don't know what the future holds - happy or sad. Once we've rented for a a few years Oz we'll review the situation. Like you (but further down the line) if someone rents our house then puts an offer on it we'll seriously consider it.

cat5

Thanks for the reply, think we must be on the same wavelength, we have booked our one way tickets already and are going in Jan, we got fed up with trying to sell our house, so took the letting option, funny enough, the first day we put it up for let, we had a tenant who fell in love with it and wants to move in, beginning of Jan........too good to be true!!

Still not 100% sure that the offset is the best for us, but it has so many benefits.....decisions, decisions!!

Colin