rayandjane

We are married thirty-somethings who are looking to emigrate to Oz and quite like the look of Brisbane. We seem to have found a lot of info on imigration, jobs, schools and houses in Oz but one burning question will still have doubts on is whether or not to sell our house in UK or rent it out.

My current thoughts are that should our visa applications be granted, we would be better off selling-up and keeping the money and renting in Oz. That way we would be free of any hassles to do with renting out our property but have the cash available to either buy in Oz later if we do settle or, should it all go pear-shaped, have the funds available to buy in the UK if we returned.

Has anyone else gone through this dilemma?

Regards,

Ray

CaliforniaBride

Hi Ray

I have a house in the UK that I have rented for 16 months now. I use a letting agency who collect the money for me and pay it into my account. They maintain the property and arrange all repairs as necessary. The rent covers the mortgage and their fee.

I look at the property as an investment account that someone else is paying the premiums for. It has more than doubled in value in the 3 years I have owned it. I haven't kept it as a safe guard but it does mean that I will always be 'in' the UK property market. I'm not concerned about property prices dropping or rising as I'm not planning to buy or sell in the UK. It's just an excellent long term investment.

I would definitely rent. The property costs you nothing to own and is continually appreciating. And if you use an agent then it's less hassle than you think.

Don

House prices won't go up forever. The UK bubble has already burst and is now in freefall. Better to sell.

anya4oz

If you sell it after you've settled in Oz, you will be subject to Oz Capital Gains Tax on the profit you've made on the house between taking up Oz residence & selling it. ISTR this applies even if the house was your 'principal residence', and I think the time limit is 6 months, but I'm not certain of the exact rules. However, you need to be aware that this could be an issue and check it out as it may influence your decision.

ISTR the 'GoMatilda' web site has some info on this. It's certainly been covered in this forum in the past.

Anya.

Alan Collett

Have a read here.

Best regards.

rayandjane

Don,

kinda thinking that myself. I just want to find the way to avoid the Government (at either end) getting its grubby hands on any of my loot!

rayandjane

Cheers Anya,

I'm going to look for the best way to keep my hands on any loot from selling/renting so all advice gratefully accepted!

CaliforniaBride

I can't agree with that statement Don. There is definitely no freefall. And besides, a house is a long term investment. As I mentioned, an investment that whoever rents your house pays the premiums on.

I bought my house in Feb 2000, so I've owned it 4 1/2 years (not 3 as previous post). I had it valued in Feb 2004 and it had doubled in value. Comparable house in my area have continued to increase in value by around another 20%.

I can expect that my house has now increased 140% on my original purchase price. I think we can safely say that the value is not going to drop below what it was worth in say 2002/3. In the meantime someone else has been paying the mortgage, so how have I lost or how can I lose?

Bix

I agree with you Cali.

I am trying to sell so have been keeping a very watchful eye on the selling prices for several weeks now.

It is true to say that the market has completely stalled but the prices are holding up.

The only people I see reducing prices are the want to be expats who are trying to offload and that includes me.

renth

I'm in 2 minds to sell or not. We've had an offer which is a fair bit under the asking price and with the exchange rate possibly worsening in the medium term I might well get some more tennants when the current one leaves in 4 weeks time.

Don

WIN:
You can sell, stick the money somewhere safe for income, watch emotionless as house prices fall then buy back in for 30% less or 30% more house for your money, round about 2008-2010.

LOSE:
Your house isn't worth what you paid for it. It's worth what someone will pay for it now. So you stand to lose the difference between its market value now and its market value <later>, being when you sell it. If you sell between now and 2008, I am reasonably certain it will be worth less than it is now. If you are happy to see it as a 25 year investment, no problem.

worzel

Despite being an accountant I am not going to go into financial aspects as others have already done this. But 2 thoughts I have are (1) no one knows what house prices will do so any speculative investment is not a million miles from putting your equity on a short-odds favourite at Epsom. You could always sell in the UK and buy in Australia where prices have also been booming (ie put your equity on the Melbourne Gold Cup instead of the Derby!) (2) If I decide to go I will definitely sell. If I am thinking about keeping a foot on the UK property ladder then I am probably not certain of my decision to emigrate. It would also make it easy to throw the towel in if things don't go to plan in the first few years.

artep

Hi Ray and Jane

I suppose it depends on what sort of house you have too. If you have a smaller house e.g a 2 or 3 bed terraced here in pompey then you prob won't have much problem renting it out. I too am in Pompey, my house has been on the market for all eternity ...but on the positive side we've just had an offer....just waiting for them to sell their own. We thought about renting ours out, but after much umming and arghing decided it was too much of a risk for us to take as our house is a 4 bedder and we were told they're not so easy to let out. We have a huge mortgage and the thought of trying to find that sort of money on oz wages should we not have a tenant at any given time fills me with horror!!! :scared:

Good luck with whatever you decide to do..

Petra

Don

That's a poor analogy. It is certainly possible to draw the lessons of recent house price movement history, look at what point we are in the UK housing cycle and make a better-informed decision about buying/ selling.

Nothing like betting on a horse.

worzel

As the adverts say, past performance does not indicate future trends. I worked for a guy 10 years or so ago who bought several houses in the same street planning to make a fortune. The property market crashed at the time (remember negative equity) and his third heart attack finished him off as a result. On that happy note (not) I leave you to make your own decisions.