MrsE

Hi all

Just interested to see who has decided to rent and who has decided to sell when they emigrate and reasons for doing it

Thanks

koalakim

Hi there

We rented but we didn't have a good experience even though we thought we had good agents handling the property. 3 tenants in 2.5 years, never had a good choice and had to take who was on offer. This included two mature students who nearly burnt the place down! It was only when the interest rate dropped that we actually made some money on it, so it was always a worry in between tenants.

We didn't feel ready to sell when we emigrated and tbh it was a bit of a bolt hole if we didn't like living in Oz, however, with good old hindsight we should have sold because when we came out the exchange rate was much better!

We sold last year to enable us to get on the ladder here, I would have liked to have kept it as an investment but with the poor exchange rate it wasn't going to work. We also kept it on because we loved the place, had it been our previous property I wouldn't have hesitated to sell it!

Having said all that I've had friends go abroad on contracts and rented their places out and not had any problems, we were unlucky but then it did force us to give it up in the end!

I think you just have to look at your situation and decide what is best for you. However, get a good agent and pester them for reports, photos etc. We were lucky in that we have been back each year and were able to see for ourselves and take action. Or make sure you get a rellie or friend to do a personal inspection every six months.

Hope this helps!

KK

Bermudashorts

We are renting out for a couple of reasons. The first is because we do really like our UK house and so if things don't work out we can come back to it, we like the idea of a safety net. The other reason is financial, we would realise a big loss of we sold now and then the exchange rate is rubbish as well so a double whammy. So we have decided to sit it out and see what happens.

We have not got a tenant in the house yet but there is somebody lined up now. We will barely cover the mortgage with the rent and will certainly make a loss overall with the tax that we will still have to pay. But it is OK, at least the house is not empty and the mortgage is being paid down.

MrsE

Thanks for your responses. I must admit, the idea of keeping the house here does seem like a good one. I think that there's less pressure and worry if you still keep the house over here in the UK. Although it would have been nice to have the money in Oz At least we would have the knowlege that we still have the same house in the same area for the good schools etc if Oz wasn't all we expected.

Buzzy--Bee

Not necessarily.

I know people here who have emigrated and kept their houses and now cannot afford the house they want in the area they want here and are forced to live in a substandard or smaller house in a less than ideal area. They desperately wished they had sold before they left, as they now have a house in the UK which they cannot decide whether to continue to rent out breaking even at best or try and sell from 12000 miles away.

I also personally believe that your emigration is more likely to be successful if you don't have an easy bolt-hole to head back to as you will then put more effort into overcoming any issues and really make your emigration work. Not everyone agrees with this point of view though.

BB

Bermudashorts

You are probably thinking of people that moved out a year or more ago. It is a different matter for those of us who have just made the move or are just about to. It would be financial suicide for me to sell up right now for example. And really, it feels good to know there is a house waiting for us in the UK should things not work out for us. We did not come out here on an endurance test or to prove a point to anyone so I don't think there is anything wrong with having a safety net.

JAK

We have had ours on the market since last February and have had no luck selling it. We have now started looking at the possibility of renting it so that hopefully we will be able to finally make the move later this year.

MrsE

Hi

I know where you are coming from with regards to the "bolt hole" and we are still undecided that's why we thought it would be good to see what others have done. Part of us likes the idea of a safety net (plus keeping a house that we like in the area with all the good schools) but part of us thinks just sell up and give it your all! We will obviously need to get a valuation nearer the time and they may make our decision for us if we don't get the money we want for it by selling. But saying that we will be going for a minimum or 2 years to ensure we give it a good go as we understand that it may take time to adjust etc etc.

Alfresco

You can offset losses (apart from the capital repayment portion) of your foreign property against your personal tax in Oz, unlike in the UK.

Bermudashorts

Yep understood. However our mortgage is very good tracker rate and we pay very little interest. So our situation is we have negative cash outflow each month (I shouldn't have called it a loss really) and as far as tax computations go we will look like we are making a nice profit and hence we will pay tax.

i.e. mortgage is about £1100 a month of which only about £100 is interest. Rental income of £1200 so after interest and fees to agents there is still a decent amount to be taxed, however our cash flow is negative after paying the full mortgage and fees.

hantsfamily1

I chose to sell everything and commit to my new life.

The reasons for emigrating in the first place will always be there, everyone struggles at some point making such a huge move and not having the comfort of being able to return home will in my opinion just make you try harder to make things work down here.

One of the other posters is spot on in the fact that your budget would be bigger bringing some equity with you and would make your new life a bit better straight away.

What ever you decide best of luck.

Bermudashorts

Would you have been happy to crystalise a £100k financial loss in order to "commit to your new life"? Just curious.

hantsfamily1

I dont know what your exact finances are and its none of my business but how long is it going to take for prices to get better in the UK is the question.

I honestly have not got a clue how long it will take to pick up in the UK it could take 3 years or it could take 10 years. In my opinion I think it will be between 5 and 10 years and the thought of living the other side of the world and taking care of a mortgage, renters, possible maintenance would not be the best option.

The other question is what is the actual loss. For example if your property has dropped 100k but is still above the price you paid for it then was it ever really worth the higher price.

I do feel for people wanting to move over here at the moment as the house prices are down and the exchange rate is pretty poor at the moment.

House prices are always discussed on here and its pretty evenly divided on whether they will rise or fall both sides of the world. For what its worth in my opinion the cost of living is so high in Australia I cant see how prices can rise any further especially as interest rates are tipped to rise another couple of times this year.

Whatever the outcome I wish you the best of luck with your decisions.

hantsfamily1

My other opinion is what price do you put on happiness and well being.

Once again its only my opinion but I lead a far healthier lifestyle over here, the roads are wider, the parks are bigger and more plentiful, the free facilities provided are superb, the beaches are beautiful, the hinterland and mountains are awesome. The sports facilities are really good and there is loads for kids and families to do.

Buzzy--Bee

I agree with everything you say and I have never seen before "the roads are wider" being given as a positive about Australia! True though.

BB