ozbaz

Hi

Every day the word 'credit crunch' seems to ring louder , and there are a lot of 'for sale' signs out there not going anywhere fast.
is there anyone out there or still 'here' in UK/Ireland renting out a house which they couldn't sell in time or considering this?
We don't have a visa yet, but alreday I'm thinking'hey, lets put this thing on the market now even now! Risky yes, but what the heck! Better than having a four bed brick thing keeping you back later!
Bugger this credit crunch thing!

Oz Rascal

Hi,

I'd say if your visa app is pretty straight forward and you're confident you will get it, put your house on the market asap - ours has been on the market since January and still not sold. We got our visa early July and the sense of frustration is immense.

We have looked at renting it out but the rent wouldn't cover the mortgage so we would need to send the shortfall back every month. Having seen the exchange rate move in favour of the pound and showing no signs of swinging the other way, we don't want to burden ourselves with this risk - so we're currently planning on validating in January and returning to the UK until we have sold.

Its not ideal but for us, its the sensible option at this point in time.

Be aware though, renting your UK house has tax implications once you're tax resident in Aus. You also have to pay UK and Aus CGT when / if you sell your UK property.

Good luck with whatever you decide and hope you get your visa soon.

Colin

ellejayh

We too were wondering the same about selling versus renting, we have only just started applying for our visa and the house is already on the market in preparation! We figuured that the way the market is at the moment, even if we sold and then didn't get a visa for some reason or another we would still be better off in the long run as house prices are falling.

We have had about 7 viewings, been on the market about 5 weeks and don't seem to be moving very fast at all which is why we have now begun to think about renting it out when we go, and perhaps selling it in about 5 years when the markets a bit more buoyant.

Cheshire Karen

Unless you are 100% certain that you are going to love Oz, then I'd advise on renting your UK house out.

There are however, two ways to look at it:
- selling your house, means you are here for the long haul and maybe more keen to make it work.
- not selling means you know you have a safety net in case things don't work out.

However, it costs a fortune to keep up the shortfall between rental income and mortgage.

Good luck.

Suni&Jay

You only pay aus tax on UK rental, and if it is/was your main residence you don't pay CGT.

ozbaz

Oh, we are pretty certain that we won't return from OZ! OH and I met in Sydney 22 years ago while on a year long working holiday. Our eldest son is now 21- you work it out!
I think renting out a house when you still have to keep up mortgage payments is a no-no. Too much added pressure which is not needed at a time when your whole life changes. A very expensive holiday for five seems the only option just to activate a visa! But you know what, I don't care, whatever it takes to be able to live and work in OZ!! Somehow all the stress - unless it will catch up later!- is swept along by waves of adrenaline!