Margaret3

just wondered if anyone has had any experience buying property in the u.k from aus, wondering how it was done i.e through agent/lawyer/family etc and if anyone knows of any links to help

just summit ave been thinking about lately.

aasmith1957

we are hoping to move back to Morayshire in Scotland sometime this year,when house sells.my sister has been into real estate agents/solisitors asking how the sellers are reacting to the introduction of the new valuation report thingy and to ask about pricing etc.apparently they are no longer expecting the previous (offers over +10- 15%).it nows seems the prices are more fixed price.i would wait until you get to UK.have a good look around and if you are a cash buyer the process will be much quicker,maybe get a good deal for cash too.we will stay with rellies for a few weeks or use my sisters caravan which is on a site in Nairn while we sort out a property.cant see any flats/homes to rent in Cullen,Buckie etc where we want to be.maybe family wont feel comfortable saying somewhere is fab and it ending up either having a problem with it or its not quite right for you.have a look at stewart and watson solisitors,dont know if they have offices in different areas eg Glasgow,Edinburgh etc.depends which area you are going to.

Margaret3

We have only been here two years, and i have just returned from a visit from scotland so like to think am in touch a bit, also have you tried thes sites , they are verrrrrrry helpful

http://www.propertysnake.co.uk/site/search (excellen site, tells you how long properties have been on the market and how much the seller has dropped the price)

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property/Scotland.html


my friend also told me about another site where it tells you what the houses have sold for, but cant find the link maybe someone else on here knows it.

yep know about the new valuation report, good for buyers not so good for sellers me thinks

I would buy in kilmarnock, blantyre or hamilton (to be near friends and family)

Jerseygirl

http://www.nethouseprices.com/

Margaret3

thanx jerseygirl

TraceyW

We bought our UK house whilst we were still in Aus. I found one we liked the look of in a nice area, In-laws went to view it, took loads of pics and e-mailed them to us, checked it out on Google earth, looked at www.upmystreet.co.uk and put in an offer.

The father-in-law acted as our power of attourney (we had to sign docs for this) and we used HiFX to transfer the dosh, easy peasy!

All worked out really rather well so far.

Margaret3

thanks tracey, did u do the legal work for power of attorney from aus, and was it difficult

how are you and hows the kids settling now.

tomarense

Hi Margaret,

My first port of call, for your area would be GSPC (Glasgow Solicitors Property Centre). Try their website. It's pretty comprehensive.

Also, have your family scout the area for you, if they're willing, as they will be better able to get a feel for price.

Hope this helps.

maka paka

We just recently bought a house in Airdrie,which isn't too far from Hamilton.

Anyway it's an easy process of seeing a house..Rightmove.com then viewing it,which to be honest these days is a bit of a drag,when you are enthusiastic but the estate agents aren't for some reason,I think it's due to the amount of time wasters they have had recently due to the credit crunch.

Then put your price in and hopefully you'll get a bargain....Keep your price as low as you can and don't let the estate agent talk you up too much,they are looking for their commision wherease the buyers will take a decent offer probably due to the climate.

Best of luck.

Margaret3

Airdrie







only joking









anything would be better than this purgatory

TraceyW

We put the offer in on the house (a silly one at that and it was accepted ) and then the F-I-L sorted a good solicitor who drew up the power of attorney paperwork and sent it to Aus for signatures. Everthing else was done by F-I-L in the UK. Easy peasy

We're settling in fine now after the first hiccup settled down. Even my hubby (who really didn't want to come home) commented last weekend, whilst us an some friends...Sdunx from on here....were having a drinkypoos in Leicester Square " I really am honestly glad the wife brought us home. I'd forgotten just how good the UK can be!" he reckons he got stuck in a routine in Aus of never expecting much really, he was quite content with that but now realises it was all a bit dull after all (only told him that constantly for four years, but you know what some blokes are like!!) Oh how happy am I that it's all working out.

Hope things go just as well for you and yours xx

onepearlyb

Hi Pal,

I think the best thing to do is rent when you move back, even it's it's only for 4 months. That's plenty time to sort it all out,view places and actually get in there and deal with it all face to face.Sooooo much easier. We tried to buy from oz but most of the problem stemmed from getting a mortgage agreed while we were IN oz!! It's been MUCH easier being back here.

How are you now your back there??
Got any more agency work?

x

maka paka

[QUOTE=Margaret3;7434666]Airdrie


You must know it well....

Panspeep

Hi Margaret, I can't believe I have came accross your post, I have been viewing posts on this site for months but just registered so I could post to you. We live in Kilmarnock and are currently just about to apply for a state sponsored visa in Melbourne. Is it really terrible there, should we just stay here???? We could always swap lives for a bit to test the water lol.

Margaret3

depends on what you want outta life, i had lived in kilmarnock most of my adult life and for some reason love it, i love the fact we have family and close friends there, its a case of you dont know wot youve got until its gone, i lived across from the dean park for 14 years (albeit tiny house but nice area and i love the dean park, but not a night),

I now work more, travel more, am lonely more, and certainly stressed more, live in a 70's dump and see my husband10x less than i used to,

Been here 2 years and can apply for citizenship now so at least some good can come of it.

Both my girls and husband love it here and i am mentally preparing myself for break down of the family due to bloody immigrating, this is the worst part , i long to go home but love my family, so , basically am between a rock and a hard place, but i think i would feel alot better knowing i had a little bit of property in scotland (just a teeny weeny x-council flat would do it).

Best advice i can give to anyone and i know people have gotta find things out for themselves, things that are wrong for someone may be perfecet for someone else. We earn more, but due to cost of living and unexpected expenses (like schools), we are worse off financially, and its looking more and more likely that we wont be able to afford a house here,even though the prices have dropped (in some areas, slightly), but try your hardest to get p.r, dont risk sponsorship if you can , at all , avoid it, especially in the current climate, the gov here may change the goal posts at any time, however i know sometimed due to circumstances it has to be a spnsorship visa or is it a p.r state visa you are going for, which is you have gotta live and work in vic for two years??

Also if finances allow keep your propety in scotland , it will at least give you a plan b if it all goes tits up, lol

If you need any help give us a shout, i pop in here most days. Also do you have kids, have you thought about schools?? the state schools here are a ****** dump, and my teens at one of the better ones, she used to attend the grange which was like four star accomm compared to where she is now, and i have just recently been to scotland and was gobsmacked at all the gorgeous new schools around, the private ones here could not compare with those buildings. Be VERY careful about areas and schools in melbourne, for example i was reading in the paper a couple of weeks ago that one of the state schools here has 77 different languages spoken,

Fortunately my teen met lovely friends and is doing really well at school (its her last year), and will go onto university, another point here, you have to be a citizen in order to pay the same univerity fees as the aussies, or your child will be an international student, also if you are outta the u.k for 2 years, and want to return with older children, they will then be classed as an international student in the u.k, (until they have resided there once again for 3 years), so there is no way now we can affor for her to go to university in scotland.

From what i have found people who are not financially rolling in it from big cities souch as birmingham, manchester, london, love it, scots who are not financially rolling in it (like us), dont like it so much, i would say they are more likely (and , obviously i dont mean everyone), to have had a better standare of living for themselves and their family in scotland.

Well am glad i've got that off my chest , lol