kateg60

As I am a British citizen I don't have to wait 6 months, but should I officially enter the UK (using my UK passport) and be resident? Does it matter when I make the offer or at settlement? For example, can I make an offer while visiting as a US citizen and then settle when I officially reside in the UK? I hope this isn't too confusing and I may be overthinking it...

SanDiegogirl

As British citizen you can purchase a property whenever you like.
f needing a mortgage the lender will take into account your situation at the time you are applying for a mortgage. If you are still in the US and/or your income is still US based or anything else 'out of the ordinary' you might find some lenders not so keen to lend.

christmasoompa

Anybody can buy a house in the UK, you don't need to be resident. But you would pay extra stamp duty if you're not yet resident, this can be claimed back later on but it something to factor in. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-of...n-uk-residents There's also extra stamp duty if it's a second home i.e. if you're keeping a property in your current country.

How long have you lived abroad for? If it's more than a few years I wouldn't buy personally, it's a very expensive mistake to make if you decide you don't like the area after all! I'd rent first and then take your time buying (which would also avoid the extra non-resident stamp duty as above).

Good luck.

spouse of scouse

This was in 2015, I don't know if anything's changed, but my husband (Brit) and myself (Australian) bought our house (in both our names) on a visit to England - did the identity checks with the solicitor we engaged and then returned to Australia. Most of the process was then done via email, even the exchange and completion documents, but the solicitor also send hard copies of these via snail mail which we had to return the same way.
We moved to the UK about a month after the purchase completed.

spouse of scouse

That's something that's certainly changed since 2015. We escaped the 'additional property' stamp duty land tax of 3%, that was introduced in April 2016 (although we had to pay it on our two subsequent properties). I think the additional 2% SDLT for overseas residents was introduced in 2020.

Helen1964

Good morning!
Just as you can claim back the extra stamp duty paid as a non-UK resident, so too you can claim a refund of the “additional property” surcharge within 3 years of selling your old main residence.
I agree with Christmasoompa that the ideal solution is to rent first. Or, if the private rental market is particularly horrible in the area you want to move to (the whole process of getting a rental seems far more complicated than when I rented in the UK years ago), could you perhaps put your stuff in a self-storage facility and move in with family or Airbnb while you look around for a house (and make doubly sure the area suits?)

The transaction costs these days are pretty hefty so you definitely want to get this right. A few years ago I probably would have been happy to buy any old house just to have somewhere to start us off, the thinking being we could always sell and move later. Not so now.

durham_lad

Our daughter started the purchasing process several weeks before moving back from LA. She and my wife narrowed down the choices and then we viewed the more promising ones. The one she liked most we arranged a 2nd visit with her on Facebook so she could see the place herself, and ask questions directly from the seller.

She made the offer from LA and once it was accepted employed a local lawyer here and started the searches, professional house inspection etc so that when she actually arrived in November she was very well through the process. She had no mortgage to worry about and made all the payments including the very large transfer at the end using Wise.

Once here she was able to present herself in person at the lawyers with passports etc to satisfy money laundering requirements.

kateg60

Perfect, that is likely how it will transpire for me.

durham_lad

I said Facebook in my post but I meant Facetime. We were able to walk around the house with her live on video.

Good luck in your endeavours

ExBritFL

Sorry to jump onto this thread, but we are going through a similar process . My daughter got accepted into an independent school that starts in Sep 23. Our lease in the US expires in June which was our date to move.
However, I am learning how challenging it will be to rent in the UK right now so we are maybe planning a trip over within next few weeks to find a house to buy, start the process and come back here to pack our things and see out the lease.
I'm putting in A LOT of hours in research, calls to estate agents and new build developers and still can't find anything that we love. Technically, renting would be best but finding the right property to rent that will accept pets and be suitable for our family is proving to be a challenge.

Helen1964

Which area roughly are you looking at?
I sympathise because it’s true the whole process of getting a private rental has become much more fraught in recent years.
Finding a house, getting an offer accepted, doing the survey, etc is not easy or cheap either however. A lot of sales fall through. And if you buy a house you don’t really like you’ll probably end up having to go through the process again in a few years. The costs involved in buying and selling are very high now, too.

Have you considered putting your stuff in storage and staying in a holiday rental or even a caravan for a few months? While you look around for either a long term rental or something nice to buy?

ExBritFL

Hi, we are looking into the Nottinghamshire region ~ a semi rural location would be perfect. The first question I'm asking with resales is if there's a chain as I don't want to get involved in a chain at this point. I think the most viable option would be to purchase a new build but not my first choice! I really wanted to move to an area that wasn't void of natural greenscape which seems to be the case in most of the new built areas.

We don't plan to bring much with us so storage would be fine. I looked into AirBnB that was ranging from $5k a month onward for the areas' we're looking at . This could add up quite quickly!!

Helen1964

$5k a month... OUCH! Have a look at cheaper areas like Sheffield or Lincoln. It would just be a base while you look around, even it meant having to drive some distance to view properties. I do think you'd stand a better chance of getting a long-term rental if you were on the spot (rather than trying to arrange it from abroad). Especially if you were prepared to pay a large cash deposit (which you may have to do as someone who hasn't lived in the UK for a long time and also in order to persuade a landlord to accept a dog).
Keep us posted on your search!

ExBritFL

My daughter would be commuting to the High School in Notts so it may be a bit of a stretch! But we will explore all options...my mission is to find us a place. Thanks so much!

Pollyana

Just to give you hope on the rental front, I've just managed to rent a flat while still in Australia, viewing was done by video and the agents were very helpful. I offered 6 months upfront but it wasn't needed, went through surprisingly smoothly, so it can be done