lf1

We bought our UK property whilst still resident in Canada. Most insurers would not provide insurance as we were not resident in the UK. However, I did manage to obtain prices from Lloyds via a local insurance broker and also Intasure via the web. I opted to insure with Intasure as the policy provided broader coverage than Lloyds and the vacancy/unoccupied clause in the policy was more flexible re the property being vacant during the autumn and winter months.

candide44

Interesting points about insurance. I did learn last week that insurance companies require regular visits by family members if a house is empty. Fortunately we're opting for a flat and your comments have reminded me that in the "condo" we're hoping to buy, the insurance was inclusive and we only needed to take out contents insurance. It also has an enthusiastic caretaker with a bank of camera screens, which is reassuring. But we can't say it's ours yet, as in the UK you only know it's definitely yours on the day of completion!

durham_lad

I agree.

I have a cousin who owns a flat in London and a house in France. In their case they want to keep their tax residency in the UK and her husband maintains a spreadsheet to count the days spent in each country so they don't accidentally end up tax resident in France by virtue of time spent there. (I don't know what the actual rules are).

Editha

If you own a holiday home, you can employ a local agent to look after it for you. They will make the necessary visits to ensure that the insurance remains valid.

I had no difficulty insuring our empty home in the UK from Canada, but the premiums are high. I got the best deal from a local insurance broker; I think it helped that this is an area popular for holiday homes, so the broker was experienced in this kind of insurance.

It is actually cheaper to insure a property you are letting out than one which is empty.

candide44

The residency rules are complex, but basically it is all about where you spend 6 months plus one day! I'm not going to get too worried about this, we'll be paying our taxes in France and keeping an eye on the calendar, but it's usually the film/tennis stars who really have to watch out... and we're pensioners!

Novocastrian

I'm reliably informed that we don't have condos in the UK.

Happy hunting.

candide44

Hence the wink, Novocastrian! The French have the equivalent of condo with their copropriété, but in the UK there are complications with freehold and leasehold (sigh...) so I'll stick to flat/apartment. None of us emerge unscathed from several decades abroad...� ���� Thanks to everyone for some very interesting points, anyway.

Novocastrian

At least I didn't type condo's.

candide44

Apologies, I missed your comment earlier but it is interesting. Hopefully I won't need to insure individually (see my comment below) but I'll bear this in mind. Another factor is that my son lives in the same city and will use the place as an "annex" when we're in France so it won't be empty for months on end.

Bermudashorts

I wouldn't worry about availability of insurance. It is not difficult to get it even when overseas, perhaps somebody had trouble because that particular insurer wanted resident clients. But no generally, it is no problem at all. Insurance companies care about where the insured risk is, not where the owner lives.

Editha

Why not? Isn't it an abbreviation of condominiums?

Bermudashorts

I think he was referring to the possessive requiring an apostrophe rather than plural, which does not.

As an aside, I have never heard the term condo used in UK. What is a condo?

Editha

I know he was, but the apostrophe is for the abbreviation, not the possessive.

Jerseygirl

It's more of a term used in North America. An apartment is usually a rental...the building is owned by one person/company and the units are rented out.

Condos are privately owned...the common areas such as the reception area, pool, gym etc are owned equally between the condo owners.

Pulaski

It's an American word for "leasehold", thats all. If you own a flat in the US it is called a condominium ("condo" is the short form), many townhomes (terraced houses) are also condos, and there are even semi-deptached and detached houses sold as condos. While condos are generally, but not always, "nicer" than apartments, the two are essentially the same sort of building distinguished only by thUTe legal ownership structure. With a condo you own only the interior; the exterior shell, including the roof and grounds, is owned jointly by all the owners through the condo association.

Unlike the UK where the accumulation of funds to pay for external repairs, including the roof, can be a bit hit or miss, generally condos are fairly well organized, with a "board" of residents, an account to accumulate funds for repairs, and often a managing agent to handle the collection of monthly fees and manage repairs, maintenence, of the building and "common areas" including the lobby, hallways, elevators and stairs, as well as any lawns, landscaping, paths and access roads and might include a gym, pool, lounge, etc.

As you can probably imagine the monthly fees can be quite substantial. My manager has a condo townhome with no shared amenities, but pays $350 a month in fees to the condo association, and even that doesn't eliminate the risk of him being "assessed" for his share of major repairs - a current quote for a new roof would entirely wipe out the repairs and maintenance fund and so he is expecting lump sum charge of about $5,000-$6,000 towards the cost of a new roof, ..... and likely an increase to his monthly charge to try to prevent future shortfalls.