Hello, This is an update on my move from Toronto to Buxton. Any advice appreciated. I have now sold my house in Toronto. If all goes to plan I will leave before Christmas. Some belongings are being packed and stored. Orbit has been very helpful so far.
I don’t want to give up my Canadian residency as yet. If I do I will lose my private health insurance. I am hoping to rent in Buxton for 6 months. Not sure if still being a resident of Canada will be a problem and whether I may be expected to pay 6 months rent in advance. Once I am sure that I want to stay in Buxton I will complete the paperwork to change my residency. Also once the TOR is completed I don’t know how long it might take to be able to buy a house without paying stamp duty.
For the first 6 my first 6 months I am expecting my status to be that of a snowbird as far as Canada is concerned.

Not sure what TOR is, but why do you expect to not pay stamp duty? Everyone in the UK has to pay stamp duty when they buy a house..

What paperwork are you referring to? Do you mean renouncing your PR status in Canada? If so I wouldn’t do that anytime soon, you don’t need to do it at all if you don’t want/need to. Might also be worth applying for citizenship if you think there’s a good chance you’ll want to return?

In England, first time buyers pay no SDLT (stamp duty land tax) on the first 300k and reduced tax between 300-500k when purchasing a property. Source; www.gov.uk

If you buy over 500k full stamp duty applies, but to class as a first time buyer you have to have never owned a property before, overseas still counts apparently.

You don’t have to pay Stamp Duty if the house is under
a certain amount. Non-residents have to pay more Stamp Duty.

Right. The amount is under $125k though. I guess there are some areas that you can buy for under that, sadly not where we’re hoping to move back to.

Buxton is in the Peak District isn't it? Nice area - wonder what you can get for under 125K there?

If you’ve sold your primary residence (no matter where it was in the world) and any new property you buy is going to be your new primary residence, you won’t be liable to the extra stamp duty levied on second homes.

Re. extra stamp duty for non-residents: I’m not sure whether you have to be resident in the UK for a certain period - and if so, how long - before buying in order to avoid the extra stamp duty levied on non-residents but even if you do have to pay it upfront at the time of purchase, you can claim it back from HMRC later once it’s been established that you’re UK resident.

I currently live in the high peak, Buxton offers various types of property the majority being Victorian, there are some huge villas with some being converters into apartments area around the pavilion gardens are (in my opinion) the nicest.

I currently live in the high peak, Buxton offers various types of property the majority being Victorian, there are some huge villas with some being converters into apartments area around the pavilion gardens are (in my opinion) the nicest. Just look on Rightmove and you will see plenty for sale around the £125k

Thank you everyone. Nice to know I can claim the stamp duty back

[QUOTE=brits1;13066533]I currently live in the high peak, Buxton offers various types of property the majority being Victorian, there are some huge villas with some being converters into apartments area around the pavilion gardens are (in my opinion) the nicest. Just look on Rightmove and you will see plenty for sale around the £125k[/QUOTE

Maybe we could meet for coffee once I am there. My brother lives in Leek but it doesn’t have a train station which is why I am looking at Buxton. I looked at a lovely converted mill in Leek. Couldn’t find any converted mills in Buxton.

[QUOTE=Diane Rowe;13066660] Maybe we could meet for coffee once I am there. My brother lives in Leek but it doesn’t have a train station which is why I am looking at Buxton. I looked at a lovely converted mill in Leek. Couldn’t find any converted mills in Buxton.[/QUOTE
Hi, Apartments in Buxton are usually in the large homes which were built in the late 1890’s up until the Edwardian era and converted into apartments. I think trains from Buxton run from Buxton to Manchester via Stockport, there was talk of a link to Matlock I am not sure if that happened as from Matlock you can go to Sheffield etc.

I have citizenship in Canada and the
UK. Think I have to change
residency to ship my belongings. I think that that is what the TOR is.