Hello all,

We've in a bit of a pickle because we'd love to stay but have a house in the UK that is difficult to remortgage. An expat mortgage which ive been told we can only have, are rarer then chickens teeth. We've been in NZ nearly two years this next May. We have rented our property in Darlington for that same period.

Our fixed rate mortgage with Satandar expired 4mths ago and we're now on a variable rate of 4.76% do our repayments only increased by £10. We would like to sell he property but only when the market improves (whenever that happens).

My question is do we get ourselves a new fixed rate mortgage, we've only been able to find a 3yrs deal which is so long and we'd like to sell before then to buy here in NZ.

Do you think we should sign the 3yr deal or stay on the varibable rate until he price improves and then sell?

I would love to sell up and keep half in savings and the rest on a new house here in Welly.

Any advice or stories would be gratefully received. Thanks

Thank you for you time

I personally would say not to fix yourself into a fixed term mortgage as you then do have to stick to that term or pay the penalty fee. We got a fixed term mortgage which runs out in July 2012 so when we sell before then we will need to fork out nearly 5k for the privilege, but at the time of taking out a move to anywhere different wasn't on the cards.
House prices are not going to improve as far as I can tell and lots of people are taking lower than than want so they don't lose out on their desired properties. Our thoughts are to get rid as quickly as possible, we have lowered our expectations of price we can achieve but really just want the money in the bank so we can go forward with our new life.

I can't really see the point in fixing since you won't be saving much and you may suddenly find yourself desiring to sell within the period. Can you not just stay with Santader on their variable rate? Is the rent covering the mortgage and costs?

I'm in a similar situation, although my house is in London where I suspect house prices might go up sooner. I also get rent that is much higher than the mortgage so I see it as an investment. Like you, I would love to sell and buy here, but at least I am getting income from the property.

Since you are feeling a bit unsure, wait a bit and see what happens. There is no rush if you have tenants in. In a year's time you might feel a bit more decisive!!

We've been in Oz for 5 years now, and have been happily renting out our UK house all that time. The rent easily covers the mortgage/agent/insurance. But we declared the house to the ATO who now see all of the rent we charge as income in Australia, the only deductables are the interest/maintainance/agent, so the ATO see us as getting $700ish a month extra income, which we get taxed on. This is killing us overhere so we are now looking to sell the house, dispite it being a great longterm investment. We don't know anything about whats involved in selling a house.

Most fixed term penalties decrease over time. If you're in the last year of the fixed rate most penalties will be in the 1% of existing debt region. So you've either got 500K owing, you signed up to a ridiculous mortgage with no decreasing penalty or you don't know about the decreasing penalties. If it's any one of these three, I really don't think you should be giving financial advice!

hi, i am looking to move to NZ and live near Darlington! thought i would reply regarding house prices here to give you a view from the other side of the world. my house, three years ago was worth approximately £110,000 and has been on the market for the last two years at £86,000 without an offer. house prices have dropped so much and i have taken the decision to take my house off the market because i am looking at probably only getting £75,000 for it IF it did sell. It is in very good condition and no work needs doing to it but people cannot afford to get a mortgage as the banks are not offering anything above 80% ish mortgages, they are slowly starting to offer first time buyers 90% and 95% but these are very rare. there are houses in my town that have been on the market even longer than mine

Houses are taking some time to move so if you put it up for sale now it could take a year or two to sell unless you are marketing it at a low price to sell straight away,

interests rates dont look as if they are going to go up in the near future.

House prices won't improve in the UK for decades, if the economy does pick up in 5+ years then interest rates will rise making borrowing more expensive. Even now with interest rates almost zero prices continue to tumble (apart from South East). I know before we left 7 months ago lots of people I know we're getting turned down for mortgages, we let our house go for a real bargain as I knew holding onto it wasn't worth it.

I'd get rid asap.

Disagree there ref the decades bit. The UK should be building 250k new houses per year to keep up with immigration etc but are only managing 100k tops. Houses of 3 bedroom semi's are still moving in the midlands where we live though obviously slower. Predicitions are slow for 2-3 years before pick up. What to do with cash on the poor exchange rate $NZ/£ if you did sell anyway?
Anyone thinking UK property is a cash looser is insane as history shows.

If you take too low an offer on your house in the UK, then buy a house in NZ while prices there are still decreasing then you've lost out twice over. Unless you can get a substantial chunk off the one you buy in NZ. Then there's the naff exchange rate at the moment which could make you a triple loser

The north of England does seem to be bearing the brunt of house price losses at the moment but all these things are cyclical, it just depends how long you want to ride that cycle.

Personally, I'd hate to try and manage another house from the other side of the world. You should do what you would love to do i.e. sell.

I think the question you need to ask is what is the lowest you'd want to sell your house for.

If you a migrant to NZ (or a returning kiwi who has been away over 12 years) you don't have to declare overseas income for four years. I'm not entirely sure how it works after that but I have been told that you do not pay tax twice on the income, there is an agreement between NZ and UK. Perhaps someone else can clarify that. You obviously still pay the tax in UK during that 4 years.

My fixed-rate mortgage deal runs out in June this year. If I sell before then I have to pay a redemption fee of £500. To be honest if I receive a decent offer on the house I'd be extremely happy to pay the £500!

As for tax in the UK on rented properties, you have a tax-free allowance, just like income tax but after 4 years you do get taxed in NZ on the net 'profit' which is the rent minus the mortgage interest.

I personally wouldn't sign up for a fixed rate mortgage for another 3 years and I can't see the interests going up any time soon.

I never listen to any predictions from 'experts', as it's normally the same experts that never saw the collapse coming which was obviously going to happen, some of my mates that earned less than me were being given whopping mortgages.

Anyway, with the cost of living rising and earnings not rising the price of property simply cannot rise, it's impossible out

I never listen to any predictions from 'experts', as it's normally the same experts that never saw the collapse coming which was obviously going to happen, some of my mates that earned less than me were being given whopping mortgages.

Anyway, with the cost of living rising and earnings not rising the price of property simply cannot rise, it's impossible out of a few areas in the UK. Government cuts have only just started, so many more job losses to come meaning less money sloshing around the economy. Banks aren't borrowing anywhere as much as they were.

I remember at the beginning if the collapse the experts were saying house prices wouldn't tumble much and itd bounce back in a few years.

What ever tax you pay in the Uk is not taxed again in NZ. You will only be taxed once on what you earn. The tax I pay in the Uk on my interest on my UK money is 'given' to me as a tax credit in NZ. I came before the 4 year tax free rule so I pay tax in NZ on my UK monies. Any tax deducted in the UK become an NZ tax credit. BTW if you take the 4 year tax free thinhgy I am reliably told you cannot claim for family tax creitds aswell..you have to chose betwixt the 2. You might want to see if this is correct.

Don't bother fixing. It's widely speculated that interest rates will remain at 0.5% throughout 2012 and quite probably beyond, and many believe they may even drop to 0.25% or lower (read : 0%)....