What to do with my UK house?!
 

Hi all...

I am well into the process of getting my Visa now... only the interview left then I want to move as soon as is practical.

My wife and I have had our house on the market now for months... since October last year to be exact... We were hoping to sell as soon as possible (we have the option of a place to stay for as long as we like between the sale and when we move, so no worries there).

Obviously, the market right now is in a right state and I have just got off the phone with my estate agent who is convinced that we will probably not see ANY potential buyers until next year...

And that's the problem... The way I understand it, my visa is only valid for 6 months from the time of issue and in that time I have to move over to the US and stay there until my green card application is approved (I will have an instant visa number as my visa will be based on marriage, so no delays in applying for Green card... but I'm sure it will still take a while to process).

I've looked into letting the house, but tho be honest we'd need a full management service seeing as we would be in another continent. These are not only pricey, but the amount of crap we'd have to do to the place to get it up to the agencies standards makes this option very prohibitive...

I have had a thought though... And that's where the geniuses here come in... If we "move" to the US and then a few days later we "visit" the UK for a year or so (my wife has an indefinate leave to remain visa for the UK) to take care of the house sale etc, is this allowed?

Failing that, does anybody have any other suggestions?!


taa in advance...

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

how much could you afford to lower the price? if its much cheaper then the rest of same size/area it must have a better chance of selling?

we rented ours through an agency. the rent after fees 'just' takes care of the mortgage - although the recent drops in mortgage rates now gives us a little leeway. My husband would like to sell - i would like to hold onto the house until we have a green card (we are on L1A's and have to get employer to agree to even do it yet).

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

Go the the US ..get green card, SSN ...open bank account etc ...
have an address there

then file I-131 for re-entry permit ...and leave for up to 2 years ..

Its feasible

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

hi Rob, as Ray says, yes-this can be do-able.

Your visa is valid for six months; you must use it (make your initial entry) within that time.
When you land, you will be checked in by the agents and 'admitted' as a Permanent Resident. That is, you become a 'green card holder' that day. The Green Card is simply mailed to you afterward (no application to approve).
the Green Card normally arrives inside of 4 weeks.

If you need to leave the US, you may. Your *status* (and the endorsed visa in your pp) allows you to re-enter. Many people find themselves in your situation and need to go back 'home' to finish things up.
If you will be gone even close to one year, you should consider the re-entry permit to protect your status (there are some other things you'll need to do too).
Have a safe address you can have the GC mailed to if you won't be around for 4 weeks after landing.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

Presumably he means for the price you think you should get for the house...

Not sure what I would do in your position, but I can certainly se house prices continuing to fall in the UK.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

The price my agent originally advised me to list at was what my place sold for in the end. I of course wanted more and ignored her original advice, and hence I was paying the mortgage on an apartment I wasn't living in for 3 months. A good agent should be able to tell you the price at which you would see a buyer.
In our case the market was going up (not the UK) so that wasn't an issue for us. With the state of the UK market right now you could be holding on forever waiting for a buyer at the price you want, so you have to consider the price of waiting.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

I suppose it depends if you have equity in your house or not.

Ours went on the market last week. Fortunately, it's worth double what we owe on it so we can afford to put it on the market "priced to sell".

Our house needs stuff doing to it but it's on the market at £10-12k less than others in the area of the same size, so we are hoping it will get some interest.

To be honest even though I want to get as much as I can for it, in the current climate, if we get a close offer from a first-time buyer (no chain!) I will take it.

Given current market conditions, you have to factor in how much cash you are going to lose if it sits there empty or hinders your move to the US while you wait for the housing market to turn around again. That could take years! It may be more prudent to take a £5K hit on it now just to shift it.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

In the end I broke even and had maybe 200 euros in my hand. Which was fine. Didn't pay off all my bills but got me out of 1100 euros of mortgage plus insurance plus property tax a month on the one salary we also had to live off.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

we sold our house in london when we moved to the states after leasing it through a crooked agent who ripped us of. still regret selling the house as it would be work so much money now. If possible hold on to it. British homes are a great investment. i dont think i would be able to afford a home now if i wanted to return to the uk!!

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

rent it out - way the market is going rentals will keep going up for the foreseeable future as people stop buying and see what the market does.

We pay 8% management fees, doesnt cover the mortgage but still good investment

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

We had a similiar experience with our house that we rented out in England, it cost us a fortune in flights to get sorted. I was happy to take the possible loss selling it then got me over the amount of hassle and money it was costing to keep it.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

we are renting ours out with a large reputable agency. They charge a lot (think 12 %) but they are literally taking care of everything for us and our mortgage is covered.

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

:confused:

Really?

Sounds like a terrible investment to me

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

I think that people who bought in the last three years will not be sharing your point of view over the coming 3 year period

Re: What to do with my UK house?!
 

Really?

It depends upon if one is speculating for short term gain or investing for long term profit.