Malcolminthemiddle

I do - a couple of mates that live the neighbourhood we are looking to buy in. All things considered much as I am frustrated watching prices go ever higher I think we will sit tight and maybe buy 2 months ahead of the move. I thought it might be smart if you can take advantage of the more generous Aus deductions but if we rental income will subject to both as well as non-resident tax I don't think its worth it for us. Plus the exchange rate may improve by 10% in the same period - who knows.

Thanks everyone that replied. I had no idea that the deductions would need to be reversed for the UK tax to be calculated so this is an eye opener for me. Thats not to mention the CGT calculations. I am reconsdering what our move should be - given all the variables I may just wait and buy a property just prior to moving. And good luck Chocci with your move back! Thanks M

Thanks Ken, appreciate the reply. So if I understand correctly I would follow the Australian rules first and potentially make deductions including mortgage interest first and any tax differential between Australia and the UK I would pay to HRMC. I was concerned that I may have to apply UK deduction rules after Australian rules meaning much reduced mortgage interest relief. Good news on the CGT too - thanks again, we will take the hit on any gain before moving in. M

Hi everyone, We are considering a move back to Sydney following 3 years in the UK, we are dual nationals. Ahead of our move we are looking to buy a property as our family home, but would let it out until ready to move. Having searched Google extensivley there is scant information around this specific situation. I was wondering if anyone here has any insight on the following questions: If we let out a Sydney property whilst in the UK which tax deduction rules would apply in which order? Mortgage interest relief is now limited in the UK but do the Australian rules apply first when we are UK resident? When we move back to Sydney, would there be any tax issues with moving into a property that we had previusly let out? Is it relatively easy to convert an investor mortgage to a normal residential mortgage in Australia? As always appreciate your comments and feedback - thanks in advance! M

Thanks for the replies guys, very useful. I'll bear both points in mind!

Hi everyone, We are moving back to the UK after 6 years in Sydney, mainly moving back for work and family. We have a VW Multivan that we are going to ship back as we love the van and used values are a lot higher in the UK so we'd struggle to replace it like for like. I think I understand the process enough to handle most of the admin myself including the IVA etc when the vehicle lands in the UK. If anyone has been through this process before itt would be great to get some recommendations for a cost effective RoRo (roll on roll off) shipping company that allows local drop off in Sydney, and any guidance as to what is a reasonable figure for non-container shipping including any insurance. Thanks in advance! Mal

It's just a stab in the dark. Anyone who could predict the future of finance with any certainty wouldn't be working as financial advisers.

Thanks - we have PR

Thanks for the replies, and the good honest advice, there are some genuinely kind people on these forums. I think for the time being we're going to stay put in the UK. We do love Australia but our heart is not fully in it as the last poster mentioned. Thanks

Hi everyone,Dilemma time for us. We have been PRs for the last 3 years. We spent 4 months in Oz in 2009 but came back as my wife wanted to have our second child in the UK and we weren’t earning as much as we’d hoped.*We always knew we wanted to get back to Sydney and now that our youngest had his visa granted in November we are set to go again. I am an IT consultant and after a month or so of looking found a decent contract in Sydney CBD. For what I do there is far more work in London than in Sydney.*Our dilemma now is that my current contract in the UK have upped the ante by offering me very good money to renew (they don’t know about the possibility of us leaving) and very good terms with a year’s contract etc.*The money would work out to be around 35% more in the UK at the current exchange rate – obviously if the rate goes back down then it will be even more.*We were shocked last time with the cost of fruit and vegetables in Oz and realise that the cost of housing and other expenses are definitely higher in Australia.*Having said all that, we really enjoyed our time out in Sydney last time and think that it will be great for our two boys, we are just worried that we are making a financial mistake.*Add to that the fact that to renew our PR we will need to spend another 20 months out there and the realistic deadline to be able to come and go as we please is this November, after that we have to stay in Australia or relinquish the visa.*I know no one can make the decision for us, but we are really confused as to which way to go, it has always been our dream to get out there but the cold hard facts cannot be ignored.*This is potentially our last chance to emigrate.*

Thanks for the replies. Pintpot, many thanks for the comprehensive reply, a lot of what you said rang true, and it’s reassuring to hear from someone who has been there before. Shore seems to be pretty much a closed shop. The situation with places seems to be getting worse as we know of two Shore old boys who applied when they were 5 and were admitted at 7 which was the norm back then; I guess the world has moved on. I agree the selective route is definitely preferable anyway and we are still waiting to hear back from Sydney Grammar. I would be grateful if you could PM the name of the relocation agent as we are starting to look at nurseries which I understand are also fairly difficult to get into. Thanks, Malcolm

Hi everyone, Only my second post here but wanted some advice on schooling in Sydney. We have two boys, one 2 ½ year old and one 10 month old. We are moving to Sydney next month and we have started looking at school options; we have been shocked to discover that many of the private schools in Sydney require you to have your name down at birth. We have obviously not done this and now we are being told that we will be unable to get our boys into either kindergarten or even join the school at 7 or even later. We have heard that some schools have a more flexible approach for families that have just moved to Australia but this has not been our experience so far. Does anyone out there know of any top performing schools in the Sydney area that are willing to accept children who haven’t got their names down at birth? We are looking at living in Manly. Thanks in advance, as education is our top priority this will have a major bearing on whether we go or not. Malcolm

Hi Iron Chef, Thanks for helping everyone with their import questions - what a great service you are providing! We have a 2005 BMW 325i se e90 with 150000km on the clock. Do you think the high kms would put off potential buyers. The car is worth about £5-6k in the UK but from what I can see I could probably get 20-25k in Australia. We would plan to sell the car on its arrival and buy something bigger, is this viable and worthwhile do you think. Thanks in advance! Malcolm