hawthorne

I've had advice that exchange rate changes have an impact too - the capital gain is the gain on the AUD-denominated value of the property...

Hi Its 80s for everyone I'm afraid if our recent experience is to go by. Good luck

Yes I think the answer is to get a mortgage broker when we get out there and get the market overview...

Hi Wokos, hi Calngary We're slightly ahead of you and due to fly to the Gold Coast early September. We're packing up the house at the moment and should be booking flights today... four weeks of goodbyes to go... The whole emotional side of the move is a kaleidoscope - thank goodness for filtering and denial! My dominant thought at the moment is "Well, it's too late to change direction now - it's happening whether we like it or not!" But mostly we like it... By the way, Cal, apropos our earlier conversation, we have decided to rent for the first 6 months and are tending towards acreage rather than waterfront and thinking of Tallai/ Mudgeeraba as the first focus for looking when we get out... Good luck all Hawthorne

Thanks Rupert, interesting point... it's not the end of the world, I was just surprised - take your point about us being high risk after all, I hadn't thought of it like that but not an expert in the field by any means. On the asset/liability, income/expense matching principle, how would you view that as it applies to moving (non-house equity) cash? Take a scenario where someone has made allowance for the cost of moving etc and is in the fortunate position of having a fairly substantial savings balance. If they move it all over they could put down (say) a 30% deposit on a house purchase in Australia. Is this better than only putting down a 10% or 20% deposit and using the remainder to pay down the mortgage in the UK? Is there a significant difference in the interest rate you can get by putting down a larger deposit, for example? I've done some spreadsheets on this looking at cash values but am new to trying to factor in the cross-currency stuff and don't have any in depth knowledge of the Australian mortgage market so any thoughts appreciated. I realise that individual circumstances are paramount at any level of detail but curious if you have any general comments... Very best H

Hi Thanks for the replies - Rupert - so it seems, just wasn't anticipated... G'bye... we didn't need the equity to fund the move, the thought was rather that the combination of lower interest rates in UK plus strengthening pound would mean it was efficient to maximise equity release from UK house to minimise mortgage in Australia. Of course, there is the chance that the interest rates could cross the other way depending on events! Thanks again H

Hi all Well, our visa grant came through this morning so what a relief. We lodged May 1st at the same time as our sponsor, then had employer approved and case officer assigned on the same day on May 31st. Some shenanigans (on our side) over medicals but final paperwork in on July 5th. For the record, we have found DIAC to be efficient, responsive and courteous and the whole process was much better than we had feared. Good luck all Hawthorne

Hi For the ENS 186 you have to make a true declaration that you intend to work for your sponsor for two years, so I think seeking a move immediately could be grounds to invalidate it. Don't know in practice the likelihood but it is there...

Hi all Very final paperwork (medicals) submitted July 5th, since then our CO has not replied to our two gentle emails asking if there is anything further required or if he can give any idea about finalisation. Going into fourth week - others seem to have got final answers more quickly... Is there any reason to be concerned do you think? Best Hawthorne

Hi all I had a call with John Charcol brokers on Friday who said there was no-one in the market who will consider refinancing our UK house to release equity for the move to Australia. Our existing lenders have said they will let us carry on for a steep fee with no increase in interest rates but won't release equity. Reason was that few wanted to lend to people who would be expats, and we 'only' have two years accounts as directors of our company (though we are a successful business and have no adverse credit events)... Other brokers have said they can arrange things but only if we supply a UK address and when pushed on the legitimacy of the fact we will be living abroad say 'it will be fine if you keep up repayments'... I don't want to enter a contract that depends on us not disclosing material facts... I've been very surprised by how tight the mortgage market seems to be as I would consider us low risk. Is this other people's experience or any suggestions of other places to try? Thanks for any thoughts. Hawthorne

Hi Many thanks for the reply, Rupert - I think this will be our situation... we pay very low interest on our mortgage so most of the rent we get will not be deductible - I'll be in the higher bracket in Australia but spouse will probably study and the house has always been in both names so this will help a bit. We haven't found anyone who will remortgage for expats - got a call from mortgage broker on Friday who said there was no-one who would lend... Thanks again Hawthorne

Hi Alan Regarding your answer above about personal allowances, does this mean that rental income (after expenses) on a UK house that is below the UK personal allowance threshold is not liable to UK income tax but is still liable for taxation in Australia? And if the house is owned 50/50 between spouses, can they apportion the income 50/50 for the purposes of Australian tax? Thanks Hawthorne

Hey Nolive - congratulations! What was the 'other forum' your timeline data is from?

Thanks Joanna, it has only been a week for us so far so if we get the same result you did that would be great for us. Mjwest, is yours ENS 186?

Hi all We seem to have a good CO who has said that once the last medical was done they would 'move to finalise' the application. We have a set of deadlines looming regarding the house sale and contract start that are starting to feel a bit scary... So, what are people's experiences of how long it took after the last medicals and police checks are in after being requested by CO? Our application is an ENS 186 direct access visa but interested in anyone's experience. Thanks Hawthorne

Hi Nolive Thanks for the message - yes, that is what we understood too - I hope it is the case! Good luck to you with yours as well. Best H

Hi all I'm interested in what has happened to people as they get to the end (hopefully) of a 186 application. We seem to have a nice and responsive CO and last Friday our last family medical was submitted. He has let us know that they don't need anything else and they will now move to 'finalise' the application. How long might this stage take, in people's experience? Thanks. Hawthorne

Hi We had an old style Kombi but decided to sell 'cos it didn't have air con, and we were strongly advised that this is essential!! It's a shame since we've done a lot of European touring in it and it's been great but looks like the end of an era... the photos will have to do... The import process also looked like a lot of hassle... Good luck H

Hi We've be researching schools in the SE Gold Coast for a few months. I'll probably be working in Southport too... If you can get property in the catchment area, Varsity college seems to have the best reputation among the state schools - we visited in February and were very impressed, gets great results and has extremely strong ICT - has attached primary school too. It is at or near the top of our list, we are hoping to be out in September... Apparently if you rent for 6 months this will be enough to get the place but they are very strict on the geography... see https://varsitycollege.eq.edu.au/Ourschool/Mapsandtransport/Documents/varsity-college-catchment-zone.pdf Good luck and keep us posted on anything further you find out... Hawthorne

Btw no we didn't buy in California and paying those rents in Mountain View are one of the reasons we are leaning towards buying... my eyes have only just stopped watering..!

Hi all Thanks for the replies... Squiz yes we have thought about the midgies and your post well reflects the dilemma - definitely more house for the money with acreage but it might be once in a lifetime chance to live on the water (the romantic argument) so trade offs always - do you live in the area? Wokos we dont know exactly where yet but getting initial support as part of the relocation. .. any ideas (has to be at least three beds)? Xenon I mentioned 5 years as an 'at least' rather than a definite but am mindful of the transaction costs, which are one of the main reasons I'm nervous about buying though it makes sense for the sense of security. .. we're taking the view that we might as well commit wholeheartedly to maximise our chances of an overall success but with that comes the risk - with GC seeming to have lost c. 12% off its real estate values from their peak, do you definitely not see values keeping up with inflation? Could this be different in different parts of the market? Impossible to know, I realise, but I'm very interested in any views. Thanks again Hawthorne

Hi junrighthere Yes, got our CO assigned after about 5 weeks but had sent off FBI stuff before that. It's all through now (took about 5 weeks all told)... just had last family member's medical today and that's the last of the paperwork... hopefully should get approval in the next 3 weeks and looking to move out in September... Best Hawthorne

Hi Xenon Thanks for the reply. Yes, I'm coming on ENS 186 with permanent job... will need mortgage but the numbers should add up quite straightforwardly. Are you living in the area? We did spend quite a bit of time looking around and feel quite committed to the southern GC so that narrows it down a fair bit - you and cal might be right about renting for the first period - on the other hand a year is 1/5 of the time we plan to spend and we'd really like to get settled. We've lived abroad before (couple of years in California) so have an idea of some the journey ahead.... Best Hawthorne

Hi everyone Well, we are cautiously optimistic about receiving visas next week and look to be on our way to the Gold Coast in early to mid September. We have sold up here so will be taking equity out with the intention of buying a house. I have an impossible to answer question that I'd be very interested in any views about. We've got accommodation arranged for the first three months. After that, we can see three scenarios - which would be best? 1) Start looking for a house and buy straight away. This is attractive because it means we would get settled the quickest and means we could unpack from the carton straight into the house we will be in. We came over for a recce in February so we are down to a shortlist of suburbs and have the kids school chosen so we're clear we want to be in the Southern area (Palm Beach furthest south, Broadwater furthest North, Tallai furthest West). 2) Do the three month rental then rent for a further 6 or 12 months. This means three moves until we're in the house we're going to be in BUT will house prices fall during this time and will the longer time make it more likely we'll make a better decision in the end? 3) Forget buying for now and relax into renting for a couple of years. We fully intend to be in oz (for work and education reasons) for at least 5 years... Bonus question for anyone living in or who knows the Gold Coast - are there any views about waterfront vs acreage (thanks Calngary for the pm replies). Thanks all Hawthorne

Hi I did the same thing a couple of years back having moved to the US. It is really very important that you tackle it now. I panicked when I realised and consulted a lawyer friend because I was very nervous about the implications. His advice then was that if it is you that contacts them and tells them you have made a mistake and want to repay or arrange repayment you will be fine. If it comes to light from their audits and crosschecks you are at risk of being found guilty of fraud, which is a criminal offence. Armed with this reassurance I rang them up the next day and they were very good about it (I was mortified). We would have struggled to pay it all back in one go but came to a repayment arrangement that was fairly stringent but I think that's fair enough. I think all the calls are recorded so as soon as you make the first call you put yourself in a very strong position vis a vis any future allegation of fraud but in my view it's really important that you volunteer it as soon as you can - even if it is depressing financially it is (obviously) money you were never entitled to and just has to be repaid. We won't make the same mistake with the move to oz, either!! Best H