crazyegg

I could really do with some advice on this now we're properly in this situation. We made the move a few weeks ago and are just settling in. I will be heading back to the UK in a couple of weeks and over here once every 6 weeks or so. We have a 12 month rental agreed and hope to buy at the end of that period. My question is the practicalities of paying the rent and the various consequences re tax status and future mortgage application. Put simply, should I pay the rent directly from the UK on my wife's behalf, or should I transfer a regular amount enough to pay the rent from Oz? I'm obviously going to be doing a monthly transfer anyway, but should I be limiting this for Oz tax reasons and taking the opportunity to pay direct (from the UK), or positively increasing the transfer so that the rent can be paid from my wife's bank account? Many thanks for any replies, bit worried about this one :-)

Hi all, apologies if this has been asked before. All the family bicycles are fairly old and past their best. On their last legs with rusty bits etc. In short, not worth trying to clean up and taking with us. I've seen some good deals for new kids bikes in the UK and I've heard that bikes are expensive in Oz (is this correct?). So, it occurs to be, are we allowed to buy new bikes over here and ship them to Oz with the rest of our stuff? If room in the container obviously. It would obviously makes sense as they won't need any cleaning etc and would be brand spanking and still in the boxes. I've read somewhere around paying import tax on good less than 12 months old, would that apply here? If so, I suppose I could always unwrap and assemble just prior to going into the container and they'd never know :-) Any advice or experience on this would be great thanks.

Thanks for the replies and good point re the insurance, I'll check. The ball is very much in their court as I see it and the only thing that's hurrying this along is the urge for us to do the right thing! If we did leave it now (hoping it's not on their radar) what's the worst they can do? Kick in their official process of insisting we shift products? If this really is worst case, I'm willing to take the risk of this happening because it's no different from where we are now. I've already written to letters but their replies are so vague. I'm tempted to phone them and ask for clarification but I'm worried I'm the one pushing things along to a situation I don't want :-) Any others have any experience of this?

Hello all, looking for some advice please. We have permission to let from our current mortgage provider in the UK. We believe this permission to let period ends very soon (after 2 years), and we think we may have to move to a Buy To Let. But when we've asked in writing exactly when this period ends they're either very vague "when your permission to lend period ends" or what looks like a typo to me "a maximum of 12 years". They have/will not confirm a date. The point I'm trying to make is that the lender seems very slack and not sure of exactly when this date ends and when a buy to let is needed. It doesn't seem to be on their radar at all. There's been no definitive answer from them and the only people pushing the issue is us trying to do the right thing! So, the advice I need is what is the likely course of action from them if we ignore what we think is the impending deadline and don't be proactive in seeking out a Buy To Let. My feeling is that the worst that can happen is we get a further letter telling us the permission to let has expired and we have XX days to find a different mortgage or stop letting it. Am I realistic in that view or is there worse that can happen? Can they drop us overnight or impose some kind of penalty for not moving products? My view is that they'll simply serve us notice as a worst case and that's not much different where we are now in trying to do the right thing and switch to a Buy To Let in a short time frame. Be interesting in those with real life experience of this and whether you've all been completely honest or left your situation open/vague with any UK providers. Thanks in advance.

Hello everyone I hear some people say that Oz closes down somewhat during the Christmas period and into January. Would you say that was true in regards to shipping/removals and related services like customs etc? We're trying to coordinate D day for all our stuff arriving and looking at potential dates to aim for. Ideally, this would be just before Christmas. I know we probably can't rely on or make plans to precisely but if services/companies are winding down or delayed around that time, is this a really bad time to aim for? Is January more realistic or even more of a problem? would appreciate the advice

Hello everyone, apologies if this has been asked and answered before. It's possible my wife my make the move ahead of me whilst I stay in the UK for a while. I will be earning in the UK and she will not be earning in Oz (initially). If I was to transfer money to her Oz bank account on a regular basis, will this be subject to Oz tax? Thanks in advance.

I should clarify that the whole reason we're even contemplating this is not just a small amount of money or just a higher salary, it's a big pay off that requires commitment to stay in the UK for a while. I should also clarify that the 'actual' move would be done together, as in we'll be able to travel out together and I can be around to help those early weeks whilst they settle into the rental and schools etc using leave which I've saved up. The hard bit will then be getting on that plane back to blighty by myself and whether I can cope thereafter :-(

Thanks all for the honest replies. Those are all the very same doubts and fears I have, but there are a couple of things to put it into context on why we're even considering it. - We're already displaced within the UK. Work has already forced us to move to a different part of the UK where we're not settled. We know we're only temp here and will 100% not settle permanently. Oz is a chance to put down roots again. - There is no support network where we are currently. Zero. No family nearby and we're not that close to the ones we have. The best relationship within the family is with my wife's sister, who lives in Oz! We may not settle in the same state (she's in NSW, we're thinking of QLD or TAS), but I'm pretty sure we'd actually be much closer to family over there than where we are now. It would realistically go from a visit once every couple of years to every couple of months. - I already travel for work a lot and I'm normally away 1/2 days a week anyway so she's used to coping with the kids by herself. - Re schools, it's not the difference in systems I'm worried about, it's just the starting afresh and making friends etc. It's unavoidable that she has to go through this once (as everyone else does) I just don't want her to go through it twice. We had to have the switch primary schools when we moved within the UK and swore that we would not put them through that again. We promised ourselves that wherever we were come secondary school age, then that's where we should stay. - Re houses, we can afford to buy now but instead choose to rent because of the temp nature of us being here. Moving to Oz would allow us to buy again and my wife feels like she would feel so much happier in her own house than renting as we are now. As hard as doing it by herself may seem, it would actually feel like a step forward with our lives rather than treading water as we are now. - Regarding running 2 households, well believe it or not, we've done our sums and would be actually be better off (if not just about the same as we are now). We also live in an extremely expensive part of the UK currently and that's one of the reasons we want to go. It would be stay paying expensive rent in the UK or a reasonable mortgage in Oz (providing we can get round me not being permanently there) Basically, we're hoping Oz is our forever place so we can settle down again. My wife feels very unsettled here and just wants to make the move to Oz ASAP. She'd leave tomorrow if she could! She already feels isolated where we are because it's so temporary. Really, if we're honest, the decision to go is made. Sometime between Sept 14 and Jan 15 (ready for the next school year in Oz). The only decision is to make is where we spend those 5 months and whether I stay on here for a while (for the money). Not considering ourselves normally money-oriented, this really causes us incredible guilt even contemplating it and forces us to question what's really important in life :-(

Be very interested in your folks opinions on this radical and potentially stupid plan of ours. Moving to Australia is gonna happen for us, we have our PR and cannot contemplate letting the opportunity slip. We have 3 years still to make the move (2 years after the visa was granted). So, it remains only the matter of when, not if. The dilemma for us is that the 2 big factors in our lives clash and force us to question our priorities. Our eldest is just about to complete primary school in the UK so after this UK academic year (July 14) is a good opportunity to make the transition. I know she'll have to re-sit the final year of primary in Oz before moving up but hopefully she can do this relatively easily, make some new Oz friends and hopefully move up to secondary together with a few of them. What we're trying to avoid is having her start secondary twice, i.e. start once, leave, then start again in Oz. This is a big step and can be traumatic for some kids as they try to fit in and adjust to the world of the big kids etc. Certainly we want to give her the best chance to be happy. Right now, she's excited about the move and doing another year in primary. Starting secondary here before pulling her away from her friends in couple of years to then face the challenges of starting a new school in Oz might change her mind on that though. She might not be as keen to make the move a couple of a years down the line :-/ Unfortunately, this clashes with an opportunity that's arisen at work. I was all set to leave as per the timetable above but now it seems that if I stay on a couple of years, I can leave with the family in a much more comfortable financial position. So, our current plan is that my wife and kids leave this autumn as planned but I stay on in the UK a couple of years. I would miss them incredibly and it goes without saying I'd be spending every day of my annual leave (and more if possible) in Oz, but primarily I shall remain based in the UK for a while longer. Are we crazy? It feels wrong to put money before our family's happiness but the reality is, the amount of money at stake could make a big difference to all our lives and I don't feel strong enough to walk away from the opportunity. I also don't want the kids to miss out on their new life in Oz, so letting them go as planned seems to be the logical option. I don't want to delay them. I'm also comforting myself in the knowledge that if this becomes just too heart-breaking and I can't live without the family all this time, then I can just throw the towel in here, quit the job, and hop on a plane to join them. It's not an irreversible decision. Apart from insight re the emotional side, I wondered if anyone could also help me with more of the practical questions, such as... - If I send money to Oz every month, will my wife be taxed on this? She will not be working. - Does me not being there mess anything else up in the Aussie system, i.e. Medicare, schools etc - Can my wife import her car this year as she arrives AND I import my car in a couple of years when I arrive, or is this a one time deal this year? - Can we buy a house and get a mortgage if I'm not resident in Oz and she is but not working? - Does this affect my Visa? If I take it to the wire, and only arrive just before the end of the 5 year period, I know I can apply for a RRV, but how does my family situation affect this? If they've been settled in the Oz for 2/3 years at this point. Finally, and this is the really important one. Has anyone done something similar or know someone else who has? I know there's a few examples of the husband going first for work and the family following on, but I can't find an example of the other way around :-/ Thanks in advance! :confused: