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Hi, Does anyone have any recommendations for a financial advisor/planner who they have personally used when working out their move to Oz? We have property in the UK and looking for some advice on how to navigate a move and best ways to mitigate financial loss etc. Lots of confusing info out there! Any help would be hugely appreciated Thank you

Hi everyone, not sure if this will be useful to anyone but if you are thinking of moving back to the UK/looking to invest in UK from Oz here are a few tips, cheers! Can I get a mortgage in the UK from overseas? (Answered) Today I thought we would look at the one of the most common things I get asked about, on a daily basis! Mortgages…. Can I get one? Is it difficult? I’m overseas and my bank in the UK told me to bu@@er off! What can I do? Can I re-mortgage? And more. What size deposit do I need? This is probably the bit that differs a little bit from someone living and working in the UK. Typically, lenders will ask for anywhere between 20 and 30% as a minimum deposit with the bulk of lenders becoming available when you have a 25% deposit. So, it is feasible, and that being said, if you do have a bigger deposit, always let us know, because it could mean lower rates. Or it could open up different lenders on the market that maybe have a more suitable product, but as a bare minimum, ideally 25% will give you access to the broadest range of lenders. Can I actually get a mortgage? Another common question I get is – “I went into Natwest over Christmas when I was at home and said I want to buy a house, and I'm now living overseas - can I get a mortgage? They said no, no way. Because you're overseas. Absolutely you can. If you are dealing with people that live or work in the UK, you just wouldn't usually use smaller banks or building societies and so you don't know as much about them. With access to over 35+ specialist lenders, 99.9% of my clients can attain a mortgage, its all about doing your due diligence and finding the right lenders. What documents do I need? The main documents that are required and of course this will be different for each person but the main ones are proof of name and address. That’s your passport and utility bill something like that, income, so payslips or if you're self employed, tax returns, bank statements and then proof of deposit and if it's a re-mortgage, then that one's irrelevant as your deposits in the property already. Don’t be surprised if they want more info, they will ask for up to six months worth of bank statements sometimes. So it's just worth being prepared. If you would like any more information on the above then please get in touch. Thanks, Bren

Hi everyone, not sure if this will be useful to anyone but if you are thinking of moving back to the UK/looking to invest in UK from Oz here are a few tips, cheers! Can I get a mortgage in the UK from overseas? (Answered) Today I thought we would look at the one of the most common things I get asked about, on a daily basis! Mortgages…. Can I get one? Is it difficult? I’m overseas and my bank in the UK told me to bu@@er off! What can I do? Can I re-mortgage? And more. What size deposit do I need? This is probably the bit that differs a little bit from someone living and working in the UK. Typically, lenders will ask for anywhere between 20 and 30% as a minimum deposit with the bulk of lenders becoming available when you have a 25% deposit. So, it is feasible, and that being said, if you do have a bigger deposit, always let us know, because it could mean lower rates. Or it could open up different lenders on the market that maybe have a more suitable product, but as a bare minimum, ideally 25% will give you access to the broadest range of lenders. Can I actually get a mortgage? Another common question I get is – “I went into Natwest over Christmas when I was at home and said I want to buy a house, and I'm now living overseas - can I get a mortgage? They said no, no way. Because you're overseas. Absolutely you can. If you are dealing with people that live or work in the UK, you just wouldn't usually use smaller banks or building societies and so you don't know as much about them. With access to over 35+ specialist lenders, 99.9% of my clients can attain a mortgage, its all about doing your due diligence and finding the right lenders. What documents do I need? The main documents that are required and of course this will be different for each person but the main ones are proof of name and address. That’s your passport and utility bill something like that, income, so payslips or if you're self employed, tax returns, bank statements and then proof of deposit and if it's a re-mortgage, then that one's irrelevant as your deposits in the property already. Don’t be surprised if they want more info, they will ask for up to six months worth of bank statements sometimes. So it's just worth being prepared. If you would like any more information on the above then please get in touch. Thanks, Bren

I am considering buying a house (PPoR) while on my 188b visa in Australia. Would love to hear thoughts and feedback from fellow 188 visa holders. 1. Are 188 Visa holders generally advised to wait until they secure PR in order to make a house purchase? 2. AFAIK, if you wish to buy a house while on a 188 visa, you need to (a) secure an FIRB permission (approx. cost 12K for a 1.5mln property purchase) prior to buying (b) pay an additional foreign citizen stamp duty (approx. cost 95K for a 1.5mln purchase in VIC). Are there are any other hoops to jump through? 3. Processing time to secure a PR (transition from 188 to 888 visa) is about 25 months currently. If you were granted a 188 visa in Jan 2020, that means you will secure a PR only by May 2026*. With property prices being hiked by the day one worries what your money can buy at that time (in June 2026). What are your thoughts? 4. Have any other 188 visa holders purchased a PPOR (Principal Place of Residence) already? Kindly share your recommendations, advice and experience. Thank you very much. *188 visa duration is Jan 2020-April 2024 >> transition to Bridging Visa for 25 months while waiting for PR grant >> secure PR in May 2026.

Be aware of the new law regarding CGT. Evidently you need to sell before the middle of this year in order to still be exempt from CGT.

Just curious to know who bought property and who rented property when they first arrived in Australia after receiving their visa approval? How did you find your property? Did you do your searching from overseas who when you arrived in Australia? Thank you.

Hello i would appreciate some advice. My partner and i moved to QLD in February from the UK and we have permanent residency status (we love it) Annoyingly we moved out shortly after Brexit when the Pound had massively dropped in value so only brought enough money over to get started and get on the property ladder. I do feel as though the Pound will regain some of its former strength eventually but i wouldnt be surprised if it takes another 3 years or so I have substantial savings just sat in a bank in the UK earning less than inflation and some stocks and shares held within ISA's which i can no longer contribute to and maximise as im no longer living in the UK, plus some rental properties. I have been waiting for a Bear market or at least a market correction (surely it must be coming soon !) to invest the money sat in the bank in three or four low cost unmanaged index trackers probably with Fidelity.co.uk (who i have my ISA's with) to capitalize on the cheap stock prices then hopefully enjoy the next rise in the markets by which time i am hoping the Pound will have gained some strength against the Dollar. At this point in the future i would hopefully be able to move some or all of the money over to OZ to use here or just invest in an Ozzy fund provider for future retirement. What im not sure on is the potential Tax implications on profits made on those shares and any issues regarding timing of moving money over to OZ. Im looking to make my savings and assets work for me but and be efficient as possible but dont want to fall foul to Tax Issues like being taxed in both countries or paying more Tax than necessary. Thanks Richard

Hi Everyone. We’re buying an invistment property in Queensland which we’ll negatively gear. My wife is an Australian citizen; I’m a permanent resident. Does anyone know if there are any tax disadvantages to my ownership of the property (as a PR Brit) versus hers (as an AU citizen)? Thanks. Mark

I know the ruling is that you can only buy land to build a house or buy a house that has not been lived in, but does anyone know if you go on a 600 visa whilst waiting for a 143 visa, is the FIRB likely to authorize a purchase of an established property. I am looking at purchasing in Cairns, so don't know if it varies from state to state thanks

A study by Demographia this year assessed 406 urban markets in nine countries: Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, United Kingdom, and the United States as at the third quarter of 2016. The report found Hongkong as the most 'unaffordable' city to buy a house. Sydney housing market was ranked second most expensive in the world and "severely unaffordable". While the median house price in Sydney is $1,077,000, the median household income is $88,000. Sydney pipped other global cities with expensive real estate such as Los Angeles, London, San Francisco and New York. Melbourne came in at six in the study, while Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth were all ranked in the top 20 most expensive. While the median house price in Melbourne is $740,000, the median household income is $78,200. For Adelaide, the median house price is $435,000 and median household income is $66,000. For Brisbane, the median house price is $495,000 and the median household income is $79,400. Demographia, which ranks housing affordability in cities with a population over 1,000,000, listed Australia's major problem as urban containment policies. Urban containment policies aim to curb the growth of the urban sprawl by encouraging greater density in existing housing areas rather than opening up new sites, commonly called "greenfields." "We should not accept extreme price levels in our housing markets. High house prices are not a sign of city's success but a sign of failure to deliver the housing that its citizens need," Director of the New Zealand Initiative Oliver Hartwich said in the report. The news comes on the heels of new NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian announced she would address the NSW housing crisis after declaring it "the biggest issue people have across the state".

The phrase “rents in Brooklyn are going through the roof” probably does not conjure the image a tiny industrial pocket in Melbourne’s west. But far from New York’s trendy Brooklyn apartments, swarms of would-be tenants are now setting their sights and their rental budgets on units in Brooklyn, Melbourne. The small and once affordable suburb, 10 kilometres west of the CBD, is among the postcodes where asking rents have risen the most in the April quarter, according to Domain Group Data. Rent hikes come as the competition in Melbourne’s rental market comes under a further spotlight, with the imminent rollout of a string of rent bidding apps and an Anglicare report released this week that showed fewer than 25 per cent of rental properties in Victoria were affordable to those on the minimum wage or income support. There is already stiff competition for rentals in Melbourne, with people lining up to view a property in Brunswick earlier this year. Photo: Ganesh Krishnan In the past year to March, Melbourne’s median weekly house rents rose $20 to $420 and the median unit rent increased $15 to $395. Vacancy rates have also remained tight at 1.2 per cent for houses and 1.5 per cent for units over April, according to Domain Group chief economist Andrew Wilson. “There is no doubt that Melbourne’s rental market has tightened, with no sign of easing,” Dr Wilson said. “We have also seen an increase in rents for units and again no fall in the unit vacancy, which is interesting given the ongoing narrative around oversupply.” Leading the charge of rising rents is a group of once-affordable suburbs in the west, including Brooklyn, Braybrook and Sunshine North. In Brooklyn, rents have risen a whopping 37.7 per cent over the April quarter to $365 per week, as renters priced out of trendy Yarraville and Seddon drift further west with more to spend. A unit at 3/53 Stenhouse Avenue in Brooklyn is available to rent for $430 per week. Agents say it could be at least $100 a week more to rent the same style home in Yarraville. Photo: Jas Stephens “Brooklyn is certainly still affordable housing for people on a limited budget to rent in the inner west,” said Jas Stephens director Craig Stephens. “You still get relatively good vale for money but you’re not paying the Yarraville, Seddon prices … There is a lot of people on a limited budget looking to rent in the inner west, and what’s happened is the premium suburbs are charging premium rents.” Brooklyn units can be as much as $100 or $150 per week cheaper, Mr Stephens said, but tenants can still be minutes from the city by train or bike. RT Edgar director Joanne Royston said there had been a considerable amount of development in Brooklyn and a corresponding surge in investors in the area, with new landlords pleasantly surprised about how much rent they could charge, the low vacancy rates and how quickly things leased. The well regarded Ivanhoe Grammar School is pushing up the price of rent in the suburb. Photo: EDDIE JIM Of house rents, landlords in premium suburbs such as Surrey Hills and Essendon North have been able to hike their asking rents the highest over the year to March. In Ivanhoe, agents say Ivanhoe Grammar School is bringing cashed up renters into the area and pushing up prices, especially on family homes. “Often they need to get into area quickly to settle their kids in school because they haven’t been able to buy, or they want to trial the area before they buy,” said Nelson Alexander’s Jason Pettit. He recently had 40 group through the first 15 minute inspection of a family home in Ivanhoe, with around 20 applications after the viewing.

Hi, I am married but my wife will migrate to Australia and be tax resident there probably for 2 or 3 yrs before I will migrate myself. She will work and pay taxes in Australia and live in a house in Australia that we will buy. I will stay in the UK in our main residence where my wife and I have lived for 16 years. When I sell the family home in the UK (let's say in 2 years from now) what is the CGT situation? I'm pretty sure I would have no CGT liability as I'm resident in the house and a UK tax payer. The question is really about my wife's situation. Is there a CGT liability in both the UK AND in Australia? Are there any allowances for it being her "main" residence despite not having lived there for 2 years? I read somewhere that to get CGT relief in the UK she must live in the UK house for 90 days in the year. This may not be possible in her case. I've started thinking about taking her name off the deeds of the house as a solution but it seems a bit drastic!! Thanks in advance for your comments! Skippy

Hi all, Having established in recent threads that depreciation reports are a great way to minimise tax on rental income, I'm really struggling to find a company in the UK that is aware of the ATO's requirements for such a survey, or is even familiar with the idea of depreciation reports for domestic properties. I've tried e-mailing two different guys at Davis Langdon, which is the only UK company I could find who seem to offer the service, but I've not had a reply from either of them. So: does anyone here have a UK rental property for which they've been able to get a depreciation report done to ATO standards, for use in their Aussie tax return? TIA Tarby

HM Revenue has published FAQs to provide guidance on the new CGT charge that is being introduced on the disposal after the 5th of April 2015 of UK residential property by non-UK resident individuals: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/413988/capital-gains-tax-non-uk-res.pdf Best regards.

Hi Everyone, My family and I are on the verge of deciding to move from the UK to Brisbane. We're hoping to live in one of the family friendly suburbs not too far from the city. Can anyone give any advice on the property market? Is it changing much? Are prices going up? Staying flat? Also, is there a good time during the year to buy? We're trying to work out when to move and I'd like to try to buy at the best time. Thanks is in advance for any advice. Mark

Hi Everyone, My family and I are on the verge of deciding to move from the UK to Brisbane. We're hoping to live in one of the family friendly suburbs not too far from the city. Can anyone give any advice on the property market? Is it changing much? Are prices going up? Staying flat? Also, is there a good time during the year to buy? We're trying to work out when to move and I'd like to try to buy at the best time. Thanks is in advance for any advice. Mark

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/implementing-a-capital-gains-tax-charge-on-non-residents Just released - I am digesting the contents. In due course I will post commentary on our tax blogs: http://www.gmtax.com.au/news/ http://www.gmexpattax.com/index.php/about-gm-expat-tax/blog/ and at our Twitter accounts: https://twitter.com/GMExpatTax https://twitter.com/GoMatildaTax Best regards.

Hello folks Please can you help us as we are possibly planning on selling our rental property to fund a new home in Oz and as its not our main domicile I think we may be hammered by the dreaded tax man? Does anyone know the exact figure on this? Or would it be better to hang on to the place and keep renting out for a few years.......? I hate decisions.......arrgghhhhhh Sometimes I think we should just sell the lot and go for it...... Many thanks Nom n Nat

I am selling a property in the UK which used to be my home, but have been renting since being resident in Australia from January 2007. I've been advised by Australian accountants that because the property was my home, I wouldn't be subject to CGT tax in either country, however I also read elsewhere that to be exempt from UK CGT you need to be non-resident for 5 full tax years - but does this apply to properties that we lived in? Has anyone had any experience of this? Maybe I should just contact a UK tax advisor?

Brought a house of the plan in 2006-7 for investment purpose, whilst still living in the UK, then sold that to the same developer to invest in a property in a nicer area, whilst still in the UK. Came to Aus in 2010, and start chasing the developer for the property, now in 2013 , i just found that he is in receivership and thinking at the time when i signed the contract there would be no issue. I have a signed copy (both parties) of the Contract of sale, stating the money paid. Now with the Receivers on board, does this contract still stand? Will i loose all my money and property! I have assigned a conveyancor, to deal with the property and they are absolutely shocked as to way things were done... Paid for the property in full before completion. What are my chances, now that the receivers are on board, am i making a mountain of a molehill, or is this worser than i think! Any help is appreciated Thanks

A long shot I know but it can't do any harm......3 bed detached house in Boston, Lincs £149,950 - not Massachusetts before you ask! http://www.rightmove.co.uk/property-for-sale/property-37915571.html?premiumA=true

G'day folks, With the 0% income tax threshold rising to $18200, I'm keen for the ATO to see the rental income from our UK property as my wife's rather than ours (she doesn't work), and I'm wondering exactly what I'll need to do... get the rent paid into an account that is just in her name? Switch the title deeds for the house in the UK over to her? Get her name on the statements from the estate agent? TIA Tarby

Hi all, Does anyone have the fine detail on CGT (to HMRC or the ATO) when, as a British citizen in Australia as a permanent resident, you sell a UK property that you have received rental income from? The way I understood it was that as long as you kept the proceeds from the sale of the house in a UK account for two years, there was no CGT to worry about. However, some HMRC notes for my tax return allude to possible CGT on the sale of UK properties that you have received rental income from. I haven't sold the house yet but am certainly thinking about it. It was our family home for 10 years till we emigrated 2 years ago... does anyone know the formula / rules as they apply to me? TIA Tarby

What a difference a year makes. At least if you've ignored all the hype. It was about this time in 2011 when the word went out we were in the midst of a rare phenomenon — a buyer's market. Clearance rates were on the slide. Supply was way up. Most importantly, prices were down in many parts of the country. This was the time to buy, it was said. Don't wait — these favourable conditions wouldn't last long — because the market had hit bottom. There was plenty of scepticism, to say the least. The claims smacked of self-interested optimism at best; an increasingly desperate spruiking at worst. This is where the market stood in April 2011, according to RP Data-Rismark's index of dwelling values (houses & units): Year to April 2011 Sydney 1.2% Melbourne -0.4% Brisbane -6.8% Adelaide -2.1% Perth -7.1% Darwin -7.0% Canberra 0.7% Hobart NA National -1.5% These falls had barely begun to take the edge off the massive price growth experienced in the previous two years. While there were undoubtedly some good individual buys to be had, a buyer's market it was clearly not ... yet. Fast-forward 12 months and the picture is a hell of a lot different. Rather than bottoming out in mid-2011, across-the-board declines followed throughout the capital cities. The slide proved to be pretty steep in Hobart, Melbourne and Brisbane. Year to April 2012 Sydney -2.6% Melbourne -7.0% Brisbane -6.4% Adelaide -4.2% Perth -2.8% Darwin -1.1% Canberra -0.7% Hobart -8.5% National -4.5% Plenty of pundits and industry people will disregard or dismiss this whole exercise by attacking the use of metropolitan median figures. They are too imprecise; they don't tell the story about what's happening in pockets of the market or particular price bands. Fair enough, up to a point. Nobody buys a house based on the Melbourne metro median, but nor do they base a purchase decision on the suburb or council median either. Individual purchases are exactly that. Nevertheless, these figures do point to a trend that certainly runs counter to the buyer's market mantra we heard last year. And for the average punter, someone who doesn't need to buy a home but can move into the market at a time and place of their own choosing, the figures are quite stark. In many parts of the country, the decision to wait just one year could have theoretically saved them a bundle: Change in $ for a $500,000 home over year to April 2012 Sydney -$13,000 Melbourne -$35,000 Brisbane -$32,000 Adelaide -$21,000 Perth -$14,000 Darwin -$5,500 Canberra -$3,500 Hobart -$42,500 National -$22,500 And this only accounts for price movements in the last year, not from the market's peak.

i been looking into buying some property in the uk as investments and have come up against a hurdle, ex pat mortgages are tuff to find and then we have been informed we cant buy in the uk with a UK mortgage buy to let, as there is a corporate law 2001 that prevents residents in Australia buying property in the uk unless they use Australian banks or unless they work for multinational companys anybody know a way to jump the hurdle, i have an offshore bank account and was thinking of setting up an offshore company and buy through the company or set up trust funds for the kids 2 of whom still live in the uk Thanks for any help:spinny: