Sell or rent

[Martinbjulieb]

On 31/03/2018 at 23:43, paulswin said:

Hi newjez yes we’re in Perth! Parley we have a 5 bed house and it’s been priced way less than what we paid for it so not over priced. Estate agent said it’s slow going at the moment selling a house!   It’s only been up 8 weeks but want to just get on with life and move back now!

@paulswin We were the same last year. Our house was priced well, within the suburb (Tapping) and we were open to offers. We put it on the market in the September, adjusted the price in the November and sold in the January, taking $40k less than we originally planned! By this time we just wanted to move and start the next chapter, it still stings a bit though losing that amount on the sale. Maybe consider changing your agent if you get no joy. We personally hated the idea of “home opens” but had to go that way because that’s how it’s done in Perth. Perhaps try an open night instead of at the weekend to attract different purchasers. I feel for you, it is a nightmare situation. 

Good luck.

[Phil & Vikki]

We are returning back to the UK later this year and have decided to rent our place out. We have a three bed, two bathroom and two car garage in Sydney, 5 stops on the train to the CBD. So with the market the way it is currently, we have not made a loss, in fact we have doubled our money. We have decided to rent it out, as that way we have the option of coming back if we ever want to (ping pong Poms we think it is called) and we have something the kids can use as they all have Australian passports. If we sell it, we know that we will never be able to get back onto the Sydney property ladder again with our age. So the time and effort we spent getting the passports in the first place will be waster as we would not have the option (financially) to come back for any long amount of time.

We have known that we are going to do this for a bit now, so we have saved enough to cover one year’s rent. However, our agent does say that we will have no troubles in renting.

We have a place in the UK that we rented out, while in Australia. We have not had any problems with the renters. Before we left we did all the big jobs and put a good coat of paint on. This was good as there were not too many jobs that anyone could moan about. We had to replace a carpet and do a little bit of painting, but that is it. If you leave the place in a good state, hopefully you will get someone good in there who will look after it.

 

With the tax, check it out with your accountant. We spoke with ours and he advised us to get an evaluation on the day we leave. This will then be used to calculate any capital gains tax after that evaluation, not the amount you have made on the place while a resident. This quote needs to be from an authorised person though who can provide you with official documentation. Any income from the rent will be off-set by mortgage costs.

[Marisawright]

10 minutes ago, Phil & Vikki said:

We are returning back to the UK later this year and have decided to rent our place out. We have a three bed, two bathroom and two car garage in Sydney, 5 stops on the train to the CBD. So with the market the way it is currently, we have not made a loss, in fact we have doubled our money. We have decided to rent it out, as that way we have the option of coming back if we ever want to (ping pong Poms we think it is called) and we have something the kids can use as they all have Australian passports. If we sell it, we know that we will never be able to get back onto the Sydney property ladder again with our age. So the time and effort we spent getting the passports in the first place will be waster as we would not have the option (financially) to come back for any long amount of time.

We have known that we are going to do this for a bit now, so we have saved enough to cover one year’s rent. However, our agent does say that we will have no troubles in renting.

We have a place in the UK that we rented out, while in Australia. We have not had any problems with the renters. Before we left we did all the big jobs and put a good coat of paint on. This was good as there were not too many jobs that anyone could moan about. We had to replace a carpet and do a little bit of painting, but that is it. If you leave the place in a good state, hopefully you will get someone good in there who will look after it.

 

With the tax, check it out with your accountant. We spoke with ours and he advised us to get an evaluation on the day we leave. This will then be used to calculate any capital gains tax after that evaluation, not the amount you have made on the place while a resident. This quote needs to be from an authorised person though who can provide you with official documentation. Any income from the rent will be off-set by mortgage costs.

I hope your accountant is aware of the changes in the law affecting how non-residents are charged for capital gains.

[Phil & Vikki]

23 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I hope your accountant is aware of the changes in the law affecting how non-residents are charged for capital gains.

one would hope so as that is what we are paying for and the face tbat he assists a portfolio load of expats.

[newjez]

On 02/04/2018 at 22:48, Gbye grey sky said:

If you have no pressing reasons to return to the UK at this time then that may be a good idea.  Here in SE Queensland springtime seems to be the best time to sell/buy property for some reason.  Don’t know if house selling is seasonal in Perth too but if so, and you are getting no interest, perhaps take it off the market for 6 months and use that time to do any work on the house that might make it more saleable.

Houses sell all year round, but people prefer to be in before Xmas, and people with kids generally prefer to start them in a new school year. There is definitely a spring surge in most housing markets.

[Parley]

On 09/04/2018 at 16:19, Marisawright said:

I hope your accountant is aware of the changes in the law affecting how non-residents are charged for capital gains.

No capital gains applies if you aren't selling so a moot point.

would be great to own a property in both countries if you can afford to travel back and forth.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Parley

[Marisawright]

43 minutes ago, Parley said:

No capital gains applies if you aren't selling so a moot point.

True, but the poster said they weren't selling in case they decided to "ping pong".    Which means that if they decide NOT to ping pong, they might want to sell it. And they need to be aware that if they do that after May 2019, they'll be stung for double the capital gain because the rules will have changed by then.

[Phil & Vikki]

42 minutes ago, Parley said:

No capital gains applies if you aren't selling so a moot point.

would be great to own a property in both countries if you can afford to travel back and forth.

Totally agree and that is our plan.

Not too sure if we will be able to travel much but it is nice to think that we will have a holiday home in Sydney.

With returning back to the UK we now realise that we made the right decission (when leaving) and not selling our UK house. We rented it out and as it is all paid for we can move back and not worry about rent or mortgage.

Keeping it was the right decission for us and hopefully keeping the place in Sydney will be the right decission long term. Like you say we do not want to sell so no capital gains tax.

[Phil & Vikki]

4 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

True, but the poster said they weren't selling in case they decided to "ping pong".    Which means that if they decide NOT to ping pong, they might want to sell it. And they need to be aware that if they do that after May 2019, they'll be stung for double the capital gain because the rules will have changed by then.

Also said that we had a place here that the kids could use. 

So if you get taxed double as not a resident, could you not return here for a period of time to be a resident again and then sell??

[Parley]

9 minutes ago, Phil & Vikki said:

Also said that we had a place here that the kids could use. 

So if you get taxed double as not a resident, could you not return here for a period of time to be a resident again and then sell??

Yes you could.

You can declare which country you are a resident of, but I think you would have to makes sure it is the majority of the year so over 6 months.

[Phil & Vikki]

12 minutes ago, Parley said:

Yes you could.

You can declare which country you are a resident of, but I think you would have to makes sure it is the majority of the year so over 6 months.

Cool, it seems like a u month trip is on the cards, if we ever decide to sell Lol.

[Marisawright]

39 minutes ago, Phil & Vikki said:

Cool, it seems like a u month trip is on the cards, if we ever decide to sell Lol.

I'm pretty sure you'd be charged pro rata for the years you'd been absent, worth checking out with your accountant.  

Also as Parley says, you'd have to move back to Australia and stay at least six months to be classed as resident again.

Edited April 10, 2018 by Marisawright