Moving to England next year - how soon or late to buy property there

firely2327

Hi Folks
Looking for some opinions/advice here please.
I currently live in Wales and next year (summer) I'll be moving back to Manchester to my permanent job there, where I hope to purchase a house. I have a house (mortgaged) in Wales at present and I will sell that, though I am in a position to put a deposit on a Manchester house before I sell the Welsh one.


My question is this. How soon or indeed late should I leave the purchase of the Manchester property? Of course in an ideal world the Welsh one would be sold and the Manchester one purchased close together in time, however this is not particularly realistic. My requirements for the Manchester home are very specific and I've been searching on line for some time (browsing) and have found very little of interest. There's what I consider and ideal property on the market since September last year for a reasonable price. I guess I have a few questions, as follows:


1. If I approached a lender explaining my situation would I necessarily need a buy to let mortgage, if I intended to rent out the Manchester property for about a year until I moved back there? I could provide written evidence that I was moving back there to a permanent job.


2. Would I still be charged the extra 3% stamp duty seeing as I'm purchasing a second property, if I put the Welsh one on the market at the same time?


3. Any other major considerations I need to be aware of?


Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom....:D

alchemist.1

Where do you intend to live/buy in Manchester? And what type of property will you be looking for plus budget?

firely2327

I'm looking for circa midway between city and peak district, Hyde is the location of the current property I'm interested in (£135k), but would move out to Glossop way. I'd like to be close to a train station and major road routes into the city.
A house, semi or detatched, budget up to £150k is what I've set, though I could stretch to more but refuse to. I'm not one of those that overstretches for the sake of having a fancy house and for that price I've a lot of options. Initially I could put down £20k deposit comfortably enough, and once the Welsh property is sold I could pay off a large chunk off the remainder.

MartiMcfly

1) Your doing a Let to Buy, you get a residential mortgage and prove to them the flat can be rented to cover the mortgage in Wales. The lender will probably ask to see you have permission from the mortgage provider for the Welsh property that you can rent it out. Thats where it get's complicated. I would just beg your current mortgage provider to give you permission to rent it while you look for a buyer, as you have to move to Manchester for work, they should be OK, but some of them might get a bit *rsey and demand you change product to a BTL, but if you explain you want to sell it eventually, they might let you. Once you have your authority to rent it out, the new lender for Manchester will be happy

2) Yes, but you can claim it back as long as you sell the Welsh property in 36 months, but as said, you will have to pay this when the 3% on the new Manchester property ON TOP of your usual stamp at least initially

3) I would wonder why the house has been stuck on the market since September, sounds like its either overpriced, has issues like a low lease, or structural issues, ask the Agent, as they'll tell you the truth, some things you can't cover up

firely2327

MartiMcfly wrote: »

3) I would wonder why the house has been stuck on the market since September, sounds like its either overpriced, has issues like a low lease, or structural issues, ask the Agent, as they'll tell you the truth, some things you can't cover up

Good question. I wouldn't necessarily be worried about this however. My Welsh house was on the market for even longer and there were no major issues with it (apart from asbestos in the utility roof, which the darned surveyor didn't spot!). The house in Manchester would not be to everyones requirements but would appear to suit me perfectly! May go to view this weekend.


Just to clarify too, if I bought it this year I'd be renting out the Manchester house until I was ready to move up there, not the Welsh one, though of course that may be rented out eventually if it doesn't shift as quickly as I would wish..

Person_one

If you plan to commute by car, don't even consider Hyde or Glossop.

Outer parts of Oldham are probably better if you want quick access to the Peak District but don't want to spend 2 hours sat in a barely moving car twice a day!

MartiMcfly

Oh, sorry, I see you wont move until summer 2017, in that case I'm afraid you'll probably have to do a Buy to Let. Although you can get deals with 20% down, 25% is probably what you'll have to put down to get a really cheap deal. The BTL mortgage will only be interest only.

The lender will expect rent to cover the mortgage by at least 120% at some inflated rate, say 5.5 %

But with 25% down, you could get a deal for say 2.55 % interest, fixed for 3 years, you would only need to rent it for a year anyway, you could then re-mortgage back to residential once you move back, (and go in the other direction for the Welsh flat -re-mortgage from residential to Buy to Let) you could release the equity in it and keep it for your pension.

firely2327

Person_one wrote: »

If you plan to commute by car, don't even consider Hyde or Glossop.

Outer parts of Oldham are probably better if you want quick access to the Peak District but don't want to spend 2 hours sat in a barely moving car twice a day!

The plan is to use public transport mainly, a car occasionally when really necessary, in which case I'd be travelling mainly outside of peak times. I wouldn't have the patience for a regular car journey. If I could get a permanent job here that'd be great..... it's a five minute drive to work! (I'd walk but I come home at lunchtime to walk the dog)

firely2327

MartiMcfly wrote: »

Oh, sorry, I see you wont move until summer 2017, in that case I'm afraid you'll probably have to do a Buy to Let. Although you can get deals with 20% down, 25% is probably what you'll have to put down to get a really cheap deal. The BTL mortgage will only be interest only.

The lender will expect rent to cover the mortgage by at least 120% at some inflated rate, say 5.5 %

But with 25% down, you could get a deal for say 2.55 % interest, fixed for 3 years, you would only need to rent it for a year anyway, you could then re-mortgage back to residential once you move back, (and go in the other direction for the Welsh flat -re-mortgage from residential to Buy to Let) you could release the equity in it and keep it for your pension.

I think 120% might be pushing it if I'm going to rent.. Something to think about, thanks