Buying when living abroad

suki1964

Hi

Wondering if you knowledgeable ones can help

Our son is resident in Australia

He's earning quite well but living in Sydney, he can't see him ever able to buy a property there

When he was home for Easter he was talking about perhaps buying property here as it really is so very cheap

Is that at all possible ? If it is, where does he start?


Many thanks in advance

eddddy

I guess the challenge is finding the property he wants to buy - as I guess viewings will be difficult!

Beyond that, there shouldn't be any real issues. Most solicitors, surveyors, etc will happily communicate by email.

Where signatures are required, documents can be couriered to and from Australia. And/or he could give you or his solicitor Power of Attorney to sign documents on his behalf.

If his money is in Australia, obviously he'll need to transfer it to the UK - but that shouldn't be a big deal.

eddddy

.... although will he need a mortgage? As far as I am aware, most UK lenders require you to be a UK resident.

suki1964

eddddy wrote: »

.... although will he need a mortgage? As far as I am aware, most UK lenders require you to be a UK resident.

That's the bummer

Last I know he's around £30k to invest. Don't quote me, he plays his cards close. But here you can buy a beautiful new build for around £100000 so he will have 30% deposit minimum

How do we look for a mortgage or even bank? How do we get his au$ over here as uk£ ?

Do we need to look for brokers or solicitors

Sorry it really is a general, where do we start question

melanzana

Apart from anything else, and I wish him the best, will the house be easily rentable or will other family live there while he is in Oz?

Fine if it is, otherwise it will be difficult to insure if it is uninhabited beyond a certain period. I haven't a clue about mortgages anymore, but others will help you on that one I'm sure.

Anyway, if he has the funds, well he can virtually view anything on the EA websites, and if you are able to look aswell on his behalf, well that's great!

melanzana

Why not contact a good reputable EA in a big town/city near you. Don't show your hand too locally just yet! (I see you are in the Glens....gorgeous spot) And a bank aswell, or a mortgage broker a bit far away from you too to start off with anyway!

Both of them could give information regarding your son's prospects and the banks will certainly know the criteria if advancing a loan to him (being resident/non resident and so on). Should be free consultation too, which would NOT be the case with a conveyancing solicitor I would have thought!

Best of luck.

Fish&Chips

I googled "UK mortgages for British expatriates" and quite a number of results came up, however it seems that National Westminster/RBS and Skipton International (all based Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey) have recently ceased offering mortgages for expats.

HSBC Expat (in Jersey) may be worth contacting - take a look at their website, also Barclays Bank (International banking section) as they offer buy to let or/and residential mortgages.

There are brokers also listed - but do check which regulatory authorities oversee them, and do check how they receive their commission.

Good luck!

suki1964

melanzana wrote: »

Apart from anything else, and I wish him the best, will the house be easily rentable or will other family live there while he is in Oz?

Fine if it is, otherwise it will be difficult to insure if it is uninhabited beyond a certain period. I haven't a clue about mortgages anymore, but others will help you on that one I'm sure.

Anyway, if he has the funds, well he can virtually view anything on the EA websites, and if you are able to look aswell on his behalf, well that's great!

Houses are VERY rentable here

Wages aren't as good as in the rest of the U.K. Job market is pants and repossessions galore

Even ourselves who don't have a pot to pee in are looking to release hubby's pension to buy a smaller house now whilst rates are so low, rent it out and it will be there ready when we sell this pile

Our pension pot is doing nothing. At least if we had the rent for the next 15 years then a house to sell,it would be better then where we are at

suki1964

Fish&Chips wrote: »

I googled "UK mortgages for British expatriates" and quite a number of results came up, however it seems that National Westminster/RBS and Skipton International (all based Isle of Man, Jersey or Guernsey) have recently ceased offering mortgages for expats.

HSBC Expat (in Jersey) may be worth contacting - take a look at their website, also Barclays Bank (International banking section) as they offer buy to let or/and residential mortgages.

There are brokers also listed - but do check which regulatory authorities oversee them, and do check how they receive their commission.

Good luck!

That's what I was thinking, it really can't be that easy

He has duel nationally, however he's been in OZ the past 7 years and I don't expect he will come home to live. For him it's purely business, get a portfolio of places here which me and dad will manage, then come the day he can buy in Sydney

( he lives the high life there, rented apartment on the waterfront and the lifestyle to go with it- mse he's not )

So I'm guessing finding a mortgage company/ bank is not going to be easy

Iirc, his credit here when he left for Oz was shot to pieces

( he's our son, but he's a spendthrift)