I want to sell my house in the UK, but I live abroad
The Property Buying Company is the right choice if you're looking for speed, convenience and assurance,
Whether you’re moving abroad from UK due to work, retirement or just because you want a change of scenery, there’s no doubt it’s a big life-changing event, which comes with many challenges.
Despite the impacts of Brexit and COVID-19, moving abroad from UK still remains a popular choice amongst British expats. Before going ahead with the big move, there are a lot of different things you need to consider, with what you do with your UK house being the biggest decision to make.
It’s important you decide whether to keep your property and rent it out or whether to sell it and move on. Both options come with their challenges, but you need to make a decision on what is best for you.
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Below you can find out everything you need to know from selling whilst you are out of the country:
Moving is a stressful process in itself. That’s before you add in the moving to a different country, which just adds more complications into the mix. It’s important you make a checklist before jumping straight in, so you don’t miss off any crucial steps.
Whilst each individual will have different bits they need to organise, the basics of the moving abroad checklist will be the same:
This isn’t an extensive list but provides the basics you will need to think about when it comes to moving abroad from UK.
Before selling your house and moving abroad, you’ll first want to think about what the best option is and whether it may be a better idea to rent instead of sell. Both options come with pros and cons and each individual will have different ideas on what they want to do, so it’s a good idea to think about what’s more suitable for you.
Pros and cons of selling when moving abroad:
Pros:
Cons:
Pros and cons of renting out your house when moving abroad:
Pros:
Cons:
You may have decided to sell your house but don’t know whether you should sell it before or after you move abroad. Each of these options will have different strengths and it’s all about deciding which is the best route for you.
Selling before moving abroad:
Selling after moving abroad:
There are a few different routes you may need to take when it comes to your house repayments when moving abroad.
The first is that you decide to keep your UK property for yourself and use it if and when you visit the UK. In this case, the good news is that nothing will change in regard to your house repayments.
All you will need to do is ensure you keep up with the monthly payments and it may be a good idea to leave your UK current account open to make things a little simpler. This will also keep your UK credit score healthy – a bonus if you think you may want to eventually move back to the UK.
The second route you may decide to go down is to keep your UK property to rent it out to others. In this case, you must let your house repayments lender know and they will have to convert you onto a buy-to-let scheme.
This house repayment type tends to have higher interest rates and fees compared to a ‘normal’ house repayment scheme, further adding to the costs you may need to pay when deciding to keep your UK property when moving abroad from UK.
The final route you could face is if you decide to sell your UK property before moving abroad. In this case, you will pay off your house repayments and then there’s nothing else to worry about! In this respect, selling your property before moving abroad makes the moving process easier for you.
Yes. This is a fairly straight-forward process.
If you use an estate or online agent then they can do all of the leg work for you regarding viewings and offers. You don’t even have to come back to the UK to deal with contracts and other legal documents as your solicitor should be able to recommend a trustworthy courier service. It’s also possible for you to give power of attorney to a relative or close friend who can act on your behalf from the UK.
If you're selling from abroad then the main thing you need to have is a team you trust, and what we mean by that is estate agents, solicitors and everyone else involved who are reliable and who you know won't let you down.
You may have to pay Capital Gains Tax on your UK property, regardless of whether you sell it or decide to rent it out. It is a tax which is payable on any profit you make on a UK property, after moving abroad from UK.
If you decide to sell your house before you move, you won’t have to pay Capital Gains Tax, as long as you can prove:
If you sell your house but the sale doesn’t go through until after you have moved abroad, then you will be susceptible to the tax, as it will not have been your main residence at the time of the sale.
If you keep your UK property when moving abroad then you will have to pay Capital Gains Tax on any profits you make through renting out the property.
All things considered, a quick house sale before you move away from the UK could be the most ideal option and will allow you to avoid paying any Capital Gains Tax.
Putting aside the price you will pay for your new home, there are a lot of costs involved in moving abroad from UK:
The number of costs stacks up quickly, suggesting it may be a good idea to sell your house before moving abroad, as it will give you a chunk of money to be able to buy a new house and start your next adventure, without needing to worry about getting work or money from your pension straight away.
One of the main things to be aware of is that it's even more important that you choose the right solicitors. Before commiting to a solicitor you should ensure that they can corresponde mostly through email or online to make the whole process as smooth and easy as possible.
You might be surprised but a lot of solicitors are still in the pen & papers era. Some solicitors will only accept hand written or signed documents which could mean the whole process is stretched out in comparison to choosing a solicitor that is based purely online, which means you don't have to rely on sending post back and forth which from abroad can cause significant delays and even cause a sale to fall through if the buyer becomes fustrated.
If you’re looking at moving abroad from the UK and so want to sell your house quickly, this is something that is achievable.
Take a look at your options to help you choose the right sale method:
Why are we the right choice?
Here at The Property Buying Company, we’re able to offer you a quick cash sale, with our average completion time at 2-3 weeks, so you can tick ‘sell house and move abroad’ off your checklist.
We will cover all your fees, including any solicitor’s costs, and we complete in a timescale of your choice. We’re also a genuine cash buyer you can trust, with hundreds of good reviews on Trustpilot, and we’re a member of The Property Ombudsman and The National Association of Property Buyers.
We take the stress and hassle out of moving house. With us, there’s no need to hold multiple viewings and have back and forth conversations with potential buyers. If you’re looking to get a fast sale when moving abroad, why not get a no-obligation cash offer from us?
Completely FREE no obligation cash offer in 24 hours
As cash buyers, The Property Buying Company can buy your property from you, even if you live abroad. We make the whole process of selling from abroad as easy as it possibly can be, we handle absolutely everything for you including organising the solicitors and we'll even cover the costs, we can also complete to a timescale to suit you. We're transparent from the start and will tell you straight away that we unfortunately can’t pay the full price for your property, but we will pay a fair price including all the costs we cover and the timeline that we are able to purchase within.
Our service is perfectly suited from selling from aborad, our team of property experts make it a seemless property sale, with no stress or hassle.
To find out how we can help you today, call us on:
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Why choose us as your cash house buyers?
We’re one of the leading we buy any house UK companies for residential/commercial property and land in England and Wales. We buy using our own cash house buying facility meaning we can offer the best prices in our industry and complete the sale quicker than anyone else.
Your options | Average sale length | Typical cost to you | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
The Property Buying Company | 2-3 weeks | £0.00 | ||
Other House Buying Companies | 2-10 weeks | £1000 | ||
Property Auction | 6-10 weeks | £2500-£5000 | ||
Online Estate Agents | 16-52 weeks | £1000(upfront)-£5000 | ||
Estate Agents | 16-52 weeks | £5000 |
Unlike most of the other options available to you, we are not a broker or middle man, meaning you skip the fees and get a sale quickly and easily.
The Property Buying Company is registered with the Property Ombudsman and is a member of the National Association of Property Buyers
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