To want 2 homes. Our current home and 2nd for dh's new job. Expats ? Possible ?

27 replies

Oblomov · 13/04/2007 20:38

Dh has been offered a job in Dorset.
Very excited. Job sounds good and would like to live near Bournemouth. It is early days yet, so no rash decisions - probably rent to start with, ds and I move down there in time. Buy a house.

But I still like our old home. Outskirts of SW london. Good location. Ds has name down for good school.

And job may be for life. But also, particulalry these days, 2 or 3 years later, you might have to move again. And we might be glad to have our old base, to return to.

Can you have 2 houses ? Rent out old. Buy new in Dorset.
Expats sometimes keep their UK home, right ? How do they do it ?

Dh says We can't. Says to change our old mortgage to buy-to-let, the rent has to be 130% of mortgagae - ie if mortgage is £1000, rent must be £1300. Plus you have to have 12% deposit .

Now, I'm not suggesting that this whole thing would be financiallly easy, but surely with a struggle, it is just about possible ? No ? Am I unrealistic ?

OP posts:

pansypants · 14/04/2007 06:59

or... is dorset cheaper than London? Will you get a much nicer property by selling up? Are you just a little bit frightened and feeling insecure about the move?

ChasingRabbits · 13/04/2007 20:49

we did when we went abroad (slightly different situation as we knew we were coming back, and new employer paid for accommodation abroad). We didn't switch to a buy-to-let, just got agreement from lender that we could rent it out.
When we returned home we continued to rent it out and brought a new home.
As far as I remember at the point we came home rent was £400pm and mortgage about £270pm, so we probably had the percentages you are talking about. But for the mortgage on our new house the (different) lender didn't seem to bothered about the other mortgage, but then we did have a histroy of renting it for 2.5y with no gaps so that helped.
I think it is probably easier to get agreement from your current lender just to let out the house rather than change the mortgage to buy-to let.
Problem then comes with the new place - if it's rented then no problem (as long as you can meet the rent) as you won't to provide the same financial information. If you buy then you need to convince the new lender that the mortgage is managable, can't see why you would need a 12% deposit on this.

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