How easy is it to buy UK property when overseas?

[FrozenYogurt]

My family are due to move to Sydney in a couple of months and we've just found our dream house. How easy would it be to go through with a house sale/purchase when overseas? We we're planning on renting our current house out but we would rent the larger new house instead.

I've just read my post and it's not very clear is it?

Found our dream house here in the UK, we can afford it and have a buyer in place for our existing house. Trouble is we're about to start a placement in Sydney for two years. If we can't push the sale through in time how hard would it be to continue the purchase from Australia?

Does anyone have experience of buying a house here in the UK when living elsewhere? We'd also be contracting an agent to rent the property while we are away.

I hope this OP makes more sense!!

Personally I would let the house go. Another house will come along. Moving to another country for 2 years will be trying enough. Your needs,requirements etc might change while your away.
Just my opinion though if I was in the same situation.

Sorry, but agree with scottswede. I left the UK 5 years ago. My dream house then (5 bed on Wandsworth Common) would not be my dream house now (we don't intend to move back into London) so I'd have sunk my "family home" cash into something I don't personally want to live in. We're just in the process of buying a rental near DH's mum. Wont ever live in it, but bought on that basis. I think when you start trying to merge "dream house" and "rental investment" you run into trouble. If your current house is easy to rent, stick with that.

The other issue is that when you're in Australia, presumably you're claiming you;re non-resident for tax purposes. That can affect mortgages. Many are not available to non-residents.

However, Im a bit confused over what your Plan A is. Are you trying to sell your existing house or rent it out?

Thanks for the replies. Plan A was to sell our house and buy another (stuck in a chain at the moment). Then Australia came up, so we decided to just rent our current home out (we don't want to sell and bank the cash as current rate of interest is crap, plus we need something to come back to). We are waiting to hear about our visas before letting our buyer know whether we still intend on selling or not.

I'd say it's nearly impossible if you need a mortgage. We have been living in New Zealand and then Australia for a few years and we managed to save a lot of money however when we tried to buy a house in the UK and asked for a 25% mortgage we found it a no-no.

We already have an old property in the UK (worth more than double of the 25% we tried to borrow) but the banks weren't interested.

These are the same banks that are delighted to give DH a platinum credit card. (We never use credit and have never borrowed money)

Ah, ok. I get it. If I were you I would scrap the sale, rent out the house (assuming it's something that's fairly easy to rent) and forget about it for the next two years. Enjoy Oz and see how you feel when the 2 years is up. You may get the bug and just decide to swan around the world for the next 10 years.

I think the real issue is the mortgage (assuming you need one) because although you might get away with it, it will probably involve barefaced lies if you end up completing the sale once you've left the country.

Also, once your buyer knows you've left the country, chances of them putting the thumb screws on re price are quite high because they know you'll want it done/ have more limited options- I've heard of a few people who have been gazundered on the eve of their emigration.

We'll definitely be coming back for the kids' schooling - have a 1 and a 3yo.

A quick phone call to the mortgage vendor confirmed that they won't lend on a buy-to-let, and rates are really high with other lenders.

We are considering not telling the lender, we can cover the mortgage if we need to, so no problems with defaulting. I am a real 'abide by the rules' type so this doesn't sit too easy with me. It really is our dream place though, Sod's law we found it now.

Not telling the lender isn't an option. You'll need to tell your insurers that the house is rented out for your buildings insurance to be valid and they (and the property managers) ask you to confirm (often in writing) that you have the permission of the lender to let it out.
Your dream house now may not be your dream house in two years and this board is littered with people who were "definitely" moving back, but are still abroad after many years (me included!).