Did you keep your house ?

[georgegeorgia]

For those of you have perm retired to Asia,

 

What about your home in farangland , did you keep it, did you decide to sell up and keep no assets where you came from,or do you perhaps rent it out ?

 

I am making decisions that when I retire I may keep my house in Australia until about 70 then if I decide to permanently live in Asia whether that be Thailand or Phillipines then I will sell it.

 

It's no use keeping it back in Australia unless I rent it out which will be another hassle with tax , maintenance etc etc.

 

But...on the other hand it may be useful to have for emergency.

 

So how many of you have no house back where U came from..when did U decide to sell ?

 

I guess if your married to a Asian lady living in Asia then you don't need any assets back in the west .

 

[thaibeachlovers]

2 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

But...on the other hand it may be useful to have for emergency.

Ask yourself if it all falls apart in the new place and you have to return home, can you afford to rent/ buy something decent there.

I'd give anything to have had a house to go back to, as I'm living only one step above a public car park. Houses prices and rents here are entering insane territory, and it's going to end very badly, IMO.

[thaibeachlovers]

6 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I guess if your married to a Asian lady living in Asia then you don't need any assets back in the west .

Wishful thinking IMO. Statistically you have about a 50% chance of the marriage lasting.

[cobra]

9 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

... Houses prices and rents here are entering insane territory, ...

Very true,

Real estate in the west is at an all time high and shows no sign of slowing,

It's a two edged sword, yes there's money to be made selling, but if you have to buy again up the road road you probably won't be able to replace what you had at a similar price, if at all.

A very tough decision to make but I think I would hold on to my ship in a storm.

[OneMoreFarang]

27 minutes ago, georgegeorgia said:

I guess if your married to a Asian lady living in Asia then you don't need any assets back in the west .

I guess if you believe in "till death do us part" then you guess correctly... 

[1FinickyOne]

21 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Statistically you have about a 50% chance of the marriage lasting.

And the downside is there is a 50% chance that you have to stay together forever...

[1FinickyOne]

One. think to check on is that if there is nobody living in the house for a certain period of time, insurance may not cover the house as it will be considered abandoned... 

 

there are difficulties in maintaining a house from far away... renting too. 

[thaibeachlovers]

14 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I guess if you believe in "till death do us part" then you guess correctly... 

Just as well for many that promises made during a Church wedding ceremony have no legal standing, given that so many break them when the going gets tough- there is apparently no such thing as "for better or worse" in real life.

No wonder I now despise the entire marriage industry. Spend a fortune on dresses, and a big dinner/ dance, make promises not intended to be kept, and soon as it gets a bit stale pay lawyers large to get out of it. That people even think a prenup is a good idea says it all. Enter marital bliss by preparing for the end of it! Bah humbug to the lot of it.

[mrwebb8825]

Sold out lock, stock and barrel 22 yrs ago and never looked back. Doing better now than I was when I got here. Married 17 yrs so far and nary a regret. As with most things in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

If I may offer an historical fact quoted from the beginning of "The Hunt For Red October" ; "When Cortez reached the new world he burned his ships. As a result, his men were well motivated" 

[Jingthing]

I needed to sell in order to retire very early. So nothing to go "home" to and of course housing costs in the US especially rents are totally insane. In case things go south in Thailand (always a possibility) I would seek another lower cost expat destination (though those options are shrinking). I just found out today I could qualify for quick Ukrainian citizenship (got curious to look it up because of current events) so if they become part of EU then that opens up all of EU Europe without visas (sorry Brexiters). Of course not right now as it's not even certain that Ukraine will survive!

 

 

Edited February 28, 2022 by Jingthing

[Lacessit]

My son would give me a place to stay if I went back to Australia, which is increasingly unlikely.

I sold my house because it was a major PITA in terms of maintenance and costs. It freed up enough capital to enable me to live in Thailand very comfortably.

 

In the very unlikely event my Thai GF and I were to split, she would have a house which she is welcome to keep. Her income would stop. I suppose that keeps her motivated.

 

I still keep 70% of my assets in Australia, the 30% I have here is mostly cash. I don't "own" property here either, why would I do that in a country where I can be kicked out on a whim?

 

Thai family law is much more sensible and equitable than Australian family law, which is so heavily biased towards women I wonder why any men there still maintain a relationship beyond one year. In hindsight, I would not have.

 

[thaibeachlovers]

5 minutes ago, Lacessit said:

Thai family law is much more sensible and equitable than Australian family law, which is so heavily biased towards women I wonder why any men there still maintain a relationship beyond one year. In hindsight, I would not have.

If that were the case, IMO women intending to get wealthy off a man would be nice till the new time limit was reached.

I've never understood why any wealthy man in the US would get married given their strange alimony laws that allows a woman to live off a man with whom they do not live, presumably for life, unless she remarries. Tell me if that's wrong.

[timendres]

Kept my house in the US. Was a complete disaster for the first four years, as a "trusted" friend took complete advantage of my generosity - destroyed some of my property, failed to pay bills, refused to leave for months after i demanded he exit, and left the place in a total mess that required over $5,000 to clean up.

 

Once that problem was resolved, I hired a professional property manager. They helped get the place into a "rentable" state, and handled everything. Best move ever. The place is perpetually rented, the renters have been quite good, and I am actually making a small profit every year.

 

The biggest reason I never sold the place (as others have suggested) is for the security of being able to return to my home if everything here went pear shaped. Has provided peace of mind. Another benefit is having an actual postal address for cases where that is needed. The other thought I had was that I have been expecting (and now we are getting) insane inflation, and the house provided me with an inflation hedge.

[Lacessit]

3 minutes ago, thaibeachlovers said:

If that were the case, IMO women intending to get wealthy off a man would be nice till the new time limit was reached.

I've never understood why any wealthy man in the US would get married given their strange alimony laws that allows a woman to live off a man with whom they do not live, presumably for life, unless she remarries. Tell me if that's wrong.

As I have no further interest in Western women, I would not care whether they were nice to me.

Women world-wide want support, it is hardwired into them. The trick for men is to stay in control of the purse strings.

It's a double standard, Western women are all for equality until they resort to the legal system to get what they want, but have not earned.

[Swimfan]

You should look into what the capital gains tax implications are if you do rent it out then decide to sell. 

[KhunLA]

I sold them, rolling them into my brokerage account, knowing I would never live in them again.  Could make more money investing than renting out or selling at later date.

 

I would strongly recommend those having, to keep for self and or rent out for income.  Unless simply rolling over into better investment ideas.

[EVENKEEL]

Never crossed my mind to sell, been rented for over 20 yrs, both of them.

[Guest Isaanlife]

3 hours ago, 1FinickyOne said:

One. think to check on is that if there is nobody living in the house for a certain period of time, insurance may not cover the house as it will be considered abandoned... 

 

there are difficulties in maintaining a house from far away... renting too. 

It's called rental agencies.

 

They handle it all.

[ThailandRyan]

4 hours ago, thaibeachlovers said:

Wishful thinking IMO. Statistically you have about a 50% chance of the marriage lasting.

Kaboom, the elephant has entered the room as far as the statement is concerned and is very spot on.  Luckily I put the property and house here in Thailand into the daughters name, and when the divorce occurred moved on.  Thankfully I have properties in the US as my retirement plan was to always go back and forth, but since Covid I have stayed put here in Thailand until I took a trip back to the states to consolidate and liquify some assets just recently.  If one can afford to keep a property in their home country and either has a trusted family member to caretake it or manage it, or a good property management company then that would be the way to go.  Of course I still pay taxes in the US based upon my pension and no matter where I live will always have to file.  A house and assets equals a write-off for certain things that help drop down the total taxes owed, but then thats just in the US and I have no idea how it works in other countries.

Edited March 1, 2022 by ThailandRyan

[jerrymahoney]

I so-called 'burned my bridges' in the US long before ever leaving the US.

[1FinickyOne]

12 minutes ago, Isaanlife said:

They handle it all

only if you have a really good one, so many just pocket the fees and then bail if there is a problem.. 

[KhaoYai]

Note: This only applies to the UK - I have no idea of how other countries behave in this matter.

 

I won't be keeping my UK home when I make the move but I will be hiving off some of the proceeds as a safety net.  Remember this, even though there have been changes recently, if you get sick and need permanent care or need to go into care, you will at some point have to sell your home to pay the costs.  Unless you have a patient wife or are rich, if you get sick in Thailand it could cost you a fortune. I would simply go back to the UK and rent.

 

Once I leave the UK, I won't have and don't want, any assets there - I have no intention of letting the UK government 'steal' my kids inheritance.  There are ways of making sure that doesn't happen.

[4MyEgo]

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

What about your home in farangland , did you keep it, did you decide to sell up and keep no assets where you came from,or do you perhaps rent it out ?

I rented it out on a 12 month lease and sold it 6 months after I arrived here before my residency status for tax purposes changed. I also paid no capital gains tax on that short period.

 

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I am making decisions that when I retire I may keep my house in Australia until about 70 then if I decide to permanently live in Asia whether that be Thailand or Phillipines then I will sell it

You really have to spend more time on tax laws in Australia and less time on Asean Now if your looking to make the move here, it will save you tens if not hundreds of thousands of $'s in the future.

 

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

It's no use keeping it back in Australia unless I rent it out which will be another hassle with tax , maintenance etc etc.

Tax payable is 32c for every $ earned from the very 1st $ you make, there will be no tax threshold, usually the first $18,200 last time I checked which was yonks ago, as your residency status for tax purposes will change after you are out of the country for over 183 days, whether you like it or not.

 

On top of this you will have agents commission to pay, insurance, council and water rates, if strata title, levies and any special levies if required, repairs and maintenance, insurance against tenants causing damage or defaulting rental payments, so you would be lucky to get 50%, but wait, there's more, you cannot off-set your losses on an annual basis (negative gearing) because you are no longer a resident for tax purposes, you can off-set those losses against the future capital gains tax when you sell up, but wait, there's more, not before you pay a whopping 42% (highest tax rate) capital gain tax from the date you purchased the property, yes, the date you purchased it, not the date you left Australia as it used to be. 

 

The changes took place in 2019/2020 and if you think you can retain your Australian residency if you live overseas, that is all BS by twisted expats who think they know more than the legislation and professionals in their field of accounting, so talk to your accountant to see if I am spinning a yarn, this will be your wake up call before you decide to keep it and rent it out, in other words, the Australian government doesn't want you to have your cake and eat it too unless your prepared to pay for it as a foreign resident, remember you residency status changes once you move which is out of the country for 183 days in any financial year, and making a trip back for a month or so to empty your post office box or visit the club that your a member of and to start the car you own so it doesn't clog up, doesn't work, ask your accountant.

 

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

But...on the other hand it may be useful to have for emergency.

Not unless your prepared to pay all the taxes associated with keeping it, especially when you sell it.

 

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

So how many of you have no house back where U came from..when did U decide to sell ?

Every country has different tax laws, and as I came from Australia, as I mentioned, I did my due diligence and kept an ear out on the talk of a bill to go before the senate regarding CGT from the date you purchased the property is a foreign resident, and not 3 months later it went to the senate and I exited the market as quick as it took for me to get a contract to my agent and get it on the market, so I avoided all the BS. 

 

3 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I guess if your married to a Asian lady living in Asia then you don't need any assets back in the west .

You do need your assets back in the west, stocks in Australia are tax free providing they are fully franked and there is no capital gains tax payable when selling them and banks, well if you do get any interest you pay 10% on the interest, so if you made $100 you would pay $10 as a non resident.

 

All of the above said, you can avoid the capital gains tax if you live in Australia for more than 183 days in any financial year and don't rent out your property, or you rent it out and move back into it, for example, 10 year in Thailand/Philippines, then 10 years in Australia to balance it out, but then it will depend on how much it was worth when you left and how much it was worth when you moved back in and how much it was worth when you sold up, all too difficult, so best to sell up and have your money invested into tax free stocks paying dividends that hopefully appreciate in time as real estate does and of course avoid paying any capital gains tax as a non resident.

 

A lot to take in GeorgeGeorgia, but do your home work properly spending less time here and talking to a qualified accountant will get you started. I did that, I also researched and spend loads of time on the net and going through information on the ATO's website.

 

I have no regrets selling up, yes the market has gone up, but I have also made money on stocks, I don't have a fall back position e.g. house back in Oz, but I do have cash readily available and my stocks, so if I had to up and go tomorrow, the world is my oyster.

 

There you go, all of the above which took me months to find out, you have at your disposal, talk to an accountant, check out the ATO's website, research the web, check and double check, then make the decision, just remember when your residency status changes, you will also have no voting rights, and your Medicare will eventually go out the window as a non resident, so private hospital cover or public hospitals will be a choice you will have to make because the cut off point for most private health insurers is 60, some at 64 and without "paying expensive premiums" I can guarantee you public hospitals, which in my opinion are not up to Australian standards, from my experience.

 

Good luck entering your new oyster.

[EVENKEEL]

17 minutes ago, 1FinickyOne said:

only if you have a really good one, so many just pocket the fees and then bail if there is a problem.. 

If repairs are needed they come out of the rent, if it's a large repair bill then it's extended over several months.

 

In the US tax laws are evolving regarding real estate. Those of us who want our family to inherit property should read up on laws. Having to pay reassessed property taxes is bad. It seems like the government is trying to take away wealth from folks.

Edited March 1, 2022 by EVENKEEL

[RichardColeman]

I planned all my life for my old age, retired at 52 and moved to Thailand. Live off pensions now AND my house income.

 

I would never, EVER, sell my house to fund a life in Thailand. You'd have to be absolutely crackers to do it, especially to a country you 'could' be forced to leave one day - if not now, but in old age.

 

Said previously, I spent an hour or so last week trying to convince some new woman's boo not to sell up his house - response, well, i can always rent somewhere in the UK if it goes bits up. I dare say all of us with housing 'thought' about it, it briefly going through our mind that we could have a great life with the money, but then sense and reality hit home and you make the right decision.

 

 

 

 

[HappyExpat57]

I thought of selling and am so glad I didn't. I hired a dependable property management company with specific instructions to keep the rent 10% UNDER the going rate. As a result, I haven't had an empty rental for over ten years and it's been an absolute gold mine. If you plan on 10-15% set aside for maintenance, the rest is pure gravy.

[BritManToo]

4 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

did you keep it, did you decide to sell up and keep no assets where you came from,or do you perhaps rent it out ?

The divorce judge gave my house to the woman who used to be my wife.

I played no part in the decision.

[Dan747]

 Since we spend 6 months here in Thailand and 6 months in the USA, we kept our house in Orlando. It also depends on how much money you have saved/have to cover your expenses in both countries. We have family back in the USA and like to spend time with our Grandchildren, if we did not have family in the USA we would move permanently to our house in Thailand. I must say, I have kept my options open minded. Such as if things get much worse in the USA with crime, etc., I will move the whole family to Thailand. Just "MY THOUGHTS!"

[Lacessit]

11 minutes ago, 4MyEgo said:

 

 as your residency status for tax purposes will change after you are out of the country for over 183 days, whether you like it or not.

 

 

 

This information is misleading, there is more than one test for residency status in Australia.

 

https://www.ato.gov.au/Individuals/coming-to-australia-or-going-overseas/Your-tax-residency/#Residencytests

 

I still have a domicile in Australia, as I have a financial interest in the house my son owns, and that is my address as far as the ATO is concerned.

 

I will continue to claim Australian residency until the ATO tells me otherwise. It is not up to me to hang myself with whatever rope the ATO has prepared.

 

The other option is to stop putting in the yearly tax return. I know a guy on a full Australian OAP here who has not put in a tax return for the ten years he has been here. His pension has not been taxed at the 32% rate you mention.

 

It seems to be a grey area, my advice would be don't poke the bear.

[JonnyF]

I kept my house in the UK. In the 15 years I've been here I've received as much in rent as I paid for it in 2003.

 

I intend to rent it for about 15 more years, then sell it if I still have no plans to return there. Even though I work here it's nice to have that steady income stream going into my UK account where the rent is paid. 

 

I also like knowing that if it all goes wrong here, I won't be homeless if I have to return. 

 

I strongly advise keeping a base outside Thailand if you can afford to.