tm_81

Not always true, only 12 states have non recourse laws, and with conditions in Texas ( so 11 and a half maybe ). I am in Florida and my mortgage options are all recourse ( i.e. they would chase me for the remainder).

ah, but you don't need to be a citizen / resident to buy a UK house, so really you need to get the total sum of that entire list..

Short summary: I sold my house in Hounslow and bought in a bit west of Orlando for slightly less money. The difference was basically spent on moving costs and I now have a much better tax regime, similar size mortgage( around 140k left to pay), and 3 times the house size ( not an exaggeration, actual square feet is 3x, i couldnt believe it) The locals are also complaining about house prices having gone up by a huge amount.

Since one must be under 16k in savings to be eligible for benefits, lets assume they have 10k. Assuming 75% LTV, that means house price will have to be around 40k. Or at the worst (90% LTV) case it can be as high as 100k. Great plan Boris, bring house price average down to the 30k to 100k range and you get my and my kids' future votes GO FOR IT !

Double tax treaties are there to help prevent paying double tax, not impose double tax. The treaty is formal agreement between the countries that specifies how your tax liabilities are split between those two countries. Usually income tax is paid at the country it is earned, unless the tax you already paid locally is lower than what you would have paid for the same income at home country, in which case they chase you up for the difference (this is never going to happen for an American working in the UK ). I believe you still have to file a tax return including your foreign income and show you paid UK tax, but once you do all that properly there should not be any additional tax paid. By the way UK charges tax residents on world wide income too not just US, that is why the option of paying 30k for non dom status exists.

I was monitoring a nearby house that went on auction. Mid terrace, "4 bedrooms" ( in reality 2 bedrooms split into 4, barely habitable bedrooms), but in reasonably clean condition. The guide price was 200k. The zoopla estimate range is £279,000 - £341,000. I was tempted due to the low guide price and even thought about getting finance ready for a max of 300k and having a go at bidding myself. Its a good thing I didn't bother in the end as it sold for 352k. Even more than the upper Zoopla estimate. No way is this worth 352k, yet someone bought it for that price. Very depressing state of affairs when you can't even get a reasonable price at auction.

"All feeling very 2007 out there!". Yes, But even if its like 2007 what kind of drop was that? 30% ? That will take us back to 2017 levels. Prices were overpriced then too, so a 2007 style drop is not going to cut it. We seem to be moving towards a dystopian future where house ownership is a rich privilege and has no correlation to average earnings any more.

The assumption is increased wear and tear, because a working couple will, most of the time, be out of the house, and children will be on childcare / after school activities. I don't know how true that is, especially now that most people are working from home.

damn, I have worked hard to bring down my LTV to 62% (based on 2013 purchase price). or 35% (based on crazy current Zoopla estimate), and even I am scared of what is to come.

ok - maybe not more than double, but close to 40k - but you get the idea.

In case you haven't done the math yet, the interest part alone is much much higher than 25k over 5 years. More than double that.

It is not clear also if by "pay down" another £25k, you actually mean: 1. Have monthly payments set to pay back £25k of the debt, which totals 25k, plus whatever the interest is for 5 years, which for example at 400k at 2% will be another 8k JUST for the first year. (actually it is probably compounded monthly so you need to make an excel to find the exact value, but 8k is close enough). OR 2. have made 25k in payments, in which case, after 5 years you have not made nearly as much of a dent in the loan amount !! In either case if you are concerned that 5 years is not enough if you factor in a price fall, you can always get a fixed rate for 10 years. They are not that much more expensive considering our current interest rate environment. And if you read the terms and conditions, they are likely transferrable too if you want to move before the 10 years are up. Thats what I would do, if I had to buy in a falling market. Of course, none of this is financial advice etc etc. This also probably belongs to the Mortgage sub forum as well.

I don't know if this is still the norm where I come from (Greece), but my grandma is still alive, and I think that is partly down to her staying with some of her children, and grandchildren, and still contributing as much as she can. Taking care of the elderly in the family was certainly a norm when I was in my teenage years, maybe not as much now, but it still happens often. I will be 40 in just a couple of years by the way! I imagine if she had went to a care home she might not have lived that long. For those who do need care homes, the costs are lower, because the care home employees do not have such huge housing costs! The building they grew up in is easily big enough for everyone, But the older of the grandchildren are also renting their own separate flats. Again, because housing costs are low, so why not ? If they were doing their exact same job in the UK, they would be earning far more, but would not be able to afford the house, car and lifestyle they do now. And before anyone mentions anything, they ARE paying all their taxes

Actually, if they were solicitors OR registered financial services professionals, and they offered their professional opinion that this is legal, it could well be the grounds for a professional negligence claim. Here is a similar precedent https://uk.practicallaw.thomsonreuters.com/w-008-5000 in this case, they didn't claim early enough (within six years), but it would have been a valid claim otherwise.

Of course, the real fear mongering is that after Brexit, house prices will ONLY fall by 35% .. We need MORE !