‘She’s leaving home, bye bye!’ Paperwork done in good time can make all the difference when going abroad. But besides everything involved in getting entry into the USA you also need to make certain arrangements at home:

The House

If you are leaving for a sufficiently long time, if not quite for good, you may need to consider selling your existing house. As your major capital asset you will probably need to sell in order to buy another in the USA. The Consumers’ Association’s self-help guide may be helpful in this.

With estate agents, solicitors and surveyors offering ever more comprehensive services, selling is not quite the hassle it once was. As you are not simultaneously a buyer you are not so deeply enmeshed in the chain of buyers and sellers that bedevils so many. This should make your property quite attractive to certain people, such as first-time buyers who are not themselves part of any chain.

Certain fundamental questions need discussing though.

Should We Keep The House Rather Than Sell?

If you intend to return to the UK it may make a lot of sense not to sell but to lease the property while away. Then there’s somewhere to live upon returning.

BUT – if you need the equity tied up in your house you’ll probably have to sell. If this is so, remember that when you do at last return, house prices could conceivably have risen a good deal, so you’ll need to return from the USA with much more than you left with, just to stay even, never mind better off.

Should We Lease The House?

If you can afford to leave your equity intact then do so, but leaving it unoccupied can be a recipe for disaster:

• Your mortgage still has to be paid.
• Your insurance is usually based on the assumption that the house is generally occupied (and by a family NOT students).
• It may become a target for thieves and vandals.
• You’ll find the garden overgrown, yourself very unpopular with neighbours if you haven’t made adequate arrangements for the grass to be cut, and leaves swept and so forth.

 

Unless you are going away for only a few months do not leave it unoccupied. Even if you are only away for the summer it is still highly vulnerable so:

• Cancel the milk, papers, coal, etc and get a neighbour to push mail and circulars completely through the letter box.
• Arrange for the garden to be kept neat and tidy.
• If possible arrange for a housesitter. A student relative writing a thesis might love the peace and quiet in exchange for mowing the lawn (and feeding the cat!). Or maybe friends would like to stay for a couple of weeks while you’re away, using it as a holiday base?
• Join an exchange system: vetted foreign visitors use your home and car while you use theirs. Details from: INTERVAC on (01225) 892 208; Worldwide Home Exchange Club on (020) 7589 6055. On the Web try www.nethomexchange.com for an American perspective.

How Do We Lease Our House?

If you are going on a staff exchange a simple house plus car swap may be possible, to everyone’s advantage and convenience. Even if you aren’t going on an exchange you may be able to contact someone who is coming to Britain much as you are going to the USA. Academic staff from the USA often stay at UK universities over the summer or when on a term’s leave and require suitable accommodation while they pursue their research – check with the notice board of local universities’ senior common room (SCR), staff house or equivalent staff room.

Ensure your building society will let you lease out your house. If you explain the situation in good time, particularly if it is for a set period, they may well be agreeable (as it’s better than an empty vulnerable property).

Use a reputable agent, or rent via a reputable college. Accommodation is always needed by colleges, but you’d need to enquire as to what controls, if any, the college would exercise on its students living in your house. Contacting someone who has rented via the college may help to allay (or confirm) your fears.