Sell or Rent? Which one would be better?

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Dan
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 27, 2012 2:46 pm

Sell or Rent? Which one would be better?

Post by Dan »

Hi

I am an australian citizen currently living in Finland for work purposes. I work as a lab assistant in one of the drug manufacturing companies. My parents are living in Melbourne and I want them to sell their home to move in with my wife who is currently staying at Sydney. I am wondering if selling the property at Melbourne would be wise, or if using that for rental purposes would be wiser?

Please let me know what you think, and just to clarify the situation, I have my own house in Sydney where my wife is currenlty staying.

Regards,
Dan

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Otto Dargan
Mortgage Specialist
Posts: 7730
Joined: Sat Sep 06, 2008 5:55 pm
Location: Sydney, Australia
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Re: Sell or Rent? Which one would be better?

Post by Otto Dargan »

Hi Dan,

Your choice really depends on what you are trying to achieve. If you would like your parents to move in with your wife for care giving reasons then this makes perfect sense. However if your parents are moving for financial reasons then it is difficult to say without knowing exactly what the objective is.

The Melbourne property market has been relatively flat (neither up or down) in the last 12 months. There may be pension / tax implications from selling the property (capital gains tax, asset test limitations for pensions) or for renting the property out (income tax on rent income, income test for pension). As a result it is probably best to speak to a financial planner or accountant. If you send me a personal message I can recommend some good ones for you.

The likely future direction of property in Melbourne is anyone's guess. Melbourne isn't one property market, some suburbs are emerging and will get better growth whereas others are over supplied due to recent large housing developments and are likely to remain the same value or fall. Unfortunately there are no easy answers.

We regularly help Australians overseas to obtain a mortgage in Australia. So if you do need our help to rearrange your own personal finances while you are in Finland then please give us a call or enquire online.
Otto Dargan
Mortgage Broker
P | 1300 889 743
Home Loan Experts

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