Looking to move

[jeanaroma@breathe.com]

Hi everyone,
I'm a new member my name is Jean. The main reason for writting this is to find out the implications of buying a property in CA and eventually moving across the pond.
My husband and I are hopefully selling our house in London with the choice of moving to Brighton for a couple of years. We have a lot of friends in SF and was wondering about buying a house in Berkley which will be rented out for a couple of years then we ould move over to live there.
If you could advise us of any problems we might have would be gratefull.
Jean

[Bevdeforges]

As Ray has said, there is the consideration of what sort of visa you will ultimately get to move over to the US to occupy the house yourselves. You may also want to look into the tax aspects of owning a house in the US. You will be subject to US income taxes on the rent income (filing as non-residents). That can complicate your tax situation a bit when you move in. It's not a deal killer by any means, but just make sure you understand the tax implications before you make any hard decisions.
Cheers,
Bev

[Rachel_Heath]

As Ray said earlier, home-ownership confers not residential rights whatsoever.

Residency in the US is granted only after meeting certain guidelines such as direct relationship to a US Citizen, being a skilled worker fulfilling a role that cannot be obtained using domestic hires, large scale business investment in the country or as a intracompany transferee for an international company.

Unlike some other countries that have points based immigration or changes for retirees the US operates on the same basis for everyone, regardless of age.

The only other way people can gain residency via the Green Card is via the lottery which, due to you being a British Citizen, would not be available to you (most European countries are excluded from the process).

Further, to expand on Bev's comments, tax over here is radically different that the UK. Not only might you find that you need to file a tax return with the IRS for any rent collected, but that you'll then have to go through the mess that the tax-treaty between the US and the UK forces you (to 'avoid' double-taxation). On top of that both the State and the City might also expect a tax return filed annually depending on their rules (California has some real wild and wacky tax regulations as I found out when I lived just outside of San Fransisco). In addition you'd probably need to spend money on retaining an agent to look after the place and ensure it's not being trashed by the renters etc., and to ensure any repairs are carried out correctly along with property tax payments made at the appropriate time to the city.

None of us here wish to dampen your enthusiasm here, rather provide a reality check!