I'm hoping the combined knowledge of you guys on here might be able to answer a few questions for me.
Myself and my girlfriend are thinking of going to work abroad for a year, before we get to the point of wanting kids etc.
Asia seems like the general plan as we both love it out there and she has work contacts in Hong Kong and Singapore.
So, this leads me to a few questions...
1: Does anyone know if there is much demand for English graphic designers out there?
(with 10 years experience in advertising)
2: What is the working visa situation in Hong Kong and Singapore, is it easy to work and relocate out there?
I'm going to be renting my flat out if I go away but the rent would only just cover my mortgage, meaning I'd probably have to send about £100-200 a month home to cover agency fees etc.
So I'm considering making my mortgage repayments interest only just for that year.
1: Is this a bad idea in the long run, would it be better to try to find the extra few hundred quid to send home and keep my payments to capital?
2: Do I need to tell my mortgage company that I'm going to be renting my flat out and will this have an effect on my repayments?
3: What kind of fees do agencies expect for looking after the renting of a flat?
(the rent on my flat will be about £1100-1300
Any help or advice would be hugely appreciated, especially from anyone who is living over there already.
Cheers
Dan
0
Comments
Yes you do need to tell the morgage company its "their house". It will also affect any insurance you have anyway.
I am no expert on work permits in HK or Singapore (you will need to learn to pronounce it Singapur), but I suspect it is not too difficult but will entail dealing with officialdom and paperwork. In Malaysia, I found agency which for about £500 done all this for me -and it was painless. It can save a lot time fighting with bureaucracy and not be quite sure what you have to do next. More recently, I have done the same in Thailand, so that I can also live, work and own a house there. Singapore and HK will definitely have specialist agencies that organise these things for expats - a bit of Googling and the above website should help. Make sure it's known where you end up - always good to have a beer with overseas Addicks.
I know some expats that I have met find Singapore a bit claustrophobic - if you know Singapore, there is not much more to it than what you see in one taxi ride. There are islands etc around that you can go to, but it is just a city and not much else - albeit a very good one and one that is very easy to survive in. HK is a bit different in that it is a mix of Chinese and English. It is still quite tightly packed but has islands, barren hills etc all around it. Of course, if all you need in life is plenty of decent of pubs and 24-hours a day Premiership football on TV, it makes no difference. Weather-wise, HK is like England but a season better all the time, whereas Singapore is hot every day with regular downpours. Only December/January is excessively wet but, of course, hot.
(with 10 years experience in advertising)
...........
I can't comment on the advertising market but Singapore and HK are very anglocentric cities and you'll find that all the major ad agencies have offices there to serve the fast growing Asia market. As you aren't in a rush why not compile a list of local agencies and contacts from BRAD and/or via the internet and send your CV off to them and see what happens?
Plus there may well be specialist recruitment agencies working in these places, contact them and they will have the contacts at the Ad Agencies.
If that fails just do a bit of googling - type in graphic design /situations vacant etc and see what happens.
Donr ever risk over staying your visa. Its not like the UK where they pat you on the back and say f**k all ITS JAIL and they aint fun places.
Take a very short term rent on an apartment , then when to get in the know with the ex pats they will tell you where the best deals are.
If anyone asks to to carry a bag for em, run for the hills !
My friend has just had a tax demand from the inland revenue. She didnt declare that she has rented her property out for six years. She had been told the building society had told them and the letting agency... she just received a very nasty tax demand with immediate payment. So make sure you tell them everything.
Have you thought of Dubai. If you want to go somewhere and work hard, play and earn a shed load of cash - tax free - then im sure you could get a job easily.
Sounds sensible, depends on your age, if you are young enough- there is time to catch up.
You'll need to get "consent to let" from your lender, some do some don't some charge a lot some nominal.
Most reputable letting agents will want this done.
Whisper me your lender if you want and i'll le you know what they are like.
Going to read it all properly tonight and reply.
Cheers!
1) tell you mortgage lender asap - some wont care (such as the n'wide) and will just ask you a few questions to find out who you are letting it to - they don't like DSS tenants. Some lenders will see it as a buy-to-let and will either charge you more interst or will not accept it at all & you will need to re-mortgage.
2) go interest only - more tax efficeint and you can always make up the capital shortfall in latter years.
But I will be whispering people then to pick they're brains a bit more, so thanks for all the help.
Cheers.