Globaleye.com

"Tim, with all the turmoil in the employment market at present I am preparing for a potential move.

Can I still keep my mortgage if I do leave and what are my options should I want to sell?"

This is an issue close to many at present and the ramifications if you are looking to relocate must be considered carefully. I am only going to look at the aspects of your mortgage and property but there are many other issues that need addressing before you consider a move away or more importantly if you move to a taxable jurisdiction.

There seems to be this rumour that you cannot have a mortgage when you leave the UAE. We must not forget that there are many non-resident mortgagees who have bought in the UAE and so as long as you maintain the payments on your mortgage there is no reason you cannot continue with yours.

Clearly, you will need to give forwarding details for correspondence and put systems in place to maintain payments. Remember the vagaries of currency so do not expose yourself to undue exchange rate issues, which may make your mortgage more expensive. It would be worth determining if you can remortgage your property to another currency or indeed paying down the debt before you leave. You will need specialist advice on this and we have in-house mortgage folk who can ascertain if this is possible.

Your bank may not have the answers since they only offer their solutions – you need a broker.

One of the other issues that you could face if it is an investment property boils down to when you bought, how much deposit you put down and the rent you presently receive.

It is widely recognised that rents are falling and the ability of this income to meet your mortgage payments could mean supplementing the payments from your own pocket. If you bought at the top of the market and the deposit was small then the likelihood of making a sell and clearing your mortgage simultaneously could be slim.

Again, this would mean finding additional funds to clear the outstanding balance with the bank (avoid going to your credit cards). So if you can wait out the market until it recovers, this would be your best option. If you know you have sufficient equity and have established your penalties for surrendering your mortgage early and you have to sell, do it soon.

With regards to insurance, many property buyers failed to protect their loans in the event of a serious illness or death. Remember, when you die your debts don’t go with you and this is not a nice legacy for your family to tackle. In recent years while the property markets were only going one way, investors shrugged off insurance on the premise that the value of the property could pay off the outstanding debt and leave a enough cash to look after the family too.