Go Banana's !!

Gosh were do I start !

As the house hasn't sold yet we are faced with a dilema.

Daughter finishes school and I finish work in 4 weeks.

The hope was that the house would be sold by Sept - that is looking unlikely.

If daughter goes back to school in Sept we are faced with school fees and will have to keep my car (with no job), half of the car I paid for in cash but half is on a loan - which Mr B would have paid for over the summer, but we hadn't planned to pay for it past Sept. Plus we are faced with petrol (which I pay for from wages at mo £100 per week!), food costs and all other bills. Hope you are all following so far.

The cunning plan is that all the Bananas go out to Oz 2nd week July (Mr B has to come to validate) he stays with us for a week, then comes back to the UK, leaving us in Perth.

Daughter and I will be living in a house that Mr B's Aunty has given us and we have 26 members of the family out there - 10 of them around the corner.

You see the cost of living out there (and we have done a budget) and been all morning speaking to the Oz rels) is cheaper, in relation to Mr B wages.

We would have no school fees, food is cheaper, petrol is cheaper and for what I sell my car for I can by a new Toyota Echo (Yaris - had one in the UK).

Mr B lives away in the week anyway and only comes home at weekends, which he would still do. The estate agents and my Mum have keys (Mum would pop in every couple of days to check up on the place).

Mr B would then stay in the UK 'til the house sold - his contract have asked him to stay 'til Dec.

Although it will be hard it seems to us it makes sense.

The house in Oz is fully furnished so we can leave our furnature in the house in the UK until sold, so it would still look lived in (much harder to sell an empty house.

There are four schools to choose from in Oz and the rels are on the case.

In that week Mr B would help me with buying the car and sorting out all the offical stuff. The house has internet connection and we have a web cam - I'll need you guys more than ever!

Just think of all the anecdotes I'll have for you to laugh and cry over.

Part of me relishes the challange as I'll probably do things for myself more than I would if Mr B was with me. The other part of me is:scared: :scared:

BTW all this was my idea

The rels in Oz and the rels in the Uk think it's a good idea.

Basically I just want to know "Have we overlooked anything?"

Only one minor risk the house never sells !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thankyou for your patience and I await your pearls of wisdom

Jill

lindseyden

Hi Jill

Whatever you decide will be a strain as you will either be away from Mr B. or struggling to make ends meet back here. Personally I think your idea is the most sensible one. What does Mr B. say?

Have you thought that maybe if the house doesn't sell say in a set amount of time it may be worth renting it out for a while, particularly as you already have somewhere to live. It would be a good income coming from UK if you have quite a lot of collateral in your house. If you needed some cash you could even release some of that collateral.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, as long as you both agree it will be fine.

Lindsey

Go Banana's !!

Thanks for this. Mr B thinks it's an excellent idea - is he trying to tell me something?

Yes, but renting out would be a last resort as we have alot of capital tied up in the house but also quite a hefty mortgage - which rent wouldn't cover, plus it would be classed as taxable income and if the house took more than a year to sell we are faced with a wopping tax bill from the profit.

Thanks again
Jill

tinaj

It sound slike a good idea and you have thought it through carefully. Things you might want to consider though:

How long will Mr B wait in England for the house to sell? You may have to set a time limit. And what will you do if it still does not sell by then?

I don't want to put a damper on it, but it is best to think of these things first.

I think it is a good idea, but be prepared for major heartbreak being apart for so long. My hubby has been away for a month and I have missed him terribly.

mlbonner

I think you've already made your mind up

I've no doubt it would be hard, I've been away from my partner now for over 3 months and still dont have a visa so no idea when I'm going to get to go back... you do kinda get used to it though and just get on with things... at least you will be know that by Christmas MrB will be back and then you can really start the party over there

tiredwithtwins

hehe.....sounds like a cunning plan to me jill!!!!! excellent solution....but will you be able to cope without Mr B???

good luck.......


sue

Go Banana's !!

Totally agree, the only sticking point is that little old matter of the BLOODY HOUSE SALE


Tonight the discussions begin on 'if the house doesn't sell my Christmas:scared: '

Jill

Go Banana's !!

Sue you never fail to be there for people - fancy coming to Perth with me?

With all your trauma I'm touched you have time for others.

Jill

DollyDaydream

Jill

Bit of a dilemma, but I think you seem to have thought it all through. You have the comfort and support of relatives out there, a house is sorted, a decision/visiting schools can be done when you go over in July with your husband (thanks to your rellies).

The only downside is your hubby over here until your house is sold. In the scheme of things I guess he'll be looking at a couple of months (3 tops) before the house is sold (being positive here!) and I'm sure in that time with continual barracking of the estate agents, your house will be sold and by then that will lead to his job finishing in December. Not ideal, but it sounds the most realistic way of doing things.

You'll only be apart from your husband for a short time and when everything is sorted out, you have all the time in the world to enjoy your new life. Your daughter will be too engrossed in her new surroundings, being with her australian relatives and starting a new school to miss him too much

Bite the bullet, go with your instincts and have a wonderful life!!

D D

Don

Let me start by saying that whatever you decide I wish you well.

There are a couple of unpalatable things I would like to suggest.

1. Living without each other for a period of some months will put enormous strain on your marital relationship, especially with you taking all the aggravation of the move to Aus without your husband's support. Things won't be easy at first in Aus, no matter the help from family out there. With respect to another poster, Rich, look at what happened with Guitardoctor (marriage broke up) and I have to add that our stint in NZ also put a lot of strain on my relationship with my wife, we ended up squabbling much more than usual. You need each other's support at this time.

2. The fact that your house isn't selling combined with its location (which I take it is County Durham) means IMO you have got the selling price wrong and maybe the marketing. The selling price is probably the main issue: is it realistic? Houses priced right are still selling quite fast in your neck of the woods. It is too easy for you to think it's worth more than the market is willing to pay. If it hasn't sold in a matter of weeks, and there's nothing wrong with the house or its presentation and the marketing is OK: you have probably got a false impression of its worth. Selling it at a fair price is the best solution for you IMO. (If you are correct that its market rent won't support the mortgage: have you thought about remortgaging to interest only? This might change things.)

I've no wish to criticise, offend or upset you, just an alternative point of view which please ignore if inappropriate.

Go Banana's !!

Thanks
when we broached the subject with daughter who is 6 3/4, her exact words were "Cool ! ..........what time is the Derby on?" - so I think she'll cope.
She loves horse racing and wanted to make sure the Melbourne Cup would be on the TV !!

Jill

Go Banana's !!

Not offended - some good challanging points here which is what I wanted.

We are looking at a lower price, but did go with the lowest out of 6 valuations. The main sticking point for people is that there is building work going on around and people cannot visualise what it will be like when it's finished, although we have supplied them with plans etc.........they are scared of the unknown.

We are discussing this week the marketing with the estate agent, so far we have been very pleased with his efforts. There are just some people out there with no vision, 'cos when the development is finished it will be beautiful (all natural stone indvidually designed houses, which are all sold)

Anyway, we have given ourselves another two weeks until we decide buy the air tickets or stick it out here..............No Going Back then.............

Jill

mlbonner

Well all the best of luck in whatever you do. I miss my partner and his little girl terribly and try my hardest to get on with things. I think the worst part is not knowing when I'll see them again, I think a date would definitely make things easier. You'd know then if you were 'half way', '4 weeks to go' etc etc.
It sounds to me like you've thought everything through though, and if you, Mr B and Little MsB are okay with it for a couple of months it seems like a good option in an undesirable situation.

Have my fingers crossed for you, hopefully you'll sell this week and they'll be no more problems

Grayling

Hi Jill
Your plan sounds Ok if you are prepared to put up with some of the obvious difficulties.
Selling houses can be a problem and Don's points need consideration.
I would suggest that you check the Tax implications more fully.
You will only face CGT on the house if the valuation changes between your move and when you sell it. Also if your husband is not going to be living in Australia then it could still be his residence in the UK and the equity in the house is only transferred when he Moves.
If you rent it out and if you are the only one living in Australia then the amount of tax will be against your own income. If you are not working then it will be much lower due to the graduated tax bands. It may not be as difficult as it sounds.
Apologies if you have already worked this all out. I am no expert on tax and someone else may know better but these are my initial thoughts.
I have not even got round to thinking of selling yet:scared:

Good luck whatever you decide

Best wishes

G

anya4oz

Hi Jill,

Not too much to add to what everyone else has said, except to wish you & hubby & kiddies *lots* of luck - I'm sure it will work out well, as you're being very thorough about looking at all the pros and cons beforehand.

Also I would say that being apart from your other half for a while need not necessarily be a bad thing - in fact, it can be quite romantic With all the comms technology we have today, it is a lot easier to keep in touch as much as you like (email, texting each other and you can also get one of those GPS phone cards in Oz, that lets you call home for *really* cheap rates). If you both have digital cameras you can send pics of what you've been up to each day (yes, and, ahem, more 'dubious' ones too, if that's your thing!).

So just imagine you are a Victorian herione waiting for her beau to join her after their secret wedding....! I'm sure you'll be thrilled to see each other again, too! Second honeymoon?

All the best,
Anya.