Dicko

Hi everyone,
As you all know we have our visas now (hurrah), my dilemma is I want to land in Oz end of January so the kids can start school when their term starts or near it, so they can start afresh when most kids make new friends anyway,
But we havent sold our house, or even had any viewers yet, the only problem is I have to give 2 months notice in work, the plan was to have a few weeks off before we go, to tie up loose ends etc.

The estate agents have said they don't see it being a problem and would expect the house sold well before then.

(Ideal World) Now do I hand my notice in now hence finishing at xmas, few weeks off, and fly to Oz end of Jan

(Real World) But what if the estate agents are wrong and the house doesn't sell. I am then stuck with no job until we go., but if I leave it and we sell the house, we have nowhere to live while I serve my notice in work.
AAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHH, and here's me thinking getting the visa was the easy bit

Ideas anyone

sunny side up

hey dicko,

same here - though not selling the house - i'm renting and have to give one month notice.
havent got my visa yet (prospective marriage - whats all this crap about people getting them within 10 days - i'm waiting for 3 months now....) but want to get there before x-mas. have to give 3 months notice at work, which i've managed to 'argue' down to 2 1/2, and with holidays i can leave work by the end of november....but i'll have to give notice before tuesday.
if i want to leave half-december i'll have to end the lease on the house in the not too distant future - but if there are any problems with the visa, that'll leave me without a house, living at mum and dads, and without a job (cos they've made it pretty clear that i cant come back anymore - quit the job 2 years ago to go cycling in oz, and taking me back twice was a bit too much...)

so - calling all you 'dare-devils' out there that have taken the risk - let me know how it all worked out succesfully....give me hope....

tanja

Ushas

What's the chances of the rest of the family going or are you the main app and need to validate first?

If I were you... I'd bite the bullet and do the deed. If things don't go to plan you will always be able to pick up a casual job. Tescos or summat just to tide you over for a while.

But hopefully that won't be needed because we're sending house selling vibes for you!

Ush

Don

Depends if you need to sell the house before you go (which you don't say). If you do, better to be conservative and not trust that your house will sell. The market has gone pear shaped.

Dicko

Hi Don,

Yep afraid we need the equity in the house to help us settle I.E not leave any debt over here and want a new start without debt over there, if you know what I mean.
But also, we need money for rent bonds, money to tide us over till I get a job etc.

We have never been great savers over here, not very sensible I know, but thats just the way we have lived,

Cheers
Anyway

D

Don

Good luck. I could always be wrong about the market.

wmoore

Wish I could help Dicko. Personally I would stick my notice in to finish at Xmas as planned. But you never really know with houses. We had an offer on ours after 2½ months and nearly 3 months later we haven't completed yet. Would your work be flexible in a case like that and let you work on a rolling contract?

shecha

Hi Dicko,
We are in a similar position, we have the visas but the bloody house hasn't sold yet!!!!!
We are so desperate to get over to Oz and the house not selling is sooooooo frustrating!!!! It's only been on the market about 7 weeks - which I know is not long - but about 9 weeks ago the house across the road had a buyer within 2 days of being put on the market and it's not as nice as ours!!!
Good luck though and let us know what you decide to do?
Shell

Dicko

I was very tempted to just not work my notice , but you never want to burn bridges do you?????

wmoore

Absolutely. I'm hoping to leave work immediately before or after Christmas (up in the air at the mo but at least I only have to gvie 30 days notice) so I'm trying hard every day now when someone pisses me off not to say "up yours pal" and walk out. I would always try not to burn bridges...

SteveBannister

In my experience...wait!!

Wait till the house sells. We booked our flights on the advice that the house will go through quickly. The buyer then ran into problems and is having to start all over again. We now have to go to Adelaide on the 4th of Nov, Buy returns while we are there, come back again, then go back when the house goes through.

Of course estate agents are wrong. We can all be wrong. They have no qualifications for their trade and selling themselves to you as well as selling a house for you (which you could have done yourself by the way!) Of course they will tell you that it will sell quickly. If they told you that it could take ages to sell (ie...the truth) you would go elsewhere and try another agent!

From a man who knows....wait until it sells! You can always put back your exchange date to suit yourself and then give the notice that you need. Not much you can do about the schools for the kids, but that's life. They'll settle soon enough.

74NZ

Ok, I know it's not British , but do you really need to give 2 months notice, what's the worst that could happen, you'll be on the other side of the world soon.
Mind you all of the above is great if you already have a job offer, however if not then you may need to kiss ass for a while to get that good reference.

queenie

Hi Steve,

If the only reason you want to be here in Oz in January is for the kids' schooling then I think you should wait. It would be nicer for them to start in Jan with everyone else but they will settle in and make friends no matter what. It is more important for them to have relaxed and well organised parents at this point.

The estate agents always give positive feedback and the sale can fall through at any point. It is very tricky to organise, but can you stay with someone after you sell, while you serve out your notice?

Heat wise, it may be better not arriving mid-summer anyway. If you arrived later and had an Aussie winter first, the kids could gradually get used to the heat as the summer builds up. There is also heaps of paperwork and running around to do when you get here and you really will not feel like it if it is 35 in the shade.

Try easy
Queenie

jayr

I'd worry about one thing at a time. It seems you priority (rightly) is to have the equity before leaving. This is much higher priority than your notice period or the date the kids start school - you need to go with the certainty of having the moneyin your back pocket.

Given the house is only sold once completed, you are not going to resign until this happens. think about any ways you can reduce your notice (do you have leave outstanding for example). You will also need short term accommodation - start investigating now - can you find a place that will do short-term lets, will a relative put you up etc.

Once notice ends and lease ends - then go to Oz - it doesn't matter if this is after January.

This way you are not unemployed in UK, you are not left worrying about house sale, do not have to sell house from Oz, have money to establish yourself here etc. You want to keep all your time and money for use at this end when you are looking fro work - do not take unnecessary risk at the UK end which will make your settling in here more difficult just because of your impatience - Australia will wait for you.

queenie

For some reason the Gambler song has been running through my head and I just realised it was this post.

Suppose its quite appropriate really, knowing when to play your cards and all that.

So if you're ever on a train bound for nowhere...
Queenie