ivanjjordan

Hello everyone just a quickie when should we put the house on the market? We are in the process of getting our visa, after receiving our TRA this month, not sure how long it will take to sell our bungalow, my wife thinks it will take a while, I think it should go quite quick, has anyone put theres on before they have received their visa?

suzimc

Hi,

That's a tricky one and such an individual descision, based on what your own personal circumstances are. Personally, had we not decided to keep our house and rent it out for the time being (somewhat forced given that we ended up having to move to the US before we can go to Australi and had 6 weeks to organise everything in so suddenly selling was nolonger an immediate option), we would have put it on the market just after we put out visa applications in. We felt that we would have been happy to either rent or stay with friends/family (depending on the time scales involved) had the house have sold before the visas came through. It also gives you a bit more flexibility so you don't have to accept the first offer that comes through.

On the downside, selling before you get your visa does mean that you are taking a risk over whether you will actually get the visa, and if the worst happened and you got refused for some reason how would you feel about parting with your house?

I think the main deciding factors are the time scales and any time restrictions you are working with, whether you are willing to rent, do you have someone who you could leave with the responsibiility of selling your house for you, do you have enough savings to start up over there without having sold your house.

You can always say no to an offer too...

pete jackson

I would wait until you have your visa, in the long run its better as you dont know how long its going to take to get your visa or sell your house. We thought about putting the house on the market before we got the visa but didnt want to get an offer on it and tell them that they had to wait until we knew we had the visa, think what it would be like it you got your house sold and they didnt allow you a visa!! Pete It does seem a long wait after you get your visa when you are selling your house because you just want to be off but at least it gives you chance to sort things out and do some research and last minute things that you didnt know about.

ivanjjordan

cheers for the advice

BillandAbby

We waited until we got the Visa and the house has been on the market for a couple of months now with no major interest. It is really frustrating and we desperately want to move out properly rather than just do a validation trip. At the same time I am sure that if we had put the house on the market BEFORE we got the visa it would have sold in a month and we'd have had the dilemma of renting for a few months or risking turning down the offer! Can't win basically.

The Estate Agents told us that Sept/Oct are good months for selling but that Nov/Dec are definitely not. I guess it all depends where you live and what the market in your area is like. Good Luck whatever you decide.

kitty4

I was dead against putting the house on the market before getting the visa, however,that was the right decision because of our circumstances. But 12 months down the line after getting visas and we still haven't sold, I'm going nuts.
We have buyers now. But will it go pear shaped near completion time, as I read so much on here?
I say, if selling the house now doesn't bother you and doesn't affect other family members, and if you can easily stay with someone, or rent if it sells quick until the visa grant - DO IT!!!! Especially if you know your visa application is uncomplicated.
It all depends on personal circumstances.

Weasy

We put our bungalow on the market as soon as we'd sent our skills assessment off. Four viewers and five months later we accepted an offer and we're moving into a furnished small flat just round the corner from here until we get the visa.

We decided that we would just hate having the visas and waiting to sell the house as we've seen that option with some friends of ours and how desparate they felt. We also felt that bungalows have a limited market so it might take a little longer to sell. Our feeling is that a house is just a house and we'll just buy another one if we don't get the visas.

Lou
xx

Crazy Diamond

You will probably get lots of different opinions on this one. I would say:

1 If you really love your house and definately would not consider moving if you didn't get the Visa then WAIT

2 If you don't mind moving anyway regardless of Visa SELL

3 If you think there is no real reason why you wouldn't get the Visa at this stage and you are prepared to rent or move in with rellies or friends for a while then SELL

At the end of the day, it all boils down to how much you love your house and how confident you are of getting the Visa, I think

Hope whatever you decide works out the best for you, things generally have a way of coming at the right time. Good Luck

majortom

If only we all had a crystal ball !!!

I wish we had put ours on the market sooner, would'nt be in this postion now as my wife is in Australia with my daughter and Im stuck here with the house.

Putting it on the market now will give you more control, you don't have to accept an offer, you don't have to drop the asking price,you can go at your own pace.

I believe it will give you the edge on getting a fair price, not like some people who have accepted offers way below the asking price out of sheer frusfration and desperation.

Have a plan B up your sleeve if someone does offer you a price you can't refuse.........stay in control............stay sane !!

Good Luck

flip

Even if you're not going to sell until visa comes through why not interview agents, appoint one or decide to diy and then get the details put together - I remember it took a couple of weeks at least to do this and it gets very frustrating waiting for even an advert to appear.

Also decide on your solicitor and start the process here. We'd already completed contract forms and the one about what you're leaving and the one about suppliers and extensions,etc and given solicitor mortgage details, etc. We needed building inspection reports and stuff on covenants and there's no reason this can't all be done in advance so you can head off any later delays.

ELLJAY

I'd second that.

It's entirely up to you and the level of risk you are willing to take.

In our case - we put the house up for sale a year ago today.
We'd just returned from our reccie (where we'd posted our TRA)
we decided that if we didn't get a visa - then we'd move somewhere (anywhere)!
We are so glad we took the risk. Houses can take ages to sell - and you can always hold off signing.
We got a buyer in October - visa arrived in December - we signed the following day - booked flights following day - flew out a month later.

Been here 7 months now - a year after we put house up for sale.

I would have hated to have the visa - then still be waiting for house sale.

hope this helps - but remember it's only MY OPINION - you have to make your own decision based on YOUR circumstances.
GOOD LUCK !

L-j

woogle

For what it's worth, if you've already got your TRA I'd deff put it on the market now, unless you have any concerns over your meds/police checks. I remember our agent told us once we'd got TRA you're 99% done
My advice would be get it on the market, start to get rid of anything that isn't coming with you & buy some nice shiny new suitcases

the plumber

If you,re dead-set about wanting to live in oz and you reckon you've got over 50% chance of getting visa.....then i',d put it on the market ASAP....

all the best plum

ps some houses take forever to sell ....read some of my old posts....( maybe under the plumber or the plum)

Discovery

We have been granted PR visa and hope to in Australia by November. We have decided keep our property and rent it out.

ivanjjordan

Thanks everyone