bookemjano

We've had an offer on our house (hoorah), £5k below what we wanted (boo), from a buyer who's not in a chain, very straightforward (and nice people as well). This offer takes us down to our very base level for moving to NZ, the £5K was our 'emergency money'.

Now, our EOI was selected on 23/6, but we're not on any of the shortages list which makes me think we're not going to be as high a priority as the other people being assessed who are on the shortages list. We can therefore wait a little while before getting another offer, so we're really in a condundrum, having never (a) sold a house before, or (b) decided to up sticks and move to the other side of the world.

By not accepting their offer we could end up having the ok to go to NZ but have no buyer then have the stress of selling quickly and being taken for a ride.

If we accept this offer it's likely to mean that we have to move out before we know for definite about NZ, this causes us rental problems. But then again, the buyer is credible, loves the house, is keen to move, and won't haggle over the price after the survey.

What should we do?

All advice very gratefully received.

Jaffadutch

Hi ,

If it was me i would accept,

I was in the same boat i accepted £10k less , they move in Aug.
Its ok holding out but there might be a bloody long wait if you do.

The way i looked at it is ...... i wanted to move anyway so if i dont get my PR ive not lost anything.....a few weeks/months renting no hardship!#

regards

Glen

uk+kiwi

Hmm - bit tricky to answer without knowing the specifics about your house, asking price and time on market, BUT as a potential expat, you must have a long to-do list, so I say secure the buyer (at a fair price)

Worth a try to negotiate a bit more on the offer if you can. However chain free buyers are so much less hassle than the risk associated through having more links, especially when you are leaving the country. A bird in the hand and all that...

Obviously just my opinion, and you have to do what is right for you. Good luck. The house buying and selling process is stressful enough without moving overseas!

Biddy

Undoubtably a tricky one!

Personally I'd take it - bank the money earn some interest, stop paying mortgage, rent and cross that little begger off your list.

nivlem

[QUOTE=bookemjano]We've had an offer on our house (hoorah), £5k below what we wanted (boo), from a buyer who's not in a chain, very straightforward (and nice people as well). This offer takes us down to our very base level for moving to NZ, the £5K was our 'emergency money'.

Now, our EOI was selected on 23/6, but we're not on any of the shortages list which makes me think we're not going to be as high a priority as the other people being assessed who are on the shortages list. We can therefore wait a little while before getting another offer, so we're really in a condundrum, having never (a) sold a house before, or (b) decided to up sticks and move to the other side of the world.

By not accepting their offer we could end up having the ok to go to NZ but have no buyer then have the stress of selling quickly and being taken for a ride.

Hi Jan.
We've just accepted an offer on our house, just below asking price. We figured if we have the house sold and the money in the bank then there would be less stress in the long run. We are not sure when we will go to NZ yet but it will be nice to make up our own minds about that, rather than have to wait in a house selling nightmare and risk having the visas run out!
In todays housing market it appears houses are taking a while to shift, ours had been on since Feb with only 5 viewings, so we've jumped at the offer. HTH. Good luck.

Cathy.

the turner family

Hi,

I think that considering the slowing down of the housing market it would be best to accept the offer. You could put your things into storage and rent until the residency comes through. Our application under the Skilled Migrant category took just under 5 months from start to finish, but it may have taken longer than norm because we applied from Spain.

If you are certain that you want to move and are confident that your application will be successful then you should go for it! At least selling the house is one major step in the right direction.

Best regards,

Andrea

Dave and Lyns

[QUOTE=nivlem] Got to agree with Cathy that the house buying and selling can be a nightmare at times and particularly if you have a chain. If you don't have a chain then that's better as it is only yourself and the seller that have got to sort things out. Once your house is sold then that is a good part out of your stress gone, but you have really got to way it up.
You will obviously have to rent unless you have got someone you can stay with, but as soon as you know that you can go, there is no house ties. We are very early in this NZ process, and sometimes I think that I will be selling the house one day and then jumping on the plane to NZ on the same day. I soon manage to shake myself out of this day dream as I know that it won't happen that fast (unless I'm still in the day dream and then we are all fine! )

Anyway, hope it goes OK - keep us posted if you need to.

Dave

bookemjano

I think this is what is stopping us popping champagne corks - we're not certain of our application being successful. Hubby is on the skilled profession list but is not on any shortages lists, and we have a reference that looks so dodgy it's untrue, though it is genuine (long story, greek employer, did a runner, owes thousands in taxes to the UK VAT man, is now untraceable ....). We did visit the NZIS London branch and present our case and they thought we had a good chance, but couldn't promise anything.

the turner family

How many points did you score on your application?

bookemjano

100 - talking about scraping through!

Biddy

I really wouldn't worry about this side of things. You WILL get PR. Even if you don't you can still go with a work visa and apply there with work which'll be easy peasy.

bookemjano

In people's experience, does working it this way work out when you're not on any shortages list?

Biddy

We got through fine with 110 points and no job and not on any shortage lists. 4 months from start to finish.

the turner family

I was just having a look at the work visa info, but it looks as though you have to have a job lined up in NZ in order to get this visa?

Biddy

I do know that you can go to NZ get a job offer and then apply.