wimpy

After planning our move for the past 12 months we have finally had to give up on it due to the housing crisis. I would love to be able to say that its just on hold but I have to fear the worst and be realistic.
Our finances are quite tight and due to the amount we have had to drop the price it will be too much of a struggle for us.
I cannot begin to tell you all how upset I am about this, all I have thought about every day for the 12 months is the hope of a better life in NZ. We have had some fantastic advice from so many of you and I would like to thank you all for the kind words and encouragement.
Finally I would like to wish all of you currently trying to sell in the UK the very best of luck, its a tough time but it will all work out in the end.

My biggest fear about all this was having to play the "what if" game in 20 years time. Looks like I will now

lapsed kiwi

I'm very sorry to hear your news but I'm sure you're being sensible - it would be very stressful to be here in a bad financial situation, as others have found out. I read in the Telegraph that the housing market may pick up again in 4-5 years so perhaps try again then?

j19fmm

Oh Wimpy, sorry to hear your news. Never say never hey, here I am 13 years on from the first time I wanted to emigrate (and was accepted but never went) busting a gut this time to make it happen. Yup it's a great deal harder this time but I'm going to fight all the way. Good luck to you and yours

pumpkinlou

Sorry to hear your news Wimpy. You have probably looked at every avenue already, but what about these finance investor companies as a last resort? My buddy Frenchy had her house on the market for 12 months, and was going to do this, but then luckily she changed estate agents, and sold straight away. The market is dire, as I am experiencing too. We were hoping to sell ours, and have a little bit from the sale of my dads house, but neither have sold, so we are just going to work as soon as we arrive in Welly, and rent our house out here but keep it on the market.

I wish you lots of luck whatever you decide to do. Keep your chin up. Every cloud has a silver lining.

Louise
xxxxxx

iwannagonow

Very sorry to hear your news!

Would it be possible to rent out your house? Maybe that would cover your mortgage payments & rent instead of buy in NZ

But.....as Lapsed kiwi said, house prices are supposedly rising by 25% in 2013 so perhaps this will be a better time for you?

All the best for your future plans...whatever they may be

Cheryl x

darlo_tony

[QUOTE=wimpy;6632908]After planning our move for the past 12 months we have finally had to give up on it due to the housing crisis. I would love to be able to say that its just on hold but I have to fear the worst and be realistic.
Our finances are quite tight and due to the amount we have had to drop the price it will be too much of a struggle for us.
I cannot begin to tell you all how upset I am about this, all I have thought about every day for the 12 months is the hope of a better life in NZ.

hi there,
sorry to hear that youve had to come to this decision,
we feel that we are in the same boat, we live in bournemouth our house has been on the market since march with only a handful of viewings:curse: :curse: still quite early stages for us though just got our ITA yesterday but the big slump is a big worry .and we dont want to get in to deep and loose thousands as appose to a few hundred
If you dont mind me asking how far did you get with the whole process
cheers tony

luvwelly

Sorry to hear of your disappointment but it really is a bad time right now everywhere..people have forgotten economic slumps exist after so many years of a basically buoyant economy - I remember my house took 12 months to sell in the 1990s housing market crisis but luckily I didn't have negative equity. Many others were not so fortunate.
There have always been these cycles (and when the oil price is high - the price of everything is impacted) but you have to be able to weather the economic storm whilst it is happening so your decision is undoubtedly a sensible one.
At least you won't be living in an earthquake zone - and most of NZ just this week has been wracked by a severe storm (happily it seemed to bypass my bit of Wellington) but a great deal of damage has been done and the insurers are on the media bleating about the losses so you can guess what this means...either exclusions in cover or higher premiums in the near future..and so it goes on...lots of increasing costs on pretty stagnant wages which are taxed on every dollar earnt.
The grass really isn't always greener and it is a very very long way away from anywhere else .....really best to not get stuck here without the financial resources to get out should you wish to do so.

Genesis

Sorry Wimpy..they say these things happen for a reason. I waited about 15 years to fulfill my dream of coming to NZ..so there's plenty of time aye..and when you do come you will probably get $4 to a £ and houses here will be what they are worth...not much!!! Be lucky and never say never. You WILL get here if you really want to.

Fooferfish

Hey a fellow Dorsetonian,

Sorry to hear thats all thats stopping you getting here is the housing market,I know Dorset boomed over the years and now it looks like the bubble has burst, and i feel for you, as we went through negitive equity in the late 80s,we hailed from Poole,and we struggled to get into NZ, and are struggling to finance the trip back this Christmas to Poole to see folks, but we have done it and we be there for 3 weeks.

Mind you we are starting to see mortgagee sales here in NZ, due to the economic down turn, and for those who dod get there and with the nearly 3x exchange rate which is high right now, a good oppotunity for some.

Hey never say never, we have been here over 3 years and we never thought we would make it to NZ, as i am the average Joe, but it was hard time and expensive, but dont give up on the idea, you never know whats around the corner, ever though of trying to do exchange with someone in NZ with your house ?

Hope the sun shines for you.

Nige and family, Dunedin since May 05

CCGM.IN.NZ

Hi wimpy, so sorry to hear about your decision. The whole world is a bit depressing right now. Never give up on your dreams though. If you really want something bad enough it will happen, so although the time isn't right just now, maybe sometime in the future you will join us ex pats on the other side of the world. At least for now you can start to live again, its not good being in limbo land, I know only too well. Took us two years in the planning, been here 20 months and can finally apply for PR at the end of the yearI wish you the very best of luck for your future, where ever that may be.

Moomoo

Sorry to hear about your decision Wimpy, it's a brave decision to make.

The housing market really is a pain at the moment. We have gone with letting our house which is not what we really wanted, but the only option at present.

Wishing you good luck and best wishes for your future plans.

Moomoo

weejie

Wimpy,sorry to hear about this.Maybe when things pick up you can try again. As others have said,never say never. All the best

Phyllis

Lenmil

Don't get too upset if you can. I been to NZ and had to leave due to the house not selling back in 2004. Then ended up in Oz (long story) and now back in UK. Same bloody reason. I was really gutted first time but not any more. What's the point in upsetting your self. Let it go. If it turns out then great but if it don't, then so be it. That's life. I do hope it works out for you though. Best of luck to you.

elsieB

Hey,
I know just what you mean, we have been trying to sell our house in Dorset and were getting to the desperate stages, but amazingly , the day our contract was up with our agent, we had an offer!! It was 40K below the asking price, but we figured that if we didn't accept it we could still be here in 20 years time. I guess we are still lucky cos we have a bit of equity to take over with us, although not what we wanted, but we are treating it like an adventure and giving it a go! Okay so we may not be as financially well off as we had hoped, but we are willing to take the hit! I guess what I am trying to say is, if it doesn't feel right then it's not right! So well done on making a brave decision to stay put, but stay hopeful, you never know what is around the corner!

Batty

For what it's worth, I think you've made the only decision you could make right now. But if you're still keen when the good times come again then there's nothing to stop you then. Like most people have already said, we were planning for years to come here - it's the planning and hoping that keeps you going when things seem tough. Just look on it as a time to consolidate and hopefully have more cash to bring with you. Good luck.