nicolelocin214

Ok so the title doesn't really sum up what it is I need to know but didn't know what else to put.
We are in the process of selling our house in the UK - not sure about how long it is going to take, its going on with the agent next week. We have been trying privately and have an offer on the table so could always take that if we get desperate. Visa has been granted, just have to pay the migrant levy (whatever that is all about!).
So..........what happens when the house sells? We would ideally like to move about November time but have given ourselves a timeframe of btw Nov and Feb. We have had 2 removal companies around for quotes.
So if we sell the house do we ship the stuff right away and go in to furnished rented until Nov or do we get it all moved to a rented place to then have to have it all moved out to NZ when we decide to go. If the house doesnt sell until the end of the year then how do we go about it? Do we book flights hoping that the sale doesn't fall through?

So many questions and I hope people get where I am coming from. Just want to know really a rough timeline of how it is easiest done. I guess the easiest way is if the house sells straight away and we get our belongings shipped then go into rented until we want to go? What happens if it all falls through at the last minute though and the removal company is booked to ship our stuff to NZ?

Aaarrrgggghhh thought it would be easy once we had the visa......

Lejamez

Hey,

Funnily enough I we're in the same boat - house going on market next week..this wont help with your timeline but what we're planning on doing is ........

selling house, sending our stuff over to NZ asap, spending a couple of weeks here camping out on friends floors then hot footing it over to NZ, renting an unfurnished place with the very basics (either buying from trade me then selling again or renting), then when stuff arrives filling rental.

Having written it down it looks really easy but got no idea how its all going to pan out - could all go horribly wrong

Good luck with all your plans - where you planning on moving too?

Laura

Am Loolah

The above sounds like a good plan. But if your house sells months before you plan to move then what to do? I guess weigh up the costs? Will it be cheaper to store your furniture and rent a furnished place in the UK until you're ready to move or pay for removals to an unfurnished place until ready to move?

In terms of the dates you want to be moving over here, house sale completed one assumes, be very careful with those dates you've mentioned. Although it depends somewhat on what area you are emigrating to, you will be looking at the summer season and then into the long school holidays, not forgetting Christmas and New Years. Every rental where I live will have been booked up months in advance of the summer season. And pretty high rents too.

I'd wanted to arrive between Christmas and New Year so I could have this romantic "New Year New Start" thing, I was quickly talked out of it, thank goodness!

My best piece of advice? Remain flexible ... and I'm not talking yoga.

Lejamez

Am Loolah Yoga might be fun hehe

Anyway we're lucky that we can move whenever our house sells - get what your saying re the holiday season but here's hoping the house fairies are looking out for us and we get a quick sale and we're on our way September at the latest. Renting once over is an issue thou as have discovered the areas we're looking at seem to have few unfurnished properties available at the moment (again sending prayers to the house fairies might be our only hope - do ya think they accept bribes?)

L

Mrs Pointer

This is our recent experience if it helps.

We decided to book the one way tickets first. We got our visas in June 2010and booked our one way ticket pretty soon afterwards.

That way, you are definitely going and you have a timeline to work back from and in our case it was March 31 2011. Why then? No reason other than it would be a year since we were there on holiday, it was soon enough to do what we needed but not so far away that we would faff about/have long drawn out goodbyes, have to lie to our employers, etc

We didn't know which city we were going to but booked tickets for Auckland. You don't have to give a final destination to the packers until later. As it turned out, my OH's employers found out he was going to NZ and they offered him a job in Wellington...so we just drove down when we arrived.

We put our house up for sale first in August 2010 and were VERY lucky. One viewer, one buyer. We put it on at a fixed price and just accepted we'd get less than we paid for it but we didn't lose money on it.

We moved out on 31 October and rented for five months before we left and were lucky that our landlords didn't charge us for the minimum of six). So we never unpacked most of our stuff. It actually helped us leave because we were already in transit.

Around about Sept/Oct we spoke to and booked the movers (house and dog). If you are taking animals you get a timeline to work back against as well in terms of tests.

The packers arrived on 24 March, a week before we left , so we had a few days of slumming it but it just prepared us for the weeks waiting for the container to arrive at the other end.

We arranged 2 weeks in serviced accommodation in Wellington, and when we arrived my OH went to work and I found us a place to rent. Our stuff arrived in mid-June.

You will have some things that are certain and some things that will stay up in the air...but it does all come together if you've done your research, and in our case it seemed like fate because we were lucky with selling the house, getting jobs, etc.

Lots of lists! It is stressful (we arranged our wedding before we left!!)