pjj

hi everyone as you all know me my girlfriend are moving to spain soon , my property is on the market for sale i have got some one very interested in it so fingers crossed once its sold and the money is in bank we will be gone , i know the uk is going in to a big recession next year so i think me and girlfriend have decided that we rather take a couple of years off and be in spain and enjoying the weather/country rather than being in the uk , im just wondering how many of you that are on britishexpats forum are looking to make the move to spain and how soon you looking at going ?

billgates

We made the move about four years ago and fortunately for us managed to get a decent price for our house.

I would hate to be trying to sell a house in the uk now, so good luck.

pjj

it aint been easy trying to sell ours but i hope this chap is on the hook and is going to put a offer in any day now ,

JnK

My partner and I are all set to go with our three dogs but sadly in 8 weeks we've had one viewing on our house :curse: still we're trying to be optimistic. Things in Spain seem to be really slow too so we're only worried about the possibility of spending another winter here in the UK! Good luck with your sale too.

pjj

dont worry jnk the feed back i have had is that property is still selling but not at the rate it was but there is still buyers out there good luck to you hope your luck turns around for you

linda Coyle

We too are all set to go. Sold house in March this year, move in date was 26 June, we had found a place to stay until we got the ferry (booked for 1st october) then 5 weeks ago the buyer was made redundant so the sale fell through. We now have to cancel ferry and hang about here until we sell, not had one viewer since putting the house back on the market, we too were hoping for a "warmer" winter, still fingers crossed - someone might come along!! Good luck to all making the move

Hillybilly

My advice would be, don't sell the UK house. Rent it out, and rent here first. I kept a house in the UK for over 3 years, until I was sure I wasn't going to return. I put it on the market in July 2006 and it sold, finally, in Jan 2007.

raddickle

The house in London goes on the market next week, but in the current climate I'm not expecting anything to be moving fast. We had intended to move out full time to Spain but the possibility has come up to job share, working 2 weeks on and 2 weeks off. I have to weigh up wether I can afford the commuting and running a place to stay in England on 1/2 pay.

bil

I'd go tomorrow if I could. We are going as soon as we can get our stuff sorted here.

johnreynolds

What EXCELLENT ADVICE. Having lived here for four years plus and watched people come and go for all manner of reasons, lack of employment being the major factor, It's a fact there is very little work available and it is getting worse.

John

Val W

We purchased off plan in 2006, and due to delays in the build didn't put our house here in the UK on the market until April 2007. The situation regarding selling properties had changed by the time we came to put our house on the market, and it was becoming harder and harder to sell. We are in the North West. We did everything we could to try to make our house as attractive as we could, neutral colours, new kitchen, de cluttering etc. We planned on being in Spain for Christmas 2007, and would rent while we waited for our villa to be ready. We didn't have one offer, and now we are still here, hoping to be in Spain for Christmas 2008, with our house now with a different estate agent
(the first one was useless, and recently gone out of business). We have been with the new estate agent for a month, have had 3 viewings, and have two out of the three viewers are interested. There are still people out there, but it isn't easy. I think a lot depends on whereabouts in the country you are, and having a good estate agent, and getting your property the best you possibly can. Here's hoping we have some good news soon. We have planned this move for so long, it feels like it's just a pipedream.

jackytoo

Someone should start a property exchange agency. There are lots stuck in Spain who want to move back to the UK.

billgates

My advice (for what it's worth) for anyone selling in the uk is to heavily discount the price now for a quick sale, otherwise you will only end up chasing the market down and only getting rock bottom prices.

No-one is buying in the uk at the moment unless they really have to, i.e. relocation due to job change.

I've been accused of being a doom & gloom monger (is that the right expression?) by lots of people, but you just have to face the facts no matter how much it hurts: house prices in the uk are plummetting.

House builders are laying off thousands. Bradford & Bingley will be the next bank to go the way of Northern Rock. The uk is in dire straits at the moment. Just look at share prices for Permisson, Barratt, Taylor Wimpy to see what is going on. And what ever you do, don't listen to Kirsty Allsop who has only her own BTL interests at heart.

but then, what do I know?

bil

Golden rule, if no-one's buying it, the price is too high.

linda Coyle

Have to disagree here Bil. Houses have been on sale in our area for months with no sale and many have either reduced or gone for fixed price. I have been in touch with our estate agent to ask about reducing or going for a fixed price and was told at the moment it won't make a difference "there is just no market just now". As my OH will need to find accommodation when I move over there and we sell here, we are now considering taking the house of the market and renting a room here - that way we still have our house and he doesn't need to find somewhere to stay.