stllurnin48

Like so many who have gone before us we are returning to the UK in 2010! so 2010 is going to be exciting and somewhat scary! I am fairly new to this, but hope to post many times, and ask for some very good advice, as my American wife and I are going to need it! At the moment, the situation is that we have our house under contract to sell, closing beginning of Feb and I will be travelling over just after that. We have 2 dogs which are clear to travel in April so my OH is staying over in SC until then. By the time she comes over I hope to be settled with work and accomodation.We have tried working with, and living close to my In-laws, but it hasn't worked out so after 6 years we are off to start the next phase of our lives! I miss my kids so much and it is time to be close to them again on a permanent basis!Anyway, I just wanted to say thank you all in anticipation of any help and advice you could send our way in the coming months. Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all, let's see what 2010 brings!

Mummy in the foothills

Congrats on the sale of the house, I hope it all goes well. Keep us updated on the move.

Patzy

Good luck to you, we are going back in 2010, early March, as well

J.J

Golly, seems like mass repatriation.

Sounds like you got a plan together Stllurning48. Yes, we agree on it being exciting and scary too. All we all can do is make a plan of the best choices for ourselves and then hope for the best. Good job on getting your house sold.

There are lots of unknowns in making the move but the picture comes clearer through info gained onthis website and also www.uk-yankee.com which may be of use to your American wife.

We are targetting April 2010 from Raleigh NC to UK when the cat's cleared for travel and depending on house sale which we plan to get on the market in Feb / March (spending Christmas with paint brush in hand).

dunroving

Unless the housing market in Raleigh is sh*t-hot, I'd put it on the market right now, even if you are in the middle of painting ...

stllurnin48

Thanks for the good wishes!

Got the house inspection tomorrow so if that goes well we are a good way there.
Don't want to jinx it so not saying too much!

Anyone know of a good house rental co in the Gloucester area that allows dogs?

dunroving

You probably already know this, but Rightmove also shows rental properties:

www.rightmove.co.uk

- by all means contact a rental agency directly, but I think doing your own research on top of that can only help. Some agencies are pretty crap, it beats me in the current economic climate why some businesses don't seem to give a sh*t whether they do a decent job.

Also, I don't think agencies allow dogs per se, it's more to do with the individual who is letting the property - so most agencies will have a mixture of pets allowed/not allowed rentals. Also, it never hurts to enquire, even if it says "no pets" - if you offer an additional deposit, and professional carpet cleaning at end of contract, some landlords will bend - especially if their property has been on the market a while.

stllurnin48

Yep. I am over in a few days for the New Year weekend and will get some local papers etc and see what private rentals there are. I hear from friends that the cotswolds people are very dog friendly so we shall see! Maybe private is the way to go.

I agree....Customer Service , if not dead, is dying! The only thing that keeps it alive over here are tips!

Mummy in the foothills

Check and see if your local papers in UK are available online I know the free one at my Moms is, I read it from to back, ads and all quite often.

AmerLisa

Can I suggest, for your wife, have her register on the website UK-Yankee and have a nose around. She may find some very valuable information and friendly faces should she need them.

Good luck

stllurnin48

I will certainly look at the on line papers and UK-Yankee as well. Thanks to all.

Well, I had a quick trip back home over the New Year and arranged a place to stay initially, as a base so that is done. We have our movers coming at the end of this month so got to get on with the inventory etc and we have a house to rent over here once ours is sold so, so far so good!

aes1

Good luck on the move!! Any tips on getting a buyer? I have had mine on the market in Charleston SC since June, reduced the price 3 times, still nothing Getting desperate now.

stllurnin48

A couple of things we did aes1 - Get a good realtor who will do a good job on the internet. Our buyers are from New York. Use one that is regional rather than local. That definitely helped us. Still peed off as to how much they charge for the service though!!

We packed everything away and turned the house into a show house. Bland and impersonal with just a few things on show.

Are you getting any interest at least? I think we were lucky, to be honest, as I was not expecting a sniff until well into the spring but I guess ppl still need to move in the dead of winter.

Are you in Charleston itself?

aes1

Yes, I am 15 minutes from downtown, 10 minutes to the beach. My relator is also my friend (English) and she says my house is advertised on 300 sites world wide via Internet. I don't have clutter, there's only me in my house, and I have been told it is like a showhouse. So I guess the gods of house sales just haven't got around to mine yet! Seriously thinking about renting - if feasible - but not sure how that affects taxes, and down the road when I sell not being a resident in US.

stllurnin48

Sounds like you are doing the same as us and Charleston is a prime location so it shouldn't be a problem. It is a waiting game isn't it? Is it a possibility to get a property management company to manage it for you? We had thought about that for ours but funnily enough, we didn't think anyone would want to rent this place as it is out in the country and not a prime location for commuting.