[marcia]

I know loads of you have had (and still are having) real problems trying to sell your houses. I just wondered how long before you planned to go you put your house up for sale.

As most of you know we haven't even sent in our EOI yet (we don't think we have enough points but are sitting down this week to go through it again with a fine tooth comb!) We are hoping Kev may get a job offer in Jan when we visit. But one way or another (I'm sure 99.5%) that we will get to NZ before sept 2007! (When our eldest is due to start high school)

So even though we are right at the start of our journey we are talking about the possibilty of putting the house up for sale next spring. If we did sell we would have to move into rented accommodation or with kevs mum for a while.

Has anyone done this?
Was it more hassle this way?

Any thoughts/advise from those of you further on down the 'journey' would be appreciated.

[RobDickinson]

Depends on your area, if property is still selling ok then you may be able to wait.

Else put it uo for a decent price and wait it out, drop the price closer to when you want to leave if your having no luck.

One problem with this is keeping the house up to viewing standards and the hastle associated with it and 'tyre kickers'.

[clarabell]

Marcia, I was thinking of putting up an almost identical post!!
You seem to be in nearly the exact situation we are. :mrgreen:
We are submitting the EOI in Oct, before the expo where OH is hoping to make some contacts within his industry. Were flying out on Dec 18th and hopefully he will have at least one interview to attend!
I want to put the house on the market as soon as we get back in Jan but OH thinks spring would be better. We cant move until July after I graduate, so anytime after that is perfect.

But when to put the house up? Too soon and we'll be paying high rental prices for a long time, and too late and we might run the risk of OH moving first to start a job while me and the kids stay behind, something we'd both hate but obviously would have to do if it came to that.

I shall watch this thread very closely indeed. Some how, I dont think we're the only ones who have agonized over this decision!

Let us know what you decided. We should take the plunge and do it together ;)

[K&CS]

Hi Marcia

We've got our ITA in (waiting to hear back) and are hoping to go December/January and have just put our house on the market (board went up yesterday). I think you need to get it on the market a good few months before you expect to leave with the market being the way it is at the moment. If we have to go into rented (well, probably a holiday let, which we've done before then you pay week on week) for a while, I don't think we'll lose out financially because we won't be paying mortgage/council tax/bills/insurance etc and at least we know we can leave at the drop of a hat!

Good luck whatever you decide - not fun trying to sell your house!

Kate

[baboonworld]

Since it can take ages I'd put your house up as soon as you decide you want to go to NZ!!

It takes far too long to get a house sold (we have had two viewers and it was advertised for the 1st time this week in the paper) I know it only takes one interested party (or 3 in Diny's case) but just want to go now!!

[kiwidollie]

My advice would be get that house on the Market as soon as possible.

It's the only thing that's holding us up. Neil got his job offer through in March and we're are all ready to go but the house just will not sell!

It's been on the market since April and we've had 6 or 7 viewings but not one offer.

We were hoping to be able to go sometime during the school holidays as that would have suited all of us but it seems that plan is not going to work out.

Here's hoping you have better luck than us!

Cheers :nice1

[Karen]

I agree, we're putting the house on the market next month and all being well are hoping to move out in Feb-March.

The housing market is still pretty sluggish with most offers taking approx 2-3 months to arrive, then provided everything runs smoothly and the chain is short and/or amazingly well organised (we can all dream!!) it still takes about another 3 months to complete.

We've allowed a minimun of 6 months prior to leaving for the house to sell.

Will keep you posted on the screaming hordes of cash buyers knocking at the door!!!! :exit

Karen

[Gran]

You should be able to generate enough interest from your house money, once it is sold to pay your rent. Its not a bad idea to "camp" in a rental, only unpacking the things you use daily until your container arrives.

[sarahw]

Get it on! It took us 9 months to sell & my brother's house has taken 18 months!! Both in desireable suburbs with easy commutes from London

You can always refuse an offer or pull out if you change your mind, but you can't go back in time when you're desperate to get it sold & move over! We wish we'd put ours on the market the minute we decided we were interested in moving to NZ - we waited until we got a job offer & had 4 months to make the move (including Xmas holiday time) - it wasn't long enough & we spent 6 months here paying a UK mortgage for an empty house.

[marcia]

Thanks guys - seems like the sooner the better really!

[Kim39]

Hi Marcia,

I have to say get that board up TODAY You know my situation and we have had ours up for 12 months now. :wah Started with a price of £150000 and are now willing to take £130000. :no Job offer been on the table for 12 months also. :roll:

The market news is that prices have stagnated and will take 7 years to recover, :eek so its probably best to get it up now. If the market is good in Huddersfield, then it looks like you will need to bring your plans forward if you can. Failing that it could take til 2007 to sell.

Throw it up you ain't got anything to lose.

Kim

[blue]

I am in a similiar postion to Kim and hte house has been on the market for 15 months and fallen through twice. Once because their sale fell through and the second time it got to the day before exchange and they changed their minds.
I have a job thats been kept open for 12 months and PR which needs to be activated by November. Time is running out for me so please put your property on the market like tomorrow as its an awfull situation to be in.

[Diny]

Agree with all of the above. PUT THE HOUSE ON THE MARKET NOW !!!!!!!

You can 'camp out' in a rental .... believe me, the hassle of being held back by a house sale is crippling.

Go for it !!!

Diny

[Karen]

OMG...

Starting to get really worried now as we only thought 6-8 months to sell the house. :uhoh

The house went on the market on Fri and we have our first viewer on Thurs - hopfully they'll fall in love with it and offer cash???!!!!

We were hoping to sell fast and camp with mates in order to save a bit of cash before we leave - looks like this cunning plan may not be as cunning as we first imagined!

[real_sunfire]

To be honest unless you need the money from the house sale immediately I would recommend against saling your house in the UK funtil you have lived in NZ for at least 18 months. I would also advise against buying something immediately. The advantage of renting in the short term you can find exactly the best area for you to live without being being trapped by house ownership.

It will give you a chance to return to the UK easily in case you decide NZ is not for you and your family. You can always let out your UK house until you make the decision to defintely stay.

Rgds.,
Nick.