lara24

Mmm that does make sense as most I have seen advertised with no price have been VERY nice houses so maybe they are so unique the agent doesn't know what to ask.

I could understand if they were houses that would maybe struggle to sell but all that I have seen like that are VERY nice to the point of us thinking they are way out of reach. Maybe once we are have moved and are talking to estate agents they may help with a guide price. It seems very odd to me but I am sure there will be millions of things that we will need to understand and adapt to once we move. Anyone else every encountered such house adverts or maybe even bought one??

This is an example of what I mean: http://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-wa-burns+beach-112770495

Yes, there is no asking price or range on the advert. All it says is offers invited and sometimes by a certain date but often just offers invited........

I have in the past always discounted houses advertised as "Offers Invited" as they always looked way out of our budget but recently I have seen quite a few that may be with-in budget. We are moving in the next few months to Perth and hope to buy relatively quickly so will need to get a handle on the property market. In the UK the seller has a valuation done prior to the house being advertised which is available for all to see and before that was law each prospective buyer paid for their own survey but you would have a rough idea based on the asking price. As I don't see any surveys attached to house listings I am at a loss as to how you know what the vendor is expecting or wants - can anyone explain......... Thanks from a dumb POM.

It is because the cost of living, buying/renting a house etc are generally more expensive so if you earn £50,000 in the UK to have the equivalent lifestyle in Oz you should expect to need to earn approx 2.2 times that which is $110,000 rather than the exchange rate of 1.5 to the pound you would only expect to need to earn $75,000. Hope that makes sense if not do a search for some of The Ropey Hoff's threads as it has been discussed at length in the past. I haven't seen anything from the Hoff recently - is he ok?...anyone

We have our visa and hope to move to Perth asap, the only thing holding us back is that we haven't sold our house. I really don't want to rent it out with us being on the other side of the world plus we really wanted to use the equity to enable us to buy in Perth. Does anyone have experience of renting and then selling a UK house whilst still in Australia. Is it as problematic as I imagine it to be?? Thanks

My husband rented out his house for a couple of years when he had to move for work. He had his mortgage with HSBC and they were happy, no change of payments or type of mortgage. I would always say be honest........

I really love Liz Earle superskin moisturiser, in fact it was only the other day I wondered what I would use in oz as it has no SPF in it. Perhaps just use at night......anyway I can really recommend it but you would need to order it online. http://uk.lizearle.com/cleanse-tone-moisturise/superskin-moisturiser.html I don't have dry skin and it is still not atoll greasy. If you lived in Perth I would take you a tub over with me to say thanks for all your good work on PIO. I don't post often but it really is a wealth of info.

I have seen them on Amazon for £63 I think it was. Not looked for any other outlets but I assume Amazon will be as good a price as you will get.

I can't help with the acceptable car seats (been looking myself and still baffled - we also have the axiss) but if you did take one from the UK you would need to buy another one in Oz or rent one from the hire car company as UK seats are not legal in Oz. Personally I plan to use the AmSafe child restraint, just hope our youngest will sit in it. It is common practice for hire car companies to rent child seats so you shouldn't have too many problems there. If you do buy the Amsafe call Quantas first and ask for an e-mail to confirm they are happy for you to use it. Some airlines are not happy, some will only let you use them in certain rows so that needs to be done before you choose your exact seats and also even if an airline is happy for you to use them not all staff seem briefed on the fact so an e-mail from customer services could save you a lot of grief when you already have your hands full. Good luck!!

Ah, thanks. We never really thought we had a chance anyway, like I said not enough drama in our family to make interesting TV. Looking forward to the new series, I noticed it starts next week. Good luck to you BIL, hope they make the final selection.

Thanks Davo, defo not had a rejection e-mail yet so we may still be in the running. Oh just noticed you are from the same neck of the woods as us. We are in Inverurie......... Let us know when your show is due to be aired - will look forward to it.

No they do pay for flights and accommodation, you only need to pay for extra nights accommodation if you want to stay longer than the week of filming.

We did the questionnaire too, sent photos etc but not heard anything since. Think we maybe don't have enough conflict in the family to be chosen......lol

Just wondered if anyone has been told they have been selected for the new series of WDU? We applied but didn't really expect to hear anything, I seem to remember they were filming early in the new year..........

Bob1, I can't believe you have just prompted me to order Rolf Harris the Platinum collection from Amazon. Will be an education for my 4 year old.......

Wow, thanks guys. I don't know what half of the things listed are but will happily google. A pavlova I can certainly do and I have no idea what a pie floater is......I hope it tastes nicer than it sounds - hehe!!

I have my sister-in-law's boyfriend coming to stay with us over christmas (the whole family are descending for our last one in the UK - hehe) and he is Australian, born and brought up in Adelaide. I just wondered if there was anything I could do/make that you would say is Australian? I am guessing a lot of influences are from the US..........any suggestions welcome. We have roasted chestnuts, the yanks have eggnog what about you lovely Aussies? Oh we are in Aberdeen which is currently 1 degree and covered in snow so we certainly won't be going to the beach with steak and prawns......bbbrrrrrr

Hi Steph, Please try not to worry. I am on medication for high-blood pressure and have been for years. My medical was granted with no further checks required as my blood pressure is now well controlled. High blood pressure is not something you want to go un-treated but hopefully your GP can confirm if indeed you do have an issue and if so put you on some medication to get it down. They will probably want to take a few readings over a period of time before putting you on medication so this may delay things for a month or so but I wouldn't imagine any longer than that. The Dr that did my medical laughed when I said I was worried about failing because of my BP, she said as long as it is controlled and is not caused by something far more serious it is never a problem with migration medicals. Good luck and stay calm.......

If you love cooking and baking and think you would be good with kids you could start your own cookery/baking lessons for children. They are becoming really popular and I imagine would be a lot of fun and rewarding. Wouldn't get you a visa though unless you tried the own business route and not sure how much money you could make......... Good luck with whatever you decide.

Hopefully someone who has been in your situation will be along in a minute but I am pretty sure you will not be able to delay so may need to book a validation trip. I would ask the CO that handled your case as you never know but I would not be hopeful. Also worth taking into consideration how long it will take to get your baby a visa before planning a permanent move. The baby will not automatically get a visa just because it's parents have, unfortunatly you will need to apply separately for that. Good luck.

Brilliant post - life is for living and yours sounds pretty good.

Afraid not, to claim points for 7 you need a minimum of 7 in each. Sorry, good luck.

Have a look at this: http://www.immi.gov.au/skills/skillselect/index/visas/subclass-190/ I just had a very quick look and I think you will struggle with points. In the middle of putting kids to bed so was a very quick look. I think you will get 10 points for 7's in IELTS and like flatpack says 20 for 8's. You would get nothing with your current result so if in any doubt about having enough points I would re-sit, looking at your other results all 8's should be achievable for you. Good luck. Also I remember seeing a post from one of the agents on PIO saying if you submit and your points total is not as claimed you will automatically be rejected even if you are still above 60 points. Maybe have a look for that thread as it may be useful to you. I think it might have been Willie Russell who posted it but not sure.