fizzybangs Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 Garage sales, house sale, car sale, motorhome sale, decide how much stuff we can afford to take because of cost of shipping - anyone got a ready-made list as my head is bursting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quoll Posted April 9, 2012 Share Posted April 9, 2012 No, but good luck with that!!!! I will admit that I must have had the easiest return ever - our stuff is still in our house in Australia and I dont care if I never see it again (son is living in the house so it is being occupied). I arrived with a backpack and 20kg (well, probably a bit less than that actually) and because I didnt return from my "holiday" that's all I have. DH packed a few boxes which have taken over 5 months to arrive (shocking service from the mob that Grace have used here in UK) but I dont know what is in them and dont seem to have missed whatever it is either! I guess what I am saying is - travel light, it's only "stuff" and somehow you feel a whole lot freer when you dont have it. I do know of one family who advertised on Gumtree and their belongings fairly walked straight out of the door so they were lucky. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted April 9, 2012 Author Share Posted April 9, 2012 No, but good luck with that!!!! I will admit that I must have had the easiest return ever - our stuff is still in our house in Australia and I dont care if I never see it again (son is living in the house so it is being occupied). I arrived with a backpack and 20kg (well, probably a bit less than that actually) and because I didnt return from my "holiday" that's all I have. DH packed a few boxes which have taken over 5 months to arrive (shocking service from the mob that Grace have used here in UK) but I dont know what is in them and dont seem to have missed whatever it is either! I guess what I am saying is - travel light, it's only "stuff" and somehow you feel a whole lot freer when you dont have it. I do know of one family who advertised on Gumtree and their belongings fairly walked straight out of the door so they were lucky. Good luck! Ah - love it and made me laugh but I'm a woman! I couldn't possibly ' emigrate' from Oz permanently with just a backpack! The things I listed is just the start - it's all the other things we have to do and some I may not have even thought about but should do that I wanted a list for! How on earth can we make it 'unstressful'! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RockDr Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 With shipping, think about what you'll be able to restock cheaply in the UK. for example kitchen contents take up lots of space, and lots of packing time. So bring the expensive stuff, and leave the cheap stuff, you can get crockery, glasses, kettle, toaster etc from Tesco or equivalent for far less than their shipping cost, and you'll be needing them when you first arrive anyway. If you have more expensive appliances/items that still have a good few years left in them (I'm thinking things like bread-makers, espresso machines, good quality japanese knives etc), ship these, you can live without them for a few months if necessary, but they'd cost a fortune to buy new. Basically, you need to decide how much volume you can afford to ship, and work to that. Go through every room in the house, making a list of what's old vs what's new and has life left in it. With clothes etc, get rid of anything that doesn't fit well and anything you've not worn in the last year or so (special occasion items/winter woolies excepted). Also get rid of all those items that are a bit past it but you might use for gardening/PJs (keep one or two sets, but if you're anything like me, they've been breeding in dark corners...). Keep the good stuff, ditch the not so good stuff. Wait a week and do the same excercise again, you'll get rid of a whole lot more. Once you know what you want to take, you've done the most stressful part of the move (well other than selling the house, but decluttering will help that too...) Selling the car and motorhome, private advertising will probably get you the best price, so could try that for a couple of weeks and if you don't get any bites, the least stressful thing will be to sell it to a dealer. Make sure you hand in notice at work in appropriate time-frame. Once you've got a date for the house sale, you'll need to contact your utility providers to cancel those. Also cancel your insurances. You'll need to decide what you're doing with bank accounts and organise a money transfer. You'll need to look into what happens with your super, and if you need to file a tax return when you leave, or whether that can wait until the end of the next tax year. (hopefully someone on here can help with that info). If you have health issues then probably a good idea to get a copy of your health records, also dental x-rays if you've had any done recently. Think that's everything I can think of at this end, then you just have to set things up in the UK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjl Posted April 10, 2012 Share Posted April 10, 2012 Hi, we are in the same boat! I have got a big pad and have been writing in it all the things that I need to do and when to do it, otherwise I would find it a nightmare! We are also buying a house in the UK to move into on our return which to be honest hasnt helped the stress levels but it was something that we felt would help us and the kids. We are in a rental here and have had to move a couple of times so we just couldnt face looking for a rental again in the UK and then trying to find somewhere to buy. Just de-clutter as much as you feel able to and sell everything that you wont need or wont fit in the UK. best of luck with the move, when are you planning to go back? Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 Hi, we are in the same boat! I have got a big pad and have been writing in it all the things that I need to do and when to do it, otherwise I would find it a nightmare! We are also buying a house in the UK to move into on our return which to be honest hasnt helped the stress levels but it was something that we felt would help us and the kids. We are in a rental here and have had to move a couple of times so we just couldnt face looking for a rental again in the UK and then trying to find somewhere to buy. Just de-clutter as much as you feel able to and sell everything that you wont need or wont fit in the UK. best of luck with the move, when are you planning to go back? Sarah How long will it take to sell our motorhome and house - could be endless! Actually it will be harder to sell the motorhome as it is very bit - it was our home whilst we travelled around Oz! I'm also still in recovery from surgery and start physio next week so I can't do much yet but just the thought of sorting through all the stuff is overwhelming. We have a lot of stuff in boxes because we moved from Gold Coast (sold family home) to Logan (southside Brisbane) to do up a house we;ve had rented for years. It was completed just before I went into hospital. Therefore, I have to unpack stuff first and have at least an initial garage sale and then one later for everything else! I also wonder how stressful the whole move will be. What really fascinated me about your message is your buying a house in UK from Perth! Will you not see it before you get there? We've been here so long we don't even kinow what all the costs are that go with buying a house there! I am also noting that so may times, people who are returning are leaving from Perth. I have been all around Oz and every State is so different. Tasmania is amazing - a cross between Wales/Devon and Cornwall - stunning and the people are so friendly - it is so English. Perth is very isolated. Have you seen much of Oz? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjl Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 i hope you feel better soon! With the purchase of the house we have been very lucky to have supportive parents! We found the house on Rightmove in an area that we know. We asked our parents to view it on our behalf and they took extra pictures for us (this wasnt a problem as the house had just become vacant) as well as checking all our additional queries that we had. The estate agent is really helpful,so is the solicitor and we also had a great financial advisor who guided us through the mortgage process. Its taken longer than it would normally and we have paid for extra checks to be carried out on the gas and electric systems for peace of mind. We havent seen alot of Oz at all, not because we didnt want to but we didnt really have the funds plus every time Trev had time of work it was normally because relatives from the UK were coming to visit us! We have found living in Perth isolating but that said we are not leaving because we hate the place but because we miss family and the UK. We've had a few scares with members of our family being ill back in the UK and hated being so far away. We've had a great time here but we want to go home. Trev has been in contact with his old boss and there is a job waiting for him whenever we get back. Its not exactly what he left but a job is better than no job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 i hope you feel better soon! With the purchase of the house we have been very lucky to have supportive parents! We found the house on Rightmove in an area that we know. We asked our parents to view it on our behalf and they took extra pictures for us (this wasnt a problem as the house had just become vacant) as well as checking all our additional queries that we had. The estate agent is really helpful,so is the solicitor and we also had a great financial advisor who guided us through the mortgage process. Its taken longer than it would normally and we have paid for extra checks to be carried out on the gas and electric systems for peace of mind. We havent seen alot of Oz at all, not because we didnt want to but we didnt really have the funds plus every time Trev had time of work it was normally because relatives from the UK were coming to visit us! We have found living in Perth isolating but that said we are not leaving because we hate the place but because we miss family and the UK. We've had a few scares with members of our family being ill back in the UK and hated being so far away. We've had a great time here but we want to go home. Trev has been in contact with his old boss and there is a job waiting for him whenever we get back. Its not exactly what he left but a job is better than no job. All sounds very good. Our family members are all over UK and Wales and we won't be living near any of them as we are thinking of going back to Paignton/Brixham area in Devon where we lived and worked for 9 moths some years ago. Thanks for the tip on extra checks - what are the normal ones. Over here we always do pest and building inspections and I doubt we'll need to check for termites even though they did have them in a village in Devon years ago. Did you get a building inspection or surveyers report or anything? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjl Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 We got a home buyers report which looks at everything but doesnt really look into how effective the gas and electric systems are, so we got both checked and certified which cost approx £70 each. That highlighted a problem with the boiler and the owner was willing to get it repaired before we completed on the sale. It is a bit odd buying a house we havent seen and we wouldnt have done if there was not anyone we trusted to view it on our behalf. As we are still here it was a condition of the mortgage to have building insurance arranged already. The solicitor then handled all the other land checks etc. There has been a lot of emails back and forth.! we did need to get our id certified by a solicitor over here and then get the copies sent off before anything could happen as well as sign a letter from the mortgage company once the offer had come through to prove our id! Paignton is lovely, we are moving back to Hythe near Southampton which we cant wait for as we will be right on the edge of the New Forest and we have the beach just down the road, although the weather wont be as good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sunni1234 Posted April 11, 2012 Share Posted April 11, 2012 @sarahjl Hi sarah Please can i ask how you managed to secure a mortgage from Perth, was it straight forward? Who did you use? Many thanks Sunni x good luck with your move Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fizzybangs Posted April 11, 2012 Author Share Posted April 11, 2012 We got a home buyers report which looks at everything but doesnt really look into how effective the gas and electric systems are, so we got both checked and certified which cost approx £70 each. That highlighted a problem with the boiler and the owner was willing to get it repaired before we completed on the sale. It is a bit odd buying a house we havent seen and we wouldnt have done if there was not anyone we trusted to view it on our behalf. As we are still here it was a condition of the mortgage to have building insurance arranged already. The solicitor then handled all the other land checks etc. There has been a lot of emails back and forth.! we did need to get our id certified by a solicitor over here and then get the copies sent off before anything could happen as well as sign a letter from the mortgage company once the offer had come through to prove our id! Paignton is lovely, we are moving back to Hythe near Southampton which we cant wait for as we will be right on the edge of the New Forest and we have the beach just down the road, although the weather wont be as good! Thank you so much for this advice. We were living at Milford-on-Sea when we emigrated so know the New Forest well. Just before we left my brother-in-law was bitten by a snake in the New Forest which made us laugh as he had been telling us about the snakes in Oz. My mother also got bitten there by an adder and they are the only two people I have ever known to get bitten - both in UK and I've lived in Oz 31 years! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarahjl Posted April 12, 2012 Share Posted April 12, 2012 @sarahjl Hi sarah Please can i ask how you managed to secure a mortgage from Perth, was it straight forward? Who did you use? Many thanks Sunni x good luck with your move Hi Sunni, The lady that helped us I found on this forum. Her name is Sherrie See. I did a search on expat mortgages and she had commented on a few posts, i contacted her and we went from there. I found her really helpful as there are alot of forms to fill in at the beginning and she happily answered every daft question that we had! The process takes longer and alot of forms being filled in and emailed back. We did have to post forms and copies of certified ID to her and our solicitor. She talked us through what we could afford/get and all the different rates etc. There were also no fees to be paid to her from us for her service. We found her fab and very pleased that we decided to go with her! It was still stressful though. Found out last night that we hve completed on our sale and the house is ours! Just need to finalise everything here and away we go. Our lovely parents are helping us out and are willing to sit in the house for any deliveries.......oh and to get SKY installed (thats the hubby's priority! lol) Hope that helps Sarah Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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