I finally sold my home in England this severing another tie

[MARYROSE02]

That took me six or seven months. I wish I'd documented the process better although it's all in various emails so I could collate all of them. I did 99 percent of it by email too, only resorting to a phone call to my solicitor in tandem with a muted Zoom call (I could not unmute it - my first ever Zoom session). I used Zoom to show my solicitor I'd signed the contract whilst we spoke on the phone. 

I don't look back on it as a particularly stressful time even with Covid-19 and a three and a half month lockdown when I actually quit drinking. The only real stress came when "the other side" started whingeing about the length of time it took for the contract to arrive.  "When did you send it?" (15 December) "Why is it taking so long?" (Covid-19) "Can you send another copy?" I sent it Express International mail but it took till 2 January just to get on a plane and 8 Jan to get to the point when it was handed to Royal Mail.

It's not quite all over.  My personal effects which I'd stored in the loft won't arrive for a while.  As with everything else I did it via email. I think I picked John Mason after a recommendation by someone on PIO. I didn't bother with three different quotes. I'm toying with renting a storage unit for a few months rather than having them delivered to my lock up garage beneath my unit. I've still got stuff in there from 1997 when I decided to move to England and rent my unit out in Sydney. 

My garage is reasonably secure although there have been break-ins.  I lost a bike with two flat tyres a mate gave me and a Beatles poster with broken glass that I found in the garbo area. It's also very dusty and besides, I can afford to rent a storage unit now. All my financial worries have vanished at a stroke. I've still got all my other worries of course but now now I'm a RICH hypochondriac. I paid my credit card debt and my ATO debt and when I go to Surfers soon I can stay where I want. I've been a big spender at least where "things" are concerned - cars, holidays,  things for the house. Maybe I inherited some of my parents' Wartime induced frugality.  My brothers did not do so. 

There's also Captal Gains Tax to pay which terrified me the first time I used the HMRC template.  However,  the second time, using the difference in value since 2015 rather than 2007 when I bought it the amount came down by two thirds. If I've read it right HMRC gives two or three amounts one reflecting the difference since 2007 and the other since 2015 and I can pay the lower one. 

Funny but I was thinking of going to Surfers over Xmas and New Year when the prices double or triple but I didn't think I could afford it. No matter,  the school holidays are over next week when it's probably better to go anyway,  like going to Spain in September when it is still hot but the crowds have gone. 

I was sad when I put the house up for sale thinking I was selling my parents. I can practically see their headstone from the bedroom window. But I'm glad now.  I'm moving my assets to Australia and no more worries about the house and the tenants and repairs. I should have sold it beside I came back to OZ at the end of 2008 but I wasn't completely sure if I was coming back for good. 

I doubt if I'll ever move back to England now.  I could do it and if my two brothers were still there I probably would do it but they are both in OZ. The weather looks especially foul when in watching Spurs on TV. I don't want any of that!

But if I do ever go back I'm flying First Class!

 

[MARYROSE02]

THUS not THIS in the title! How I HATE predictive text. 

[Marisawright]

Well done. I think a storage unit is a good idea. There used to be some good places in Alexandria which would be convenient. 

Get one bigger than you need, as that will give you some floor space to move around in and spread things out as you go through them

[MARYROSE02]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Well done. I think a storage unit is a good idea. There used to be some good places in Alexandria which would be convenient. 

Get one bigger than you need, as that will give you some floor space to move around in and spread things out as you go through them

Yes, Storage King for one,  and Kennards, both close to me.  I've been meaning to go and check them out.  That's a good suggestion about bigger space than I need  I could move the crap from my garage to the storage unit and rent it out to offset the cost of the storage unit. 

Some of the stuff from my loft is crap too but I couldn't sort it from Australia,  my TV for instance. 

I had to clear out my garage too, mostly junk the tenants left.  There were two tenants so I don't know who put what in there.  More stuff I should have done before I left - emptied the garage and taken photos to prove it was empty. 

The removals company would not go up in the loft but luckily the guy who cleared the garage for me took all the stuff from the loft down into the bedroom and the removals company took it from there and a general list of it  - so many boxes,  bags, one painting, one guitar, etc. In a way I'm glad I couldn't be there.  It was a horrible job putting the stuff into the loft 

I made so many stuff ups. For some reason the estate agents never put the rent up and I never challenged them about it. Maybe having a long term tenant who did up the house added value to the sale price. I felt guilty when the agent issued them the 4 month notice after 12 years. I could have extended the notice but I never thought of it,  just let the agent handle it. They were getting a 3 bedroom house for the price of a one bedroom flat.

Anyway it's done now.  My brother and I can sort thru the stuff to see what he wants.  A lot of it belonged to all three of us plus my parents. My other brother would not care  He'd just hire a skip and dump it all- maybe not a bad idea but there are some valuable items.

I might do my flat up here too. If I can get my act together. 

[rammygirl]

1 hour ago, Marisawright said:

Well done. I think a storage unit is a good idea. There used to be some good places in Alexandria which would be convenient. 

Get one bigger than you need, as that will give you some floor space to move around in and spread things out as you go through them

And get a cheap folding table and chair and a battery lamp (if no power). So you can comfortably sort through your boxes. I helped sort out a charities storage unit a while back, too cramped to move things, dark and hot!

[ramot]

Well done MR, we are doing the same thing this year, but not bringing anything over here.

My only advice which is from personal experience, don’t pay storage fees for years and years, for things you think you might use one day? be ruthless, sell it or give it away, if you haven’t seen it or needed it you probably shouldn’t have kept it. The reality of what something is actually worth, can come as a shock. 

 

[MARYROSE02]

6 hours ago, rammygirl said:

And get a cheap folding table and chair and a battery lamp (if no power). So you can comfortably sort through your boxes. I helped sort out a charities storage unit a while back, too cramped to move things, dark and hot!

That's a good idea too. I can remember coming back to Oz for a holiday,  checking on my garage,  then surreptitiously peeing , hidden by all the crap I had in there. I was in the garage today.  Mate parked his car there for the weekend whilst he's gone to Brisbane. There's stuff at the back I keep meaning to sort and chuck. I went to England for a holiday in late 96, decided to stay so went back to Sydney in early 97, used the garage as storage to clear my flat out so I could rent it out, and there's still stuff from 25 years now. 

[MARYROSE02]

5 hours ago, ramot said:

Well done MR, we are doing the same thing this year, but not bringing anything over here.

My only advice which is from personal experience, don’t pay storage fees for years and years, for things you think you might use one day? be ruthless, sell it or give it away, if you haven’t seen it or needed it you probably shouldn’t have kept it. The reality of what something is actually worth, can come as a shock. 

 

Yes I know you are right both about keeping crap and wasting money on a storage unit.  My brother rented a storage unit too I think then just got rid of everything. 

I've thought of just shipping everything to my garage.  I've not given the final address to the shipping company yet though the goods won't leave England for a while. 

I guess I'm thinking,  I can afford to pay for the storage,  it is more secure,  cleaner and free of dust and it will be a more comfortable environment for my brother and me to sift through it.  I know there will be boxes of books,  football programmes, magazines, possibly some with value.

It wasn't feasible for me to go back to England even without covid.  I hate flying too. The cost of moving the stuff to Sydney is I think £2,000 plus 500 I paid a guy to clear out the garage.  If that was too much on its own he did me a huge favour moving everything down from the loft. 

I'm not thinking of holding things for years in case I might use them as having the willpower to chuck it out but there is some stuff either valuable or sentimental which I do want to keep. 

I want to learn to be a "minimalist!" Selling the house was traumatic at first but now I'm glad l did it. It will be the same with the personal effects. My other brother SAYS he is a minimalist but he keeps leaving stuff at my place!

Are you living in the UK / living here / going back to the UK to sell the house / selling it from here the way I did it?

[ramot]

34 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Yes I know you are right both about keeping crap and wasting money on a storage unit.  My brother rented a storage unit too I think then just got rid of everything. 

I've thought of just shipping everything to my garage.  I've not given the final address to the shipping company yet though the goods won't leave England for a while. 

I guess I'm thinking,  I can afford to pay for the storage,  it is more secure,  cleaner and free of dust and it will be a more comfortable environment for my brother and me to sift through it.  I know there will be boxes of books,  football programmes, magazines, possibly some with value.

It wasn't feasible for me to go back to England even without covid.  I hate flying too. The cost of moving the stuff to Sydney is I think £2,000 plus 500 I paid a guy to clear out the garage.  If that was too much on its own he did me a huge favour moving everything down from the loft. 

I'm not thinking of holding things for years in case I might use them as having the willpower to chuck it out but there is some stuff either valuable or sentimental which I do want to keep. 

I want to learn to be a "minimalist!" Selling the house was traumatic at first but now I'm glad l did it. It will be the same with the personal effects. My other brother SAYS he is a minimalist but he keeps leaving stuff at my place!

Are you living in the UK / living here / going back to the UK to sell the house / selling it from here the way I did it?

We have lived in Australia for 19 years, we are selling our rental properties, but when we sold the family house, we kept things, stupidly in hindsight, in storage for 10 years, cost stupid money, and hardly got anything much when we finally sold things.

A hard lesson learnt. Beautiful Ercol solid elm 8 seaters table, matching side board and corner cabinet. plus 8 antique dining chairs plus matching grandfather and grandmothers button back chairs, sold for about 300,00 pds. No one wanted brown furniture then.

Selling from here, they hold no sentimental value at all. Amazes me that we can sign electronically from here.

[Marisawright]

19 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I guess I'm thinking,  I can afford to pay for the storage,  it is more secure,  cleaner and free of dust and it will be a more comfortable environment for my brother and me to sift through it.  I know there will be boxes of books,  football programmes, magazines, possibly some with value.

I think that is an EXCELLENT idea.

[Marisawright]

18 hours ago, ramot said:

A hard lesson learnt. Beautiful Ercol solid elm 8 seaters table, matching side board and corner cabinet. plus 8 antique dining chairs plus matching grandfather and grandmothers button back chairs, sold for about 300,00 pds. No one wanted brown furniture then.

I thnk it's not so much that it's out of fashion, but that there's a resistance to buying second-hand furniture unless it can be labelled "retro".  

[ramot]

2 hours ago, Marisawright said:

I thnk it's not so much that it's out of fashion, but that there's a resistance to buying second-hand furniture unless it can be labelled "retro".  

I’m talking 10 plus years ago and trust me brown furniture wasn’t selling in England,  IKEA flat packs were though. 

Ercol was very good quality solid wood furniture, but the size of our dining set was also against it, too big for many modern houses

Edited January 23, 2022 by ramot

[Marisawright]

4 hours ago, ramot said:

I’m talking 10 plus years ago and trust me brown furniture wasn’t selling in England,  IKEA flat packs were though. 

The kind of people who'd buy Ercol are not the same people who would buy IKEA flatpacks.   I remember Ercol, high quality indeed and beautiful stuff.  I just noticed that a stigma seemed to have developed about buying second-hand, even if it was in perfect condition.   Whereas I think my whole first home was second-hand stuff when I started out!

[MARYROSE02]

Ercol? Never heard of it.  Typical.  I start a thread and you all talk about something else!

I'm joking.  I don't mind what anybody talks about it if they go "off topic". Someone says something and it strikes a chord with someone else and they want to talk about it. I should have put a note at the bottom of my post. "All comments welcome,  on or off topic."

IKEA and Bunnings! "When I was young and single I used to go to Bunnings if I needed something.  Now I'm old and married,  I just go to Bunnings". (or IKEA)

I think there is one item of furniture in my effects - a "teapoy". It's a family heirloom.

[Marisawright]

6 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Ercol? Never heard of it.  Typical.  I start a thread and you all talk about something else!...

I think there is one item of furniture in my effects - a "teapoy". It's a family heirloom.

Do you have someone to pass the teapoy on to?   If not, now might be a good time to think about selling it, it could be worth something. 

This is about Ercol: https://www.pamono.com.au/makers/ercol

When we went to the UK, we got rid of most of our furniture as it was past its best anyway.   When we returned, we just went to IKEA and bought all our furniture there. I must admit I feel self-conscious about that when we have visitors, as I feel a bit like a student!   However it's such sensible furniture for a unit - compact, lightweight, clean lines - and although most of it is just made from particleboard and the like, it's very sturdy and practical.  At our age it's probably silly to buy furniture that will "last a lifetime" anyway.

[MARYROSE02]

45 minutes ago, Marisawright said:

Do you have someone to pass the teapoy on to?   If not, now might be a good time to think about selling it, it could be worth something. 

This is about Ercol: https://www.pamono.com.au/makers/ercol

When we went to the UK, we got rid of most of our furniture as it was past its best anyway.   When we returned, we just went to IKEA and bought all our furniture there. I must admit I feel self-conscious about that when we have visitors, as I feel a bit like a student!   However it's such sensible furniture for a unit - compact, lightweight, clean lines - and although most of it is just made from particleboard and the like, it's very sturdy and practical.  At our age it's probably silly to buy furniture that will "last a lifetime" anyway.

I read the article thanks. Parker Knoll sounds vaguely familiar but I've never heard of Ercol. I don't think I have any "new" furniture. I bought my bed from my nephew, two armchairs from my brother, one coffee table from the other brother, another coffee table from a mate, bookshelf from the garbage area. My parents furnished a home here from gargage sales I think. I very much doubt that I could assemble anything from Ikea though I do have very capable mates.

Now that I can afford it I could give my unit a complete makeover but if I moved, say to QLD, and sold it, I don't know if it's worth it.

[Marisawright]

2 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Now that I can afford it I could give my unit a complete makeover but if I moved, say to QLD, and sold it, I don't know if it's worth it.

It's always a big debate whether it's worth doing a makeover or not.  However, the one BIG thing, which they say you must always do, is declutter.  Especially in a unit, because it's a small space and clutter makes it look worse.  Also things like ornaments are very personal taste.

[MARYROSE02]

1 minute ago, Marisawright said:

It's always a big debate whether it's worth doing a makeover or not.  However, the one BIG thing, which they say you must always do, is declutter.  Especially in a unit, because it's a small space and clutter makes it look worse.  Also things like ornaments are very personal taste.

I forgot to mention the tea poy. I might pass it on to my nephew. Decluttering? Yes, that's a good idea. I did make a big pile of books I was going to clear out then I couldn't be bothered and put them back - double stacked in my bookcase. Some people just put their books down in the garbage area. They are bloody heavy to take to a charity shop.

[Marisawright]

2 minutes ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I forgot to mention the tea poy. I might pass it on to my nephew. Decluttering? Yes, that's a good idea. I did make a big pile of books I was going to clear out then I couldn't be bothered and put them back - double stacked in my bookcase. Some people just put their books down in the garbage area. They are bloody heavy to take to a charity shop.

They're not heavy if you split them up.  Check around your area for community libraries too.  Then just get into the habit of picking up two or three books every time you go out for a walk, an drop them off at a street library or charity shop.  

[ramot]

9 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

Ercol? Never heard of it.  Typical.  I start a thread and you all talk about something else!

I'm joking.  I don't mind what anybody talks about it if they go "off topic". Someone says something and it strikes a chord with someone else and they want to talk about it. I should have put a note at the bottom of my post. "All comments welcome,  on or off topic."

IKEA and Bunnings! "When I was young and single I used to go to Bunnings if I needed something.  Now I'm old and married,  I just go to Bunnings". (or IKEA)

I think there is one item of furniture in my effects - a "teapoy". It's a family heirloom.

I was actually only trying to make the point, that sadly when you sell your household items, even good quality,  that you think might be worth money, it comes as a shock to find they are almost worthless. I didn’t intend it to become a thread about Ercol. 

Edited January 23, 2022 by ramot

[beketamun]

On 24/01/2022 at 10:22, ramot said:

I was actually only trying to make the point, that sadly when you sell your household items, even good quality,  that you think might be worth money, it comes as a shock to find they are almost worthless. I didn’t intend it to become a thread about Ercol. 

It's a bit like jewellery that you value as an heirloom.... when somebody values it by weight it's scrap metal value unless you have provenance that means something to a complete stranger.

[MARYROSE02]

My personal effects are on their way to Sydney. They left on 2nd March. I didn't see the email from the UK removals company (John Mason). I was about to reply to the Poms in OZ post and thought "I'll just search my emails."

I don't suppose they will arrive in Sydney until some time in April but I'll contact the Sydney agent.  I want them to hold my effects until I can arrange a storage unit.  I've got the cubic measurements for my effects so that should aid me booking the right size unit.

I'm still in Surfers Paradise and not planning to return to Sydney just yet.  I suppose I could arrange to be at the storage unit address when it arrives but I don't know if that is necessary. I could ask my brother to do it.

I've done everything else regarding the house sale and moving the personal effects via email so I guess moving the personal effects to a storage unit should be no different.

The only other thing outstanding from the move is to pay my Capital Gains Tax to HMRC. I searched for CGT questions in PIO and found a similar query to mine and I added my question.

I don't have a problem working out the CGT but I do have a problem opening a CGT account with HMRC. I just can't seem to figure it out using the HMRC website. I can log into self assessment no problem which I've been doing for years but creating the CGT account has defeated me so far. There's a separate "Gateway" which asks for two forms of ID none of which I've got - no UK passport, no UK home address. I may have to fill a form out to do it and I"m hoping it will arrive soon. I don't know if Covid is still stuffing up the mail delivery times?

I'm glad I sold the house now but I was sad when I first made the decision.

 

 

[MARYROSE02]

On 24/01/2022 at 09:22, ramot said:

I was actually only trying to make the point, that sadly when you sell your household items, even good quality,  that you think might be worth money, it comes as a shock to find they are almost worthless. I didn’t intend it to become a thread about Ercol. 

When I first decided to come back to Australia in 2008 I should have been more "brutal" in "culling" what to store and what to chuck out. In my defence, I wasn't planning to come back to Australia for good when I left but I did get rid of all the furniture.

Shipping the contents of the loft out to Sydney was easier than my going back to Southampton. Even if i had wanted to go back Covid was stuffing flights up. I don't suppose the cost of shipping the effects to Sydney is much different to the cost of flying to England. The house had no furniture. It was a nightmare moving the stuff up the ladder into the loft.

This way I'll get everything into a storage unit in Sydney and, with my brother, I can go through it.  I remember my Dad had a stamp collection worth two or three hundred quid (I had it valued) but I decided to keep it. There will be a few family heirlooms, maybe some other stuff. I don't know. It's been 13 years since I've seen it.

Perhaps I'm just joining the ranks of the people who put stuff into storage and never take it out? I've still got stuff at the back of my garage which I put in there back in 1997 when I decided to stay in England. There's a terrifying scene in The Silence of the Lambs when Starling has to creep into a storage unit and check out an old car. My garage isn't like that.

[Marisawright]

5 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

I don't suppose they will arrive in Sydney until some time in April but I'll contact the Sydney agent.  I want them to hold my effects until I can arrange a storage unit.  I've got the cubic measurements for my effects so that should aid me booking the right size unit.

 

Here's a tip:  book a storage unit that's twice the size of your shipment. 

That's essential because you'll need floor space to unpack things and move them around.  

[ramot]

5 hours ago, MARYROSE02 said:

My personal effects are on their way to Sydney. They left on 2nd March. I didn't see the email from the UK removals company (John Mason). I was about to reply to the Poms in OZ post and thought "I'll just search my emails."

I don't suppose they will arrive in Sydney until some time in April but I'll contact the Sydney agent.  I want them to hold my effects until I can arrange a storage unit.  I've got the cubic measurements for my effects so that should aid me booking the right size unit.

I'm still in Surfers Paradise and not planning to return to Sydney just yet.  I suppose I could arrange to be at the storage unit address when it arrives but I don't know if that is necessary. I could ask my brother to do it.

I've done everything else regarding the house sale and moving the personal effects via email so I guess moving the personal effects to a storage unit should be no different.

The only other thing outstanding from the move is to pay my Capital Gains Tax to HMRC. I searched for CGT questions in PIO and found a similar query to mine and I added my question.

I don't have a problem working out the CGT but I do have a problem opening a CGT account with HMRC. I just can't seem to figure it out using the HMRC website. I can log into self assessment no problem which I've been doing for years but creating the CGT account has defeated me so far. There's a separate "Gateway" which asks for two forms of ID none of which I've got - no UK passport, no UK home address. I may have to fill a form out to do it and I"m hoping it will arrive soon. I don't know if Covid is still stuffing up the mail delivery times?

I'm glad I sold the house now but I was sad when I first made the decision.

 

 

We will need to pay the non resident CGT shortly, please check if it’s still 30 days from completion of conveyance, or now 60 days? before you are fined., please don’t take my word for it, check to make sure you aren’t caught out and get fined.