So Frustated!

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

We got our visa granted in July and after spending all that time preparing TRA, SS, visa etc and always having something to do and trying to be one step ahead I feel like I've hit a brick wall at the mo and it's driving me mad. House is on the market and we need to sell it before we can go. We've had all our shipping quotes done and everything and now I feel so helpless, there's is nothing I can do until we have a date for moving We've only had a couple of viewings, one lot were relocating from down south, loved the house but had no idea when he'd be starting his job and had a house of their own to sell which isn't even on the market and the other couple really loved the house but they are both self employed and have been trying for weeks but can't get finances sorted. We had hoped to be there by January at the latest to get settled for the new school year but who knows now.

Doesn't help that winter is here and it's getting cold and miserable, it'll be snowing before we know it!!

 

Anyway, just wanted to vent a bit with a virtual :arghh:

[Guest wyles family]

Hello, we had our visa granted in july and had not sold our house, we had two to sell!! We rented both of them out in the end as we just wanted to go asap and we didnt want to sell them really cheap!, we think this is a good idea as its an investment for the future. We rented out straight away with no problems.. Could you not rent your house out then? It could take a long time to sell in the current market...

 

You propably need the money from the sale of your house to move so this wont be an option to rent, we had a barn and downsized to a small house, to use that money to move with. Good luck whatever you do. Hope the weather is kind to you this winter! We leave on 25th oct! Omg

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

We have considered renting it out but only really as a last resort if nothing's happening by the beginning of the year - we've got until the end of June to validate - as it would mean going over with basically nothing, so really we need the money from the house if possible. We've got time yet, I'm just not a very patient person at the best of times lol.

 

Not long now until you go, are you excited or getting stressed?Good luck with it all and think of us poor people sitting here freezing our bums off while you bask in the sunshine

[Guest Scottish_Mitchells]

Hey

 

We are also in cold miserable Scotland and feel like we have been living in limbo for ages. We got our visa on 11/8/11, put our house on the market 1 week later and have had 1 viewer. Like you wanted to sell rather than rent our house but dont think that's going to happen. My husband has his own company so we have had to sell that as well, once that is finalised we can get flights booked. Nothing happening there for ages and now hopefully business end getting sorted over next couple of days. Cant wait to book flights and have definite dates sorted. My sister and family have been living in Adelaide for 6 years and we have been lucky enough to visit a lot over this time. She has said that no-one she knows has sold their house in the past 3 years before going out they have all rented it out. For us its the business end we have to get sorted rather than the house, so I am now thinking shall we reduce the price drastically and just take the hit but even then doesnt seem to be anything moving here. We are still hoping to be out the beginning of December, get kids settled etc for school year, like you, though when I look at todays date, I think OMG, may have a few mad weeks ahead lol!!!! Still would be good to be doing something positive.

 

Good luck and stay positive, sorry not been much help just seemed really similar circumstances

 

Jane

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Hey

 

We are also in cold miserable Scotland and feel like we have been living in limbo for ages. We got our visa on 11/8/11, put our house on the market 1 week later and have had 1 viewer. Like you wanted to sell rather than rent our house but dont think that's going to happen. My husband has his own company so we have had to sell that as well, once that is finalised we can get flights booked. Nothing happening there for ages and now hopefully business end getting sorted over next couple of days. Cant wait to book flights and have definite dates sorted. My sister and family have been living in Adelaide for 6 years and we have been lucky enough to visit a lot over this time. She has said that no-one she knows has sold their house in the past 3 years before going out they have all rented it out. For us its the business end we have to get sorted rather than the house, so I am now thinking shall we reduce the price drastically and just take the hit but even then doesnt seem to be anything moving here. We are still hoping to be out the beginning of December, get kids settled etc for school year, like you, though when I look at todays date, I think OMG, may have a few mad weeks ahead lol!!!! Still would be good to be doing something positive.

 

Good luck and stay positive, sorry not been much help just seemed really similar circumstances

 

Jane

 

Thanks Jane, I know we're not the only ones in this boat, but like you, it's just that feeling of being in limbo and not knowing. Fingers crossed that you get good news on the business front very soon and you'll be on your way. It must be lovely to have your sister over there already and after all your hols you'll have a feel for the place. Whereabouts are you looking to settle? It's nearly 30 years since I went to Adelaide and hubby's never been to Oz so it's a very big adventure for us!

 

Wendy x

[Guest Scottish_Mitchells]

Hi Wendy

Just booked our flights today!!!! Cant believe it. Business finally got all sorted. We are looking to go to Somerton Park/ Glenelg/ North Brighton areas, near the beach and my sister. Best of both worlds.

I am getting a couple of shipping quotes this week. Who did you get? I have Pickfords & Clarke and Rose coming out any others you think I should consider?

Still not a thing with the house, which is a pain in the ****, but nothing happening anywhere it seems.

Good luck with yours hope you get someone in really soon, remember you only need 1 person.

 

Jane xx

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Hi Jane,

That's brill news, so pleased you got it all sorted.

Have a look at White & Co. We had them, Crown, Anglo Pacific, Clarke & Rose and Shore Porters out and have about 700 cubic feet to ship. White & Co's price for it to go FCL was actually cheaper than the quotes we had for the others to send it as groupage, and I have been very pleased with their info/communication so far so looks like they'll be the one for us whe- a couple of the others were ruled out before price even came into it!

 

Wendy x

[Guest craigf]

We have been in Adelaide for just over 2 years now. We put our house on the market before we applied for our visa (a year before) so that we had plenty of time to sell and at the time we thought we'd have to move in with family until we moved. How wrong were we!! We were granted our visa in October 2008 and sold all our personal belongings so that we could book flights. We just went for it. We came over in July 2009 with 4 suitcases and 2 teenagers. Luckily not long after we booked our flights I got a job in

Adelaide which I started the day after we arrived. Our house sold 2 weeks ago thats 3 years and 2 months to sell. Our parents have lived in it for the past 2 years and in hindsight i would have rented it out to make a bit of money. We lost 20,000 on the house and sold it for less than we borrowed it. What I am trying to say is don't rely on your house selling. We came from Scotland as well and the market is not good. Hopefully it will get better (at least that's what I have been telling myself for the last 3 years). It's such a relief now that its sold.

[Guest eclare]

We too are in the same boat and have 2 properties to sell. One has been on the market for 3 /12 years already, fortunately we are not dependent upon that one selling to make the move but do need to sell the family home. This is only our 3rd week of viewing but for some reason properties in our street seems to be moving reasonably rapidly we have had 6 viewings but from the experience our our flat how knows when it will go I don't want to get over optimistic in case interest falls away. Had hope to leave Jan but I think it will be more like Feb/Mar at the earliest. I have been spending all my time researching the different properties and areas (as far as you can!). Also we have decided to take take about 3 weeks to get to OZ doing some stop overs, so spending time looking at hotels etc and planning the trip. We actually worked out its saving quite a bit about £700 in fares by splitting it up and it will be more fun and manageable with the kids...no flight more than 8 hours and travelling overnight! So managing to focus the energy into something positive and keep the momentum going a bit otherwise I would go mad...but I just so want to be there now! And you are so right the weather doesn't help, dark mornings and nights and we all have a horrible cold too! Good luck!

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

We have been in Adelaide for just over 2 years now. We put our house on the market before we applied for our visa (a year before) so that we had plenty of time to sell and at the time we thought we'd have to move in with family until we moved. How wrong were we!! We were granted our visa in October 2008 and sold all our personal belongings so that we could book flights. We just went for it. We came over in July 2009 with 4 suitcases and 2 teenagers. Luckily not long after we booked our flights I got a job in

Adelaide which I started the day after we arrived. Our house sold 2 weeks ago thats 3 years and 2 months to sell. Our parents have lived in it for the past 2 years and in hindsight i would have rented it out to make a bit of money. We lost 20,000 on the house and sold it for less than we borrowed it. What I am trying to say is don't rely on your house selling. We came from Scotland as well and the market is not good. Hopefully it will get better (at least that's what I have been telling myself for the last 3 years). It's such a relief now that its sold.

 

Thanks Craig. If the house doesn't sell then we will just rent it out and head over, but will wait until the new year before we think about going down that route. Just keeping everything crossed in the meantime. Got someone coming on Wednesday to view so at least something is happening.

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

We too are in the same boat and have 2 properties to sell. One has been on the market for 3 /12 years already, fortunately we are not dependent upon that one selling to make the move but do need to sell the family home. This is only our 3rd week of viewing but for some reason properties in our street seems to be moving reasonably rapidly we have had 6 viewings but from the experience our our flat how knows when it will go I don't want to get over optimistic in case interest falls away. Had hope to leave Jan but I think it will be more like Feb/Mar at the earliest. I have been spending all my time researching the different properties and areas (as far as you can!). Also we have decided to take take about 3 weeks to get to OZ doing some stop overs, so spending time looking at hotels etc and planning the trip. We actually worked out its saving quite a bit about £700 in fares by splitting it up and it will be more fun and manageable with the kids...no flight more than 8 hours and travelling overnight! So managing to focus the energy into something positive and keep the momentum going a bit otherwise I would go mad...but I just so want to be there now! And you are so right the weather doesn't help, dark mornings and nights and we all have a horrible cold too! Good luck!

 

Good luck with your house, hopefully all the interest will get you a quick sale! I know exactly what you mean about all the research, think I've researched myself out now with houses, areas etc! Where are you looking at heading to? We're going down south, like the look of Mclaren Vale and that area.

Who are you looking at flying with? £700 is a big difference, I have been looking at stopovers etc and separate flights and they all seem to be more expensive!

[Guest eclare]

Its a toss up between beach or hills. I am really drawn to Belair, Hawthorndene, Glenalta (or rather the size of the properties and the lovely scenery). Otherwise it will be closer to the beach (Marino/Somerton Park/Brighton/Seacliff), of course once we get there it could all change! We don't want a long commute so the aim is to be no more than 20-30 minutes from CBD. The flights were have looked at direct with Emarite (stopover in Dubia) but it was about £3900 (one-way fares, 2 adults, 1 child, I infant). We played around and can get oneway from Glasgow or Manchester (we will do this as flight is at night and my partners folks live near enough to Manchester) to Dubai to Singapore (planning to stop over in both for 2 nights) for approx £1500. From there we have the option of Jet Star and Singapore Airlines to Bali (our next stop off destination for 2 weeks! Then Jet Star and various others carrier fly to Melbourne (my dad lives there so we will land there and drive to Adelaide after about 3-4 weeks). All in the 2nd two sectors were about £1500...so about £3k all in and a lovely holiday too for not much more than flying direct and driving ourselves insane trying to contain the kids! Good luck with your viewing. Keep us posted.

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Ooo 2 weeks in Bali sounds bliss, just what you need after all this stress We are hoping to get as much baggage allowance as we can so have been trying to work out ways that we don't need connecting/domestic flights with other airlines but it's doing my head in now

[Diane]

Should be some cheap deals in Bali as it's been getting terrible press here in Australia recently, what with earthquakes, drugs, and rumours of the locals setting up tourists for arrests etc! It's been crossed off my holiday list for the moment, anyway

[Guest eclare]

Mrs Bon Jovi, this is exactly the reason we decided to take the slow approach...also when we realised the cost of furnished rentals in Adelaide was really expensiove it was actually better to take more time getting there and letting the furniture catch up with us (accommodation being much cheaper in Bali than in Adelaide). We'll perhaps ship a suitcase of 2 but essentially we will have normal baggage as you would when you go on holiday and its possible the rest will be in the container. It felt like extending the trip was solving a few problems as we had already decided we needed to do some stop overs so Dubai and Singapore were already on the cards. Its more of an adventure now, and its once in lifetime (we hope until we need to make the return journey!). So jobs to go to or school to start (I know this may not be the case of you) so we thought we should try to enjoy the ride and land in Adelaide relaxed and ready to roll.

 

Diane, I have read these stories too but if you worried about this stuff you'd never travel anywhere...life is for living...I'm sure we will be fine...I'll email you from my Bali jail cell if I need assistance! lol.

[Guest Scottish_Mitchells]

Thats great Wendy at least you got people still coming through the door. Good luck for tomorrow.

 

Jane xx

[Guest Jane & Tony]

Don't hold your breath. We got our visa's in May 2008 and we are finally leaving next week. THREE AND A HALF YEARS!!! Makes you appreciate it more though.

It has taken us that long to sell our house, eventually dropping 40g from the original sale price in November '07. As long as you do plenty of research, use this forum like mad and keep to the grind, there isn't a lot you can do really untill you have a completion date.

 

We know more about Australia and Adelaide than we do the UK

 

Try not to get too frustrated. All of a sudden it will creep up on you and you'll be going tomorrow.

 

Chin up and good luck

[Guest Scottish_Mitchells]

Our Flights were migrating flights with BA & Qantas. We had been looking online for ages and decided to call into local Thomas Cook office, the girl there was fab. She could only get them by phoning someone. Cheaper than we had been getting online and we get 40kg EACH of luggage allowance and luggage booked all the way through from Glasgow to Adelaide, thank god cause couldnt be doing with picking that much up at LHR then SIN. Think no way will we use all that but................I'm getting there lol

[Guest Mrs Bon Jovi]

Well we had our viewing last Wednesday and another one on Friday. Feedback from estate agent - first couple liked the house but weren't sure yet if they want to live in this area . Second lot - they saw 2 houses on Fri, she loves ours but he preferred the other one so apparantly she told the agent they are having a "discussion" at the minute but she reckons they will take it further (we know who's boss there then:biglaugh:) BUT they also have to sort out a mortgage as they haven't done that yet! You'd think people would sort out finances before they start looking surely? Otherwise how do they know how much they can afford?

 

Oh well, just have to keep everything crossed and wait and see what happens

[jtct]

Fingers crossed for you - selling property in the UK is the pits (but a little easier in Scotland). You'll get there in the end but I know how frustrating it can be when you are so near and ready to go but this final hurdle is in the way...... hope it happens soon for you.

[Guest eclare]

Keep your fingers corssed Mrs Bon Jovi...they say it the woman that makes the decision on the house...not sure how true this is but hope so in your case. Four weeks in and we have had 7 viewings, everyone seems to like it, feedback has been excellent but some are just being nosey and don't even have their house on the market, others have just put thier property on and are looking around. Grateful for the interest but hope we get some people who are in a position to actually buy. But our other property which has been up sor sale since March 2008(!) might have a buyer, price and entry has been discussed and tentatively agreed, just waiting on an offical offer coming in via her solicitor...I hope it goes through! Anxious waiting.