Seems someone is outbidding us on our dream house - we obviously left it too long before placing a bid. We are now the backup bid and if we have any chance of getting the house we'll have to put in a higher bid, maybe even up to the asking price.
NZ Forums Revisited!
Another forum suggested by a reader (thanks Glenda) is movetonz. They have a great "Master NZ Website List" which has categorised links to every website about New Zealand you could ever want, and more! A great resource.
25 August 2006
24 August 2006
Money and Mortgages
Today we submitted applications for an NZ bank account (ABS) and mortgages. Doing this long distance is so much more difficult when you don't have a person sitting in front of you going through the form with you. We've sent documentation off to a mortgage broker to see if we can get a better deal. There seems to be a fair amount of competition according to this website which lists all the interest rates.
After some worries surrounding the price crash in Australia and OECD report warning that New Zealand is likely to suffer a crash if interests rates are raised, we are going to place a bid for our 'dream property'. The problems we've been experiencing with our solicitor appear to have been ironed out, though I still believe they've delayed our completion.
And then we get news like this!!
After some worries surrounding the price crash in Australia and OECD report warning that New Zealand is likely to suffer a crash if interests rates are raised, we are going to place a bid for our 'dream property'. The problems we've been experiencing with our solicitor appear to have been ironed out, though I still believe they've delayed our completion.
And then we get news like this!!
23 August 2006
Dream Home
Well, we think we've found our dream home in Christchurch. We've had relatives look around it and they like it, we compared prices in the local area and spoken at length with the agent. We've even got the agent to fax us a contract to enter a bid, and that's where we're running into problems. The NZ process of bidding is much stricter than the UK and is legally binding.
One issue we have is that we're still waiting for our house in the UK to finalise. The new owners are meant to be moving in on 1 Sep, but we haven't even signed contracts yet, and solicitors and agents are blaming each other for the delays. As I type the my solicitor has called and says he's sending out another set of contracts "just in case the first weren't received." Well, funnily enough we haven't received them either, and they were meant to have been sent last Saturday.
This mean that we're unlikely to get our equity soon, and we need that to fulfill our obligations under the NZ bid process should are submission prove acceptable to the vendors. You then have a certain number of days (commonly 10 working days) to get building inspections done, raise any issues, get finance and pay 10% of the cost as a deposit.
Just to compound the problem we're abroad next week so won't be contactable. Funny that no matter how many times you tell everyone it still seems to come as a shock to them.
I'm sure most of the stress of selling and buying homes is caused by agents and solicitors just not communicating and not doing the job we pay lots of money for them to do. Let's hope we never have to do this again!
One issue we have is that we're still waiting for our house in the UK to finalise. The new owners are meant to be moving in on 1 Sep, but we haven't even signed contracts yet, and solicitors and agents are blaming each other for the delays. As I type the my solicitor has called and says he's sending out another set of contracts "just in case the first weren't received." Well, funnily enough we haven't received them either, and they were meant to have been sent last Saturday.
This mean that we're unlikely to get our equity soon, and we need that to fulfill our obligations under the NZ bid process should are submission prove acceptable to the vendors. You then have a certain number of days (commonly 10 working days) to get building inspections done, raise any issues, get finance and pay 10% of the cost as a deposit.
Just to compound the problem we're abroad next week so won't be contactable. Funny that no matter how many times you tell everyone it still seems to come as a shock to them.
I'm sure most of the stress of selling and buying homes is caused by agents and solicitors just not communicating and not doing the job we pay lots of money for them to do. Let's hope we never have to do this again!
18 August 2006
Number Plates
Despite not planning to emigrate for at least another 18 months we decided to treat ourselves and get a personalised NZ number plate for my wife's car, which we'll be shipping out. I'd never have dreamt of getting them in the UK as they are horrifically expensive, and you can't pick your own phrase so they're usually a concoction of numbers and letters which you have to spend 10 minutes trying to work out what it says. Take a look at the UK DVLA site to see what I mean!For the princely sum of NZ$699 (we went for the more expensive 'Euro' plate option as it'll be easier to fit to the car) we are now the 'proud' owners of our very own plate (incidentally, the above plate 'NZBLOG' is still available at the time of writing). We got it from Personalised Plates who are the NZ Government's contractor.
Extravagant I know, but it's one more step towards our destination.
16 August 2006
Money, Money, Money...
Things are moving forward now and we've found a house on the internet which both my wife and I love. Our relatives are going to check it out; they're very conversant with the Christchurch property market so we trust their judgement implicitly.
What does concern us the high price the owners are asking. We went did an online market valuation and the guide price was substantially lower. If the property checks out we may well make a bid, but not anywhere near the price they're looking for.
Meanwhile, we're busy filling in all the forms required to sell our own house in the UK, an offer for which we have accepted. Once we have that equity we can put it towards our new home in NZ. We'll still need a mortgage, and I've just come off the phone with a very helpful representative from the London office of ASB who what information they'll need for us to submit an application for a mortgage. I also discovered that unlike many of the other banks, which quite rightly will only activate the NZ account once you arrive in country and prove your identity at a branch, ASB can do this in London as they have an office here. This is much easier for us if we want to take advantage of the current exchange rates by moving our cash across now, and then have access to the money to purchase a house before we emigrate. Unfortunately interest rates are not too good for borrowers in NZ so we will be paying more - good for savers though!
NZ Forums
I've been surfing some of the NZ migrant site and I came across move2nz. It has a good range of forums and a good sized population. Each has their strengths I think and I'll continue surfing, learning from all of them!
PS - If you haven't had a chance to read A Brit in the Boonies yet, you must make time - it's hilarious!
What does concern us the high price the owners are asking. We went did an online market valuation and the guide price was substantially lower. If the property checks out we may well make a bid, but not anywhere near the price they're looking for.
Meanwhile, we're busy filling in all the forms required to sell our own house in the UK, an offer for which we have accepted. Once we have that equity we can put it towards our new home in NZ. We'll still need a mortgage, and I've just come off the phone with a very helpful representative from the London office of ASB who what information they'll need for us to submit an application for a mortgage. I also discovered that unlike many of the other banks, which quite rightly will only activate the NZ account once you arrive in country and prove your identity at a branch, ASB can do this in London as they have an office here. This is much easier for us if we want to take advantage of the current exchange rates by moving our cash across now, and then have access to the money to purchase a house before we emigrate. Unfortunately interest rates are not too good for borrowers in NZ so we will be paying more - good for savers though!
NZ Forums
I've been surfing some of the NZ migrant site and I came across move2nz. It has a good range of forums and a good sized population. Each has their strengths I think and I'll continue surfing, learning from all of them!
PS - If you haven't had a chance to read A Brit in the Boonies yet, you must make time - it's hilarious!
14 August 2006
The first steps
Browsing through the ENZ forums the other day I came across a thread about migrant bloggers. I enjoyed reading through the joys as well as the trials of those heading to NZ so I decided to start one myself. They seemed to fall into two categories:
Why New Zealand?
Back in March 2001 my wife went as the Physio for a Rugby League team touring NZ. She absolutely loved it and convinced me to go in November for a 2 week holiday. This was now post 9/11 so the level of security going through LA was impressive, though the sight of RNZN sailors at Auckland handling all the baggage for the scanners was novel!
We covered much of North Island in that trip, only briefly extending down to Christchurch in South Island. We managed to visit many distant and not so distant relations in Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch and my wife came home convined that she wanted to emigrate to NZ. Though I was astounded by how much house you could get for your money, I was less than convinced by the job situation in the IT market and was therefore less enthusiastic.
Well, my wife steadily whittled away my resistance until in mid 2004 I decided to see if we would be granted a visa and checked out the online Points Indicator. Shortly afterwards there appears to be a revamp in the process, and you were able to submit an 'Expression of Interest' online. I started putting one together in September 2004, but did not submit it until March 2005. We cleared this hurdle and received the 'Invitation to Apply', submitting our final documents (following a frantic search by my Mother-in-Law to find my wifes full birth certificate) in September 2005. While we received a telephone interview and passed the process later that year, we elected to delay receiving the 'blue stickers' for the full 6 months.
The 6 month delay has been brought about by a promotion my wife had received at work, but for pension purposes she has to be in post for 2 years, so we're delaying our departure to NZ to the fullest extent allowable under the Visa regulations.
House Hunting in NZ
We're using the time to prepare though, including a 3 week trip in March 2006 spent touring South Island and looking for houses in Christchurch. We were amazed how much prices have gone up and have resigned ourselves to accepting that if we're going to get that 'dream house' we'll need a mortgage.
The house hunting also taught is a lot about NZ houses themselves, ie a townhouse is quite different from what we'd call a townhouse in the UK. We learnt the about character and lifestyle homes, and how shockingly behind Europe NZ is in terms of double glazing, insulation and heating. I'd never heard of heat pumps before I went out there! Oh yes, and it's good if you have a North facing aspect!
Soon (hopefully) our house in the UK will be sold and we can look for properties in earnest around Christchurch. We're in a better position than most with relatives able and willing to check over properties.
The next 2 years will fly I'm sure!
- Those written mainly for family and friends, which seem to comprise lots of holiday snaps and family photos, and not much else.
- Others offer a step by step guide in crushing detail of their experiences during the migration process and their life in NZ.
Why New Zealand?
Back in March 2001 my wife went as the Physio for a Rugby League team touring NZ. She absolutely loved it and convinced me to go in November for a 2 week holiday. This was now post 9/11 so the level of security going through LA was impressive, though the sight of RNZN sailors at Auckland handling all the baggage for the scanners was novel!
We covered much of North Island in that trip, only briefly extending down to Christchurch in South Island. We managed to visit many distant and not so distant relations in Palmerston North, Wellington and Christchurch and my wife came home convined that she wanted to emigrate to NZ. Though I was astounded by how much house you could get for your money, I was less than convinced by the job situation in the IT market and was therefore less enthusiastic.
Well, my wife steadily whittled away my resistance until in mid 2004 I decided to see if we would be granted a visa and checked out the online Points Indicator. Shortly afterwards there appears to be a revamp in the process, and you were able to submit an 'Expression of Interest' online. I started putting one together in September 2004, but did not submit it until March 2005. We cleared this hurdle and received the 'Invitation to Apply', submitting our final documents (following a frantic search by my Mother-in-Law to find my wifes full birth certificate) in September 2005. While we received a telephone interview and passed the process later that year, we elected to delay receiving the 'blue stickers' for the full 6 months.
The 6 month delay has been brought about by a promotion my wife had received at work, but for pension purposes she has to be in post for 2 years, so we're delaying our departure to NZ to the fullest extent allowable under the Visa regulations.
House Hunting in NZ
We're using the time to prepare though, including a 3 week trip in March 2006 spent touring South Island and looking for houses in Christchurch. We were amazed how much prices have gone up and have resigned ourselves to accepting that if we're going to get that 'dream house' we'll need a mortgage.
The house hunting also taught is a lot about NZ houses themselves, ie a townhouse is quite different from what we'd call a townhouse in the UK. We learnt the about character and lifestyle homes, and how shockingly behind Europe NZ is in terms of double glazing, insulation and heating. I'd never heard of heat pumps before I went out there! Oh yes, and it's good if you have a North facing aspect!
Soon (hopefully) our house in the UK will be sold and we can look for properties in earnest around Christchurch. We're in a better position than most with relatives able and willing to check over properties.
The next 2 years will fly I'm sure!
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