to sell, or not to sell

In the middle of the stress-inducing nightmare that is the Invitation To Apply, we also have to try and decide what to do with our house in the UK.

Initially we were planning to keep the house as a fail-safe in case things didn't go according to plan, but we soon rejected this as it made the prospect of coming back far too easy. We have confidence in ourselves that integrating into the NZ culture won't be too much of a shock (we've spent a lot of time there over the last few years), and we want to make the whole move feel like it's 'for good'.

So selling it is! Except we didn't count on the pesky credit-crunch making this more difficult than expected. It's all very well everyone telling us that the house will "sell easily", but then they're not the ones wanting to buy it. Without going into specifics, the current market value of the house is twice that of the price we bought it for. If we manage to get this price we would have enough to put down a 50% deposit on a house in NZ.

However (a) we're not greedy, and (b) we realise that the house is only worth what someone else is prepared to pay for it. Oh, and (c) we don't actually need the equity just yet as we're planning to rent for 12 months while we search for the house/area that we're happy to spend a good few years in.

If someone comes in with a reasonable offer (and we have a lower limit in mind) and we can complete before mid-december then that's great - we'll take the money and run. I know that this is a lot to ask, and I don't have any great faith in this happening.

But if - as the negligable interest shown so far indicates - we don't have an offer by the end of October, then we'll put on our "landlord" hats and rent the place out. And this means switching mortgages, getting an agent, and hoping that we can cover costs all costs.

Breaking even is something to aim for in this instance, but the truth is that I really can't be bothered with having something left behind that requires our attention and may spring some nasty surprises on us. It's not the clean break I envisaged...

relax, pause, scream

It's been a tiring time over the past couple of weeks, and it's all been due to the medicals that we (or more specifically, I) have had to take at the behest of Immigration New Zealand (NZIS). My wife and girls all sailed through their respective medicals, but there were two very small sticking points raised on mine.

I was assured that there was nothing seriously wrong with me, and that all I needed was some clinical proof to confirm that this was the case. After speaking to my GP (and indeed all of the GPs at our practice who have - without fail - been completely helpful and supportive of us when we've needed help and quickly) he set the wheels in motion and threw his full medical weight behind us.

It was only the next day that I realised that the NHS at large would not be quite so accomodating. The NHS is a wonderful thing, and I've not resented one penny out of the thousands upon thousands I have contributed through my National Insurance. But - and there's always a "but" - it can't really help when you need expediency above all else.

I am still due to start work in Christchuch some time in the first week of September. The fact that I could lose the job is of no concern if the appointment to see the consultant is due to take place a good month after this. That's not their fault, but I was left with only one option - to go private.

The amount of money we have spent on applying for NZ residency has become a bit of a black hole, and private consultancy fees were just another necessity on the tedious and twisting road to emigrating. This took us to over £3,000, and I'm hopeful that the financial demands will ease off for some time.

So, I got seen the next day, got signed off immediately and finally - finally! - managed to get the Invitation to Apply in the post a mere month after it joyously plopped through our front door.

That's not to mention the last-minute blip re job references (which, considering I'd already gotten a job, I didn't think were necessary) that NZIS insisted upon. The fact that my current employer was literally on his way out of the door for a 2 week break when I just about accosted him for a written and signed reference, is yet another comedy of errors for another time...