selling home, moving abroad,

eddddy

SmashedAvacado wrote: »

2. As we will not be physically be in the country, will we be able to sell the house easily?

Stupid question

As others say, I imagine the OP means the practicalities of selling the house - liaising with the EA, liaising with the solicitor, signing documents etc.

It might be sensible to pass the solicitor's ID checks before you leave the country. (e.g. go to the solicitor's office with your passport etc.)

Everything else can easily be done by phone, email, and a few documents that'll need to be sent by courier.


Edit to add...

It would also be good to get somebody to check the property regularly, and do stuff like final meter reads.

I've come across EAs who will do that kind of stuff - for an additional fee.

info33

Thanks for all the replies. As for the "stupid question" I bought my house over 40 years ago when there was no internet and with no knowledge of how to buy a house. I am now 76 and things have changed dramatically. Selling a house is stressful enough but selling and moving to a different country is another matter. I like the place where I live but my children will always come first. I'm not very internet savvy but I get the basics done. And as for the move one of my children died and the rest are in Germany. We are very lonely here with no other family, hence the move. I didn't really want to explain myself, but I feel that to some people the questions are 'simple' but for me in my position it seems complicated.
Thanks spadoosh for your kind comments.

info33

/QUOTE]Sell the house and on the day that you move out, the belongings you want to keep are packed up by a removal company for transportation to Germany, the rest taken away by a house clearance company."
Quote by xylophone
We would actually like to donate all the furniture to charity and throw the rest out. We will be living with our children and not renting or buying. We would like to keep our bank account.
The reason I don't want to be here when the selling is taking place is that I find the viewings would be too stressful for the wife and I.

xylophone

The reason I don't want to be here when the selling is taking place is that I find the viewings would be too stressful for the wife and I.

You might consider a "viewing weekend" when all interested parties are invited to attend and have this managed by the estate agent while you and your wife are away for a short break.

Otherwise, let the estate agent manage all viewings while you are out?

steampowered

I personally thought some of the above posts were unnecessarily rude - the questions asked by the Op are reasonable given that they haven't bought or sold a house recently.

It is perfectly possible to sell while you are not in the country. You would simply leave the keys with your estate agent and they would arrange viewings.

I don't think it matters at all that you will physically be in Germany. Many potential buyers actually prefer it if the vendor is not there when they do viewings, as it lets them have a good nose around the place without feeling like they are intruding into the vendor's belongings.

In terms of your belongings, when I moved abroad and back again a few years later, I used a moving company who packed my belongings. It did take a good 2 weeks or so for my belongings to clear customs and arrive at the new property.

I stayed in a serviced apartment for 2 weeks when I arrived abroad. That gave me enough time to rent a property, some time for the stuff I was sending from the UK to arrive and some time to buy new stuff out there. You only really need the basics when you start - a bed and some chairs. The rest you can can sort out over time. I am sure you can find a hotel or serviced apartment as temporary accommodation in the area while you sort out your new home.

It would be normal for the EA and solicitors to be paid when the house is sold.

info33

Thanks steampowered for your kind comments. Some people can be rude and not think about other people's situations.
I don't have a problem staying in Germany as we will be moving in with my children. My only concern is here, i.e. how empty does the house have to be? Can I leave kitchen appliances here for the buyer or do I have to get rid of them? My wife and I were discussing whether to move in october and give the keys to the estate agent. It's all about how to tie things up on this end here in the UK. I also read that council tax is free for the first 6 months when a house is empty and then after 6 months it is charged at 50%. I just hope that the house will sell within 6 months.

Slithery

info33 wrote: »

My only concern is here, i.e. how empty does the house have to be? Can I leave kitchen appliances here for the buyer or do I have to get rid of them?

That is for you and the buyer to negotiate. If they don't want them then you'll need to get them disposed of somehow.

I also read that council tax is free for the first 6 months when a house is empty and then after 6 months it is charged at 50%.

Did you check the details of this with your council? They all have different rules and some actually charge extra for empty properties. Your insurers may also have a list of things you need to do with an empty property for your cover to still be valid - like regular visits, turning off services, etc.

Jonbvn

spadoosh wrote: »

Its just that my parents have just sold a property in france and it was a bit of a ball ache with the paperwork tooing and froing. Took longer than it needed to thats for sure.

It is no surprise that the word "bureaucracy" is derived from French. You should experience their tax system.;)