Things progressing quite well

Well since accepting the latest offer last week I’m really pleased to say that our new buyers are a breath of fresh air and things appear tp be progressing quite well.

Their mortgage has been approved, the survey fee’s have been paid and the surveyor comes to survey our house this Wednesday. We might even get our sold sign back this week.

The first full week spent unemployed has been pretty strange but I’m slowly but surely getting into the swing of sorting things out.

I’m assuming it’s just a bloke thing but its amazing how much crap you can accumulate over the years.

At this rate I wished I started the sort our process before we even sent the application forms off for the Visa’s. Still, I’m putting a pretty brave face on things if I do say so myself and the charity shops should be well sorted out with clothes, suits, shoes and other items for the next few months. I even packed my first case!

A skip arrives tomorrow so it’ll be time to chuck on the safty gear as I enter the dreaded and dangerous realm known as……….the loft!

Hopefully I’ll survive to write another entry!

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House Sold - Again

Well, in the last few days we have had three offers on the house from three different people and we have accepted the offer that was both the highest and appears to be the least risqué.

The only potential risk is that the couple buying our house are in a chain, still after the girl who couldn’t get a mortgage and the couple who messed us around for weeks before announcing that they were having marital issues this one should hopefully be the one that goes all the way through.

The person buying our buyers house (stick with me) is a first time buyer, the Halifax have confirmed with our buyers estate agent that their buyer has a mortgage in place and everything appears to have been confirmed OK

Let’s hope this is third time lucky for us.

I think it’s unlikely that we will be able to get everything sorted before we leave on the 24th of November but it would be really great if everything is good to go before we depart.

It’s strange that we don’t feel particulalrly excited, but we’ve been through this so many times now it’s pretty difficult to get that excited when we’ve been through the emotional lows when previous offers have fallen through.

We also popped into the Halifax on Saturday to give two weeks notice to terminate our contract.

We told them we will be going elsewhere unless of course we accept an offer within this two week period.

Looked like the threat brought with it some added luck. Lets just hope it continues.

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Unemployed

Well, it was my last day at work on Friday and so I have now joined the ranks of the gainfully unemployed.

It seems really strange not to be at work. This is the first time that I’ve handed in my notice and left a job with nothing to go to at the other side. I must say, it was probably one of the most unnerving and unnatural things I have ever done

Thankfully I’ve managed to hold onto my company car for a few more weeks and they have also let me keep hold of my mobile until I’m ready to move (probably so they can call me if they get stuck).

Although banks are not normally associated as being the most fun places to work, I’ve really enjoyed my 2.5 years there. I worked with a really good bunch of people. The cash was half decent and the job itself was great!

Let’s just hope that I can look forward to acquiring a similarly good role when we move out to Aus

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Lots of interest and still no buyer

Well, the house has been back on the market now for a few weeks and we are getting lots of people through the door. Still no buyers though.

The chap who was really interested has decided that he won’t pay more then his initial offer (which wasn’t a satisfactory one) so we’ll leave him simmering for a while.

Not holding out much hope for this chap anyway. At the end of the day, I’ve asked him twice now to formally confirm his offer with the Halifax but still nothing.

Its also interesting how many people are trying to pull a fast one and trying to take advantage just because we are moving abroad.

We even had one chap saying to the missus last night..’You moving to Australia, you give us cheap price..yes?’

Err, no

We may be moving abroad but we aren’t going to sell the house for a pittance, were not that desperate (yet!) At the end of the day, if we don’t sell before we move out in just over a months time then we’ll have a mortgage and rent to pay at the same time.

It’s not a perfect situation but we’ve budgeted enough to be OK for a few months and I seriously think if it does come to that, an empty shell would be easier to sell. Hey that rhymes!

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House still on the market

Well, its been an interesting week since we were blobbed on by the buyers who decided to retract their offer due to marital issues.

We instructed the Halifax to drop the price by a couple of grand and offer a £2000 cash back as an incentive for buyers to complete within 28 days. As a result the weekend was a very busy one with 6 couples coming to view the property between Friday and Saturday (Sunday was kept for our sons 4th Birthday - a big boy now)

We had one offer £1000 short of the minimum we’d always agreed to never go below so this one was declined although I’m quietly optimistic that they may come back with a slightly larger offer as the buyers sister lives on the same estate and seemed to give our house the thumbs up when she brought her for a ‘walk by’ later on in the day.

We’ve also had an Asian chap come to look at the house who also made us a verbal offer although he didn’t want to go via the agent.

You’ve probably gathered by now that the Halifax are not at the top of my Christmas card list right now, however if we were going to be dealing with a sale whilst in Australia we were mindful that it would help if they had been involved from the start.

The chap was told that he needed to proceed via the agent. He said that he would, he also came to show his wife around on Saturday ‘before he made an offer’.

Has he made an offer. Nope!

Its amazing how many people say they are going to do something and then proceed to do nothing. Still its early days yet and we continue to get quite a few viewings through the door. The asian chap also worked during the day which doesn’t make a perfect match for the Halifax’s opening times. Especially as his wife doesn’t speak any English.

More news to follow..

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Flights booked

Well, we’ve decided to go for it an book our flights.

It was becoming increasingly difficult to plan accommodation and what not when we had no idea what day we’d be flying out their so we’ve decided to go for it (despite the fact that we still haven’t sold the house) and book the flights with Singapore airlines.

We now fly out from Manchester Airport to Perth Australia (via a two hour stop at Singapore) on Friday the 24th November, arriving in Perth at 2:25pm on Saturday the 25th.

One thing that nearly scuppered our plans was the fact that we didn’t get the double baggage allowance with Singapore Airlines that we were expecting.

We would have done had we emigrated when we validated our Visa’s in February, however as our Visa’s were now classed as ‘used’ we no longer qualified for the double baggage allowance.

This proved a big problem for us as the stuff we were shipping out to Australia wouldn’t be there for 14 - 16 weeks so having two cases each would have effectively enabled us to take sufficient ’stuff’ for the first couple of months.

I must say though that the customer services at Singapore Airlines is as excellent as the airline themselves.

The lady offered to increase our baggage allowance to 30kg per person which would have given us an extra one and a half bags. Personally though I thought their policy was a little short sighted as I’m sure there must be 1000’s of people who go to Australia to activate their Visa’s before moving permanently so I politely declined and said I would write into Singapore Airlines customer services to see if I could get our full double allowance.

Then, there was a light at the end of the tunnel…. In my current line of work I do a lot of flying within the UK (mainly between Leeds and Edinburgh) and have clocked up quite a few air miles. I’ve managed to gain Gold Frequent Flyer status with BMI who are part of the ‘Star Alliance’ (sounds like something out of star wars).

Having gold status brings with it a few perks, Business lounge access, faster check in and Double baggage allowance.

Guess who is also a member of the ‘Star alliance’ Yep - Singapore Airlines and thankfully I can use my Frequent Flyer Status to get us double allowance anyway.

Really glad that I bothered collecting all those air miles now.

Popularity: 4% [?]

House Offer Withdrawn

Survey fee’s still not paid even though house buyers have told us countless times that a cheque was sent.

Halifax phones the buyers today, who, apparently upset, tells the Halifax lady that they are having marital problems and cannot proceed with the purchase of our house. In a nutshell, the offer has now been withdrawn.

So, what does this mean for us.. Well its going to be an interesting time.

Three viewers this weekend, one tonight, two tomorrow.

Two out of the three are first time buyers, one of which is looking to purchase a second home as an investment.

Count down to last day without an income = 15 days! Read more

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Current Australian Immigration processing lead time as of 1st October 2006

NEWS

Please note that on Monday 2nd of October the ASPC will be closed because there is a public holiday in South Australia. To provide timely information to applicants and migration agents the proposed allocation dates for the 3rd of October are shown below following those for the 26th of September.

Acknowledgment of Applications

The ASPC is current experiencing some delays in receipting and acknowledging applications and regrets the inconvenience this may be causing applicants and their representatives. While this backlog exists information will be provided here daily about what applications are currently being receipted. This backlog in receipting is being addressed and will be rectified over the next few weeks and your patience during this period is appreciated. Please note that these delays do not affect the date on which a valid application is recorded as having been received and is the date used for processing purposes.

As of 29 September 2006 the ASPC is receipting offshore applications received on 11 August 2006 and onshore applications received on 8 September 2006.

Please note that the update on allocation dates follows. The information will continue to updated for each Tuesday and you only need to email this mailbox once per week if you are seeking current information on allocation dates.

Processing and Allocation Information

The information below is updated weekly on Tuesdays.

As advised on the DIMA website processing of an application will usually commence within seven (7) working days of its receipt by the department. This means that an application is receipted, acknowledged and a file number is allocated.

Once this has occurred a case officer is appointed to assess each application as soon as possible, however, the ASPC receives a large number of applications and you will not be contacted immediately. Applications lodged on the dates shown below are currently being allocated to case officers for further processing.

As of 26 September 2006 the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre is allocating applications lodged on or before the following dates:

ONSHORE APPLICATIONS

Student/Graduate

Paper based applications: 23 May 2006 (subclass 880) and 31 May 2006
(subclass 881) and 30 May 2006 (subclass 882)
E-lodged (online) applications: 02 June 2006 (all subclasses)

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 15 May 2006 (this data has been amended on advice from the processing area)

E-lodged (online) applications: 10 May 2006

New Zealand

All applications: 2 February 2006 (all subclasses)

OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS

Applications for Classes BN, BQ and BR (subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138 and 139)

Priority Applications: 27 March 2006

Non-Priority Applications: 13 March 2006

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 04 April 2006
E-lodged (online) applications: 18 June 2006

As of 3rd October 2006 the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre WILL BE allocating applications lodged on or before the following dates:

Please note that allocations will not occur until the 3rd of October.

ONSHORE APPLICATIONS

Student/Graduate

Paper based applications: 5 June 2006 (subclass 880 ) and 21 June 2006 (subclass 881) and 16 June 2006 (subclass 882) E-lodged (online) applications: 14 June 2006 (all subclasses)

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 15 June 2006
E-lodged (online) applications: 20 May 2006

New Zealand

All applications: 15 February 2006 (all subclasses)

OFFSHORE APPLICATIONS

Applications for Classes BN, BQ and BR (subclasses 134, 136, 137, 138 and 139)

Priority Applications: 29 March to 4 April 2006
Non-Priority Applications: 15 March 2006

Skilled Independent Regional (Provisional) (SIR VISA)

Paper based applications: 04 April 2006
E-lodged (online) applications: 22 June 2006

Notes

Onshore: means that the visa being applied for can be granted while the applicant is in Australia.

e-lodged: applications lodged online have quicker processing times.

See: Online Services - General Skilled Migration

SIR visas: All applicants for a Skilled - Independent Regional [SIR]
visa receive priority processing.

Offshore: means that the visa being applied for can only be granted
when the applicant is outside of Australia.

If a visa application was made before the earliest relevant date as shown above and you have not been contacted by a case officer please contact the Adelaide Skilled Processing Centre at: adelaide.skilled.centre@immi.gov.au

Applications eligible for priority processing

1. Applicants whose nominated occupation is on the Migration Occuptations in Demand List (MODL)

2. For applicants whose nominated occupation is not on the MODL, applications for any of the following visas are given priority:

a) Skill Matching (Migrant) (Class BR) - Subclass 134 - Skill Matching
b) Skilled - Independent (Migrant) (Class BN) – Subclass 137 - Skilled -
State/Territory-nominated Independent
c) Skilled - Australian-sponsored (Migrant) (Class BQ) - Subclass 139 -
Skilled - Designated Area – Sponsored
d) Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional) (Class UX) - Subclass
495 - Skilled - Independent Regional (Provisional)
e) Skilled New Zealand (Residence) visa class (Class DB) - Subclass 863
- Skilled - Onshore Regional-Sponsored New Zealand Citizen
f) Skilled — Australian-sponsored Overseas Student (Residence) (Class
DE) - Subclass 882 - Skilled — Designated Area-sponsored Overseas
Student

Eligibility for priority processing does not mean that any processing requirements can be waived.

Finalising Applications

Please note that the information provided above is not about the time it will take to process an application to completion. The time it is expected to take to process a General Skilled Migration visa application to completion is detailed in the department’s service standards.

Service standards are specified for applications lodged with complete documentation. Individual cases may take longer than the service standard depending on the completeness and complexity of the case.

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