Some more expenses

So, selling a house involves the odd extra expense.

Legal bills - If a company is buying your house they may pay for some/all of your legal bills (mine is). I have picked a solicitor that uses email (as it's faster).

Energy Performance Certificate - As I live in the EU I have to have my home "energy rated" and receive an EPC before I can sell it. I have paid a company that will rush this through and email me the certificate (which I can forward to my solicitor).

House clearing - Finally, I have to get rid of the stuff left in my house that not only didn't go to the US but got rejected by my family.

Sold(ish)

The house buying company made a bid for my house without even looking at it.

The offer was less than I hoped for but more than I feared.

I'm now finding a solicitor (lawyer) to push the paperwork through for me. I'd like it to be quick as I'm leaving the UK in about two weeks...

Yes, in two weeks I'll be Coming To America (see what I did there?)

A Moving Experience

• The movers themselves were excellent.
• They just didn't seem to know anything about filling in the forms.
• They called head office who talked me through the bits of the 3299 that I wasn't sure of.
• They were professional and polite.
• They hardly talked to each other.
• It was all over in less than two hours.
• Once it goes onto a container I will be given its details (so that I can track it on its way to Los Angeles)

Oh good - a new form! "The 3299"

I could have sworn that, in the guides I read at the start of the year, that the moving company did all of the paperwork for you. Oh well . . . here we go with form 3299 "Declaration For Free Entry Of Unaccompanied Articles". It has to be filled in in blue ink apparently and (according to the mover's instructions accompanying it) should be handed over at time of pickup (but, according to the cover note in the package, the form is one of the things that I should send to them before the time of pickup).

BTW I've sent my movers my insurance evaluation form plus copies of my passport and visa, as they requested.

The 3299 itself is a strange looking form, my movers provide lots of notes to stop me from screwing it up. There is even more information on Google (though searching for "3299" will get you the form but little else).

The 3299 arrived with a "Supplementary Declaration For Unaccompanied Personal And Household Effects" an "Alcohol Inventory" (fortunately I don't drink) and, more worryingly, a Power of Attorney form...

Sorted . . . nearly

Phew!

It turns out that I have a LOT more stuff than I thought. It's killing my back, sorting through books, DVDs and various ephemera. I also noticed that, even though I told my movers that my belongings will be going into storage in Las Vegas, they've opted to send everything by air. I've got to contact them this morning to try to get them to ship it.

Also I'm moving along with my house sale. I'm using a quick sale company - Note: None of them seem to answer their emails so, if you're in a hurry you'll have to phone them. The first one I called was very unenthusiastic and hasn't called me back. The second was pretty keen but charge an up-front fee. The third ones finally phoned me after I'd given up and gone with the second ones.

We'll see how things progress...

Milestones of Homesickness

I was chatting to a consultant at work today who has moved country more than once in his life and he shared these pearls of wisdom with me: The Milestones of Homesickness.

1. Six months - The impression of being on holiday fades and you're left in a strange country, feeling uncomfortable. You have the urge to get on a plane and just go home.

2. Three-Four years - This one is like a wall, you hit it and can come to a stop. This is when you have to decide whether you really want to live in this new country or not.

3. Ten years - Not as strong as the other two but, fuelled mostly by nostalgia, it's still pretty potent.

I don't know how relevant these will be to me but "forewarned is forearmed".

Progress Bar (aka an update)

Okay, I finish work in seventeen days.

• I'm talking to a moving firm to come and take my stuff next week (they should be ringing me back with the details soon).
• Once I have a removal date I'll prepare to get rid of the house too.
• I've cashed in my endowment policy which should hit my bank at the end of this week.
• I've arranged for my pounds to be converted to dollars at the end of the month (when my bank account should be at its fattest) at last week's rate. I'm banking on last week being a high-point for the pound.
• My résumé is in California and Nevada, hopefully my contact is passing it around to the right people...
• My flight is set. I changed the date online (Virgin's flexible tickets, "free" to change, cost £13 to change).
  
• Foofer awaits me.