Admissions & buying/selling houses

[Becksterboo]

Hi, we're thinking of moving into Bromley shortly and are looking into transferring my eldest (will be yr 3 in September) to Juniors and applying for a reception place for my youngest for September 2015.

Just a question....if we move but don't manage to sell or rent our existing house (in a different borough) quickly i.e before reception enrolment cut off would that stop us from enrolling our kids? The reason I'm asking is that on the admissions page it says that we need to provide proof we are not paying council tax in our old borough as well as proof we are no longer paying any utility bills at our old address but if we don't rent or sell quickly we may not have this proof!

Bromley admissions said that often a letter explaining it was on the market or awaiting tenants may just be enough but I'm still fretting over it. Has anyone been through anything similar?

Thank you.

[Becksterboo]

Thank you.

We're not moving too far (we're just in the Croydon borough but very near to Bromley borough) so we couldn't use the too difficult to commute option. I am hoping though that by providing proof of the fact it is on the market and that we have given notice of utilities will be sufficient. It surely must happen a lot.

We are viewing houses but our house still needs some work for us to be open for viewings (builders in sorting things in the next few weeks!).

We're lucky that currently we are near to 2 good primary schools so here's hoping it could sell or rent quickly :)

My other option is of course that we hold fire, get my youngest into the good school my eldest is currently at (in Croydon), then move and apply for 2 places in a Bromley school when we've moved (in year application) and I drive them into school whilst we wait for places.

I think I need to speak to admissions and the council again to see what we need to do. Possibly renting our house maybe the quickest option.

So stressed....poor kids, I'm always on the phone talking to builders, estate agents, decluttering etc and all they want to do is go to the park :(

[MumTryingHerBest]

Becksterboo - We are viewing houses but our house still needs some work for us to be open for viewings (builders in sorting things in the next few weeks!). TBH if it was me I would allow viewings now at the rental price you are looking for. If no one comes forward then go ahead with the work and then see if it makes a difference to the offers.

TBH from what I have experienced, although admittedly I am no property expert, when someone mentions getting building work done to a property they are looking to move out of it, it is normally because they are looking to rent the property. After all, why spend money on a property you are not going to be living in when you can sell it on to someone else who will invest the the time, money and effort into bringing it up to scratch? The only exception to this is if the property was not really fit for living in.

I'm not an expert in property etc. so feel free to ignore.

[pyrrah]

Lol, am currently covered in paint and waved goodbye to the builders this afternoon as we're about to sell our London properties and move.

V normal to do a place up before you sell - lick of fresh paint, fix anything that stopped working, new grout in the bathroom etc can all add not only to your ability to sell the house, but also to achieve top asking price. A small investment can have very big returns.

Becksterboo, we've decided to keep DD (starting Y1) in London for school and she'll commute with us, rather than face the horror of trying to get an in-year place for her in the county we're moving to, so I sympathise on every front (including the begging for the park bit!)

My advice would be to put the Bromley schools down as your first preferences and then the school your DD is a dead-cert for (her sister's?)

That way, you can get straight on the waiting lists if you are still in the current property but your daughter still has a school place.

If the council say anything that could make things good for your move, immediately email them with a synopsis of the conversation so you've got a record and potential ammunition for any potential appeal.

Good luck.

[MumTryingHerBest]

pyrrah Wed Lol, am currently covered in paint and waved goodbye to the builders this afternoon as we're about to sell our London properties and move. Sorry my mistake. I would normally use a painter and decorator for a lick of paint and a builder for more heavy duty work.

[Becksterboo]

Thank you everyone. I hadn't thought about putting the local school (in Croydon) as well as the bromley schools. If I've understood it right do I put the schools on the Bromley form if we've actually moved in the property but use the Croydon form if we've not exchanged contracts?

My other half thinks I am worrying too much about it and that admissions would be understanding of the situation and as long as we followed up with the documentation and that we would be fine but as we're viewing now and our house isn't even on the market yet I do worry about timing. The cut off is January 15th (with documents to follow by 22 February).

I also don't want to be in the position of having to rent another house if we sell whilst we still look for a new home, I think 2 moves would be too much for my eldest (she is already stressed about the thought of moving- let alone twice!).

Stressss.....but determined to try and have fun with the girls today!

[steppemum]

you have to fill in the form from the address you are living in. So if you have moved, you fill in the form from the bromley LEA, but you can put any school on that form, including a school in croyden.

I think if you buy a new house, the council will accept the new address with letters of explanation. If you rent in Bromely they are less likely to believe that you really intend to sell your old house.

The forms don't have to be filled in until January, so you still have quite a lot of time to lay with.

[Becksterboo]

I can absolutely understand the need for the checks. We're moving for good schools and to be honest we have run out of room in our current house! We'll do everything we can to prove it really is a legitimate move!!!

Once we're a bit closer to finding a house I will certainly find out more and ask the council for advice.

Thank you for all your advice, now going to have to post another on 3 year old tantrums....driving me mad!!