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Sooner rather than later I need to start clearing out my late Dad's house. Not that anyone will buy it currently but AFAIK I'll have to pay council tax etc on it while it sits empty.
I'd like to at least get it ready to sell.
There are also a couple of vehicles on the property, likely with flat tyres/batteries.
So, I was thinking of popping up* in the van, filling it with anything I'd like to keep hold of, sorting out the vehicles, and donating the rest to Sally Bash.
How doable would that be in, say, 3 weeks or a month's time? Ferry/tunnel seems to be taking bookings, I think France will allow me to drive through by then.
*N Spain to N England, 2200 mile round trip, joy...
If it helps - you don’t have to pay until probate is granted and can usually get 6 months free whilst sorting it out afterwards: https://www.gov.uk/council-tax/second-homes-and-empty-properties
The UK regulations do allow “moving house” as a reasonable excuse for being out of your house. You might find things like accessing recycling centres to dump stuff, or selling cars etc a challenge though.
I doubt we will be back to anything like normal in three weeks. I think you need to push it back a bit. It'll be hard to sell stuff, charity shops may well still be shut, if the dump is open they'll be queueing round the block. Also that is quite a road trip and you'll be stopping several times along the way many miles apart each time. Seems a lot of risk to save a couple of hundred quid that you might not have to pay anyway.
Do you know what the vehicles are and do you know what sort of price you want for them? Maybe worth saying on here to see if anyone is interested. Could save you a bit of time if you already have potential buyers lined up.
I ended up with the mother in laws car after she died, took a while to get rid. So last thing you want is to have to either rush to sell them, or have to extend your time back here just to get rid of some vehicles
Around Newcastle the tips have opened but you'd not be able to get in with a van as you need a residents permit.
In case this is the same for other councils I'd try and contact them in advance to find out the score. You might still be able to hire a skip which might work out easier.
not sure which charities are taking donations either. A lot of the usual ones are closed as volunteering in them isn't classed as essential (the shop side, things like food banks etc. are open).
Logistics aside, I'd say you have no issues with it being essential. You need to make sure the property is clean, secure and safe. We are due an update announcement on lock down at the end of next week. Some DIY shops and other places are opening. I think if you wait a little while longer things will be much easier.
I was going to say I've been to continue to clear a house through all of this but it's 50 meters away rather than 1100 miles. You'll probably struggle with getting anyone to take anything that isn't rubbish but that you don't want to keep yourself. We found that a challenge even before all this began, it can only be more difficult now. We have really wanted to try to avoid perfectly good stuff ending up in landfill. And don't underestimate how long it might take to go through stuff, I've spent day after day after day going through stuff as can be evidenced on my Steve's Garage thread.
I would consider that a reasonable journey. You may need to accept that the stuff that is going to go to the tip or to charity might have to be stacked in the garage or the house for a little while though.
Certainly in North Yorkshire the police seem to consider taking a car for a thrash around the countryside because you're bored as perfectly acceptable, so I can't imagine you'd be stopped providing you're not doing double the speed limit or something.
Sorry to hear about your Dad. Sorting out a house alone is a miserable experience. You can try to tell yourself to be clinical about it but that's not really possible. It's like the worst possible intrusion into someone's private life on top of the grief that they're gone. 🙁
Echo the above - my council tips are only just talking about reopening, and even then it will be residents only, green waste and wood only, booked appointments etc.
Is there someone here who can secure the place, perhaps do a video walkthrough so you can identify stuff you want to keep which can be stored somewhere?
Personally I think it's a perfectly reasonable trip to have to make, but I'm not sure which of the criteria for leaving your house in the UK it would fall under, from a pedantic legal point of view.
Obviously you aren't leaving a house in the UK to do it though.
i doubt very much you'll be able to visit france let alone drive through it in a months time
Sorry for the loss of your dad.
1 tip is re council tax don't tell the council you live abroad as my uk council exempt all foreign residents from discounts.
're the trip I would probably go but plan the trip so I wouldn't have to stop anywhere, ie, kip in van, take food and drink, spare fuel, channel.
Also get all your papers in order as you will be stopped a few times. My friends just drove back but via ferry at Santander, roads were deserted but they were stopped a few times.
Wheres the house btw, a few have sold where I am looking in UK but they have been pretty special and priced fairly.
Good luck and stay safe
Cheers all. My B-i-L went up a while back and secured the garage (there's a motorbike in it) as the side door was flapping open in the wind. He also took any keys off the premises. Unfortunately, my dad had just moved in before he went into hospital so didn't know any of the neighbours, but it's a quiet area.
I wasn't going to bother with any tip runs, but at least get everything separated into piles so if I need to pay a house clearance they can pick up the key and know what's going where.
Don't have probate yet, seems to have been put on hold in the situation, not sure if the solicitors are even working.
The motorbike is a big Kawasaki I was thinking about keeping and taking to Spain pre Covid, now that seems pointless. There's also a T5 Kombi which is about 5 years old, shouldn't have problems shifting it.
Poolman, the house is a 70s bungalow on an estate, pleasant enough, if you can call anywhere near Barrow in Furness pleasant! It's a shame, if he hadn't sold the old Victorian townhouse we grew up in, I'd have kept hold of it but not really feeling the urge to do so for a place he barely spent 6 months in.
Not sure what to do. I'll have to read up, wouldn't like to get to the north of France and be told to turn round...
Might be an idea to get a letter off the solicitors if I do travel
How near to Barrow is it, I have been looking at Grange Kent's bank area, a few people on here live that way maybe they have some contacts to help.
Loving day 1 of relaxed rules