Alright..let me start off by saying I'm a horrible nag(I'm not patient by nature, and am even worse when I'm more or less in 'hurry up and wait' mode). I promised I wouldn't harass my poor SO with any more questions about how he's going to wrap things up there, so I'm going to bother you really nice people instead.

His plan is to hold tight until he gets the visa(wise I know) then put his flat on the market(1 bedroom flat a 5-10 minute walk from Watford station). After the flat is sold he's going to give notice at work(has to give a month). The idea is that he only has to pack up his stuff once, and he has a place to live while finishing up at work and tying up all the loose ends.

Remember now, my middle name should be 'Impatience' and this sounds like a horribly long time to me. I've read/heard/been told that the real estate market there is incredibly hot right now..are we talking a month on the market or what?

Ok, enough for now, especially as he A. hasn't gotten packet 3 yet and B. just sent off for the police report this week.

Well, I can speak from experience, but I'm not sure what the market is like now. However, when I sold my flat(in North London)back in July last year, it had been on the market for 5 months. That's not to say that it'll take that long for you and I don't wanna be the bringer of doom or anything! Just to give you an idea. I have to say though I think that 1 month may be a bit over-optimistic, but I guess it depends on what the area is like.

I did pretty much what your SO is doing. Waited 'till I got my Visa, put flat on market, gave notice at work, arranged shipping of stuff and went.

Londonspod

I rented my flat, took 2 months and i thought that was good.

Spent a month putting it into good shape, re did the flooring painted everything etc etc.

Even if you got a good offer the day you put it on the market, unlikely, it wouldtake 6 weeks.

I would start the proces now, I would rather have to worry about a few weeks staying elsewhere than a flat that had not sold.

yep. I agree. One month is awfully short!!! Soemone in the UK forum here had her house up for months!

And the police report def. takes close to 40 days & a month to quit work, so yep, sounds right if he can honestly sell his flat in a month.....

No, no. This is all 'eventually when' thinking. He's not going to do anything until the visa is in hand(other than fixing up the flat, and selling loads of stuff on ebay).

So a month is highly optimistic...hmm. I should add he doesn't want to move until early June so as to be able to watch/listen to the Coca-Cola league playoffs.

if you don't desperately need the money from the sale of the flat, I'd look into having it with a property mgmt company and renting it out

Watford has good transport links to London, so the chances of a quick sale (especially if the flat is first time buyer material) are good. I lived on the outskirts of London (London Borough of Sutton) and the property market there was HOT HOT HOT.

I'll tell ya what I did:

1) Got packet three through & sent it back in late August.
2) Put house on market (early September)
3) Buyer made an offer for full asking price next day (told ya the market was hot!)
4) Started conveyancing on house mid September
5) Got packet 4 through with an interview date of October 3rd.
6) Handed notice in day after interview (not recommended, wait until visa comes through).
7) Worked last months notice, finished November 3rd.
8) Exchanged contracts on house 10th November.
9) Completion on house December 8th.
10) Flew to USA December 8th.

The average no-chain sale takes approximately 10 weeks to go through completely. I must also mention that I told my Estate agent about my visa (and my buyers) and I refused to exchange contracts until I had the visa through.

I put my house on the market this week.... Im just finalising packet three.
I'm not expecting an overnight sale, so I'm trying to get some early interest.. my last house sale took more than 6 months to go through with people pulling out last minute and other problems..

I will accept a verbal offer on the house, but will not actually get the paperwork process going until I have my visa in hand. Just as a precaution..

If he's looking to move asap, I would say market the property early.. Interest rates are at an all time high in England and my agent said they were expecting it to affect the market in the next month or so..

So what it boils down to really is that he needs to speak to a realtor there as soon as possible. Thank you for the input folks!

An Estate Agent might provide better results.

The one thing I can pretty much guarantee is that everything will take longer than you anticipate.

Spoke to the SO, he's calling someone next week about putting it on the market. Thank you again folks, I really appreciate it.