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Post by barkley on Aug 26, 2013 8:51:21 GMT -5
When I accepted the position, I too moved across country. I drove my car to my new location because I wanted to have a car, while my spouse oversaw getting the house ready for sale and packing the household goods. My new HOCALJ gave me a couple days to househunt during my initial two weeks in the new office - my spouse flew in for that. My family joined me the last week of ALJ training and attended "graduation." Then we all went to the new location with a couple weeks to spare before the new school year started. Looking back, here is some advice
(1) if you are a government employee eligible for the relocation assistance program, contact your relocation counselor as soon as possible. You do not want to put your old house on the market until you have cleared the procedures with them. You also need to see what is currently reimbursed.
(2) I wish we had rented a home or apartment when we first got here. That would have given us a better sense of the area and the schools.
(3) contact your HOCALJ and let them know you are coming. They can also be a good source for getting information on the area.
(4) General, practical advise - before your move, walk around your house, get some video of your stuff, documenting what you have and the condition it is in. With things like electronics, write down serial numbers. Probably won't need the information, but if something is damaged or stolen in your move, you have the basics to file a claim. Also, pack a couple specific boxes of your favorite stuff and take it in the car: things like a favorite blanket, your coffee maker, whatever it takes to make a place feel like home in case you end up in temporary housing for a while.
Good luck with your move. If you have specific questions, lots of folks here can help.
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Post by trekker on Aug 26, 2013 16:58:30 GMT -5
I've moved several times most of which have been across the country and even across the Pacific. Most the military or the new employer paid. For those who are outsiders, be prepared for a shock on the cost. It isn't cheap, especially across country. And if you are like us, those books you just can't bear to throw away are going to cost you big time. (The military did not include professional books in the weight allowance. And I don't know if fed employees are subject to a weight allowance or not. You should check on that as well. The weight adds up.) Agree with Barkley that you should video your more valuable HH goods. We haven't had much damage except for the shortest move we made. We mostly drive our cars but one move had too many cars and since the military was paying for shipping one car we did. It took longer for it to get to us than it would have if we had driven it. Our son can almost do cross country drives in his sleep since we usually used him as the second driver. It has made from some great memories over the years. I would also agree with the rent a house or apt first especially if you think you want to transfer out and head back to wherever you call home. And if you have anything you cannot replace that really means a lot to you, then move it yourself. Don't take the risk.
One other moving issue: Pets. If you are moving more than a day drive away, check out hotels and book in advance. Not all hotels accept pets and some will only accept dogs. If you fly, you need papers from your vet and dogs may need some meds (test in advance how they react), especially if the dog is hyperactive. Cats are never sedated for travel (I forget why not). Our cat has lived in 5 states and 6 different houses/apartments. And no he is not a service animal. That is just how often we have moved in the last 10 years.
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Post by philliesfan on Aug 26, 2013 17:24:54 GMT -5
If you are a Government employee, you are entitled to a house hunting trip at SSA's expense. My wife and I did it about a month before I was report and we found an apartment. We did not sell are house because we hoped that I would get home fairly quickly, which I did. My wife went back an forth and I came home three times.
I recommend that you contact the HOCALJ ASAP whether you are an insider or outsider. You will be assigned an experienced ALJ as a mentor. Use them as a resource also.
During the first two weeks, you will watch videos on demand, learn what can about how your office operates, and attend hearings. Ask your mentor as many questions as you can. You then go to Falls Church for four weeks of training. After that you return to your office and begin being an SSA ALJ.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2013 6:58:30 GMT -5
Some good advice above.
The only thing I would add is to consider taking it slow, in stages. There's a definte impulse to pull the trigger and completely relocate, get everyone settled ASAP. That's what we did. My spouse quit her job, we sold the house (at a loss), and generally got in a big hurry.
Knowing what I know now, I would rent a small apartment where you are going, and take some time to make the transition. If I had known how fast the transfer list was going to work (and that seems changeable)I would have kept the house, my spouse would have kept her job, my daughter would have stayed in the same school, and I would have just worked away for awhile until the transfer list came in. Worth thinking about considering whether you want, or can, be transferred back 'home.'
I was a federal employee, so the relocation package was nice. But. The relocation contractor will buy your house,in a pinch. But. We got a very very low estimate and couldn't take advantage of it. They're in it to make money.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Aug 27, 2013 7:43:49 GMT -5
The only thing I would add is to consider taking it slow, in stages. I moved many, many times in the military. This is great advice. I've witnessed some disasters when people pull the trigger too quick on houses, schools, etc. What the realtor wants you to like on your two-day house hunting trip may not be what you like, or need. Take your time. And the relocation package provides for temp housing .... so if you are eligible for the package, wait until you have a chance to see all that is offered. It is worth repeating, don't put your house up for sale until you get the package and get their approval to do so or you will miss out on significant assistance! |
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Post by eyre44 on Aug 28, 2013 0:58:05 GMT -5
Received the initial paperwork today - it's a lot to go over - did you use the fixed-rate or traditional method for reimbursement? I used traditional. I only know of one person who used the fixed rate and they ended up regretting it. Traditional is much more inconvenient, with a lot of documentation, but you usually end up getting more reimbursed. Especially if you use the full three to four months of temporary quarters. |
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Post by jlee1962 on Aug 28, 2013 7:29:01 GMT -5
I rearched the thread from last year regarding relocation. It gives some great advice - the most important being work with the relocations specialist assigned to you to make sure all authorizations are in place before you do anything. I am a current fed but this is my first relocation that I haven't had to pay for. I was readying my house for sale prior to the offer so I got lucky.
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Post by JudgeRatty on Aug 28, 2013 7:50:27 GMT -5
Received the initial paperwork today - it's a lot to go over - did you use the fixed-rate or traditional method for reimbursement? I used traditional. I only know of one person who used the fixed rate and they ended up regretting it. Traditional is much more inconvenient, with a lot of documentation, but you usually end up getting more reimbursed. Especially if you use the full three to four months of temporary quarters. And just the opposite, 4 of the 5 people I personally know who used the relocation used fixed rate and were glad, and the one who used traditional said they will use fixed rate if they ever had the chance again. Depends on your circumstances so this is typical that there is no black and white answer here. Are you good with keeping receipts and logging all the expenses? If so, maybe traditional. But it is a lot of work if you are not inclined to keep tedious records.  |
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sbr
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Post by sbr on Aug 28, 2013 8:04:55 GMT -5
I relocated, but not cross county, just one state away and knew I wanted to transfer back as soon as I could. At the time, SSA still had the two-year (rather than 90-day) transfer rule, so my family (spouse and one child) moved with me. My spouse was able to keep their job and the first thing I did was look for a school for my child. Even though I knew I wanted to come back, I sold my house taking advantage of the SSA relocation package because I wanted to sell my house eventually anyways. When I relocated, SSA was using Prudential, I don't know if that is still the case. Although they encourage you to use a Prudential agent, you don't have to. I used a non-Prudential real estate agent that sold a lot of houses in my area. She didn't normally like to do relocation sales because Prudential takes part of her commission, but she agreed and it worked out for everyone. So if you have someone in mind to sell your house, it doesn't hurt to ask if they're willing to work with the relocation company.
During the initial two weeks you're in the office before training starts, I stayed in a hotel while looking for an apartment. Try to stay at a Marriott so you can start racking up hotel points, as SSA almost always uses Marriott and you'll be at some premium reward level in no time after your 4-week training. I used a Prudential agent to look for rentals at the new duty station, but ended up renting an apartment that I found on my own on craigslist. Because there weren't a lot of rental options in my new duty station, I also looked at homes for sale in what I considered to be a desirable area and reached out to a few owners with houses that had been on the market awhile to see if they were willing to rent instead and got some positive response, so that is another option if you have any difficulty finding a rental or want to test out a particular area before committing to buying a house. A disadvantage with renting for a year is that SSA will only pay to move your stuff once (unless you put your stuff in storage I guess). But it's a small price to pay to be able to get to know your new area before making any commitments. Before the two weeks was over, I had secured a rental that would start after I got back from the four week training, when my family moved up with me, which coincided with the beginning of the new school year. I used the fixed reimbursement method because I knew I wouldn't need TQ more than a month. I ended up transferring back to my area in less than a year. I could have gone sooner, but I requested to start later so my child could finish the school year out.
I think a lot of what works best for you and your family depends a lot on whether you want to try and go back to where you're moving from. It could be that you're looking for a change of lifestyle pace and appreciate the opportunity to move to a new lower cost area. You could be placed in an awesome hearing office in the middle of nowhere with great staff that makes your life as ALJ great and then realize that an opportunity to move back home comes along but has a dysfunctional hearing office which can make life as an ALJ hell. Good luck!
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Post by eyre44 on Sept 6, 2013 19:07:36 GMT -5
I used traditional. I only know of one person who used the fixed rate and they ended up regretting it. Traditional is much more inconvenient, with a lot of documentation, but you usually end up getting more reimbursed. Especially if you use the full three to four months of temporary quarters. Has the Agency been pretty good about extending the temporary quarters allowance? Did any of you compare whether the interest rates quoted by the Brookfield recommended mortgage brokers were just as good as non-Brookfield ones? I anticipate that we are going to take a loss from our house if we try to sell it. The transfer list, however, seems relatively long for a move back to my home city. Did any of you use Prudential's property management and rent out your house and sell it later? If so, how did that go? If you don't use the Pruduential agent, is the only disadvantage that you have to voucher for reimbursement when the house sells and you don't get the benefit of the home incentive program? Thanks, in advance. . I can answer 3 of 4 of these from personal experience. Never tried renting my property out using Brookfield. I had no problems getting all three extensions (four months total). If you'd like to PM it about it feel free. I thought the interest rate on purchase of a new home was very competitive, maybe 1/4 point higher than my credit union which is pretty standard for banks vs credit unions. Finally, yes on the consequences of failing to use Prudential agent on sale. I actually started with them at first and then withdrew from the program before it was all over. They are very demanding and we decided selling on our own was easier than jumping through all their hoops. We lost the incentive, but I think the sale went a lot smoother once they were out of the picture. |
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