Moving Abroad do i rent or Sell

socks_uk

Hi Beserker...

Just as a matter of interest, have you ever visited Canada?

I'm married to a Canadian from New Brunswick and have been there in the height of summer as well as at Easter time. We got married at 7.30pm just to avoid the sun! Just wondered if you can stand the extreme heat, the extreme cold and also the mosquitoes!

If I was ever to think about moving over there I would definately rent out my 2 bed bungalow in Cleethorpes because, as you will know, we live in one of the cheapest areas of UK. I'd want to know i could come home if I needed to. We can't predict the future and we don't know what the housing market will be like in 2 years time but I'm sure I wouldn't be able to afford to buy in UK again.

Houses on the East Coast of Canada are cheap compared to UK and you'd have to be pretty sure you weren't coming back or put your remaining money in a bank account to give you some capital to put back into a UK property.

macaque_2

nollag2006 wrote: »

If you're coming home at the end of your two year stint, surely you don't want to lose your place on the housing ladder in the UK?

Why not just rent it out, and have someone else pay your mortgage for a couple of years.

As for buying in Canada - are you sure that you can recoup your sales and purchase costs within a two year window? Surely renting for such a short timeframe would be a better option

Stop it ........... There is no such thing as a housing ladder. The whole concept of ladders is nothing more than a fiction peddled by estate agents to trick naieve young people onto the mortgage treadmill. A house is a commodity and like all commodities, there are good times to hold them and bad times. Right now is (probably) an awful time. The cost of ownership is high and the risk of depreciation even higher.

Canucklehead

socks_uk wrote: »

Hi Beserker...

Just as a matter of interest, have you ever visited Canada?

I'm married to a Canadian from New Brunswick and have been there in the height of summer as well as at Easter time. We got married at 7.30pm just to avoid the sun! Just wondered if you can stand the extreme heat, the extreme cold and also the mosquitoes!

If I was ever to think about moving over there I would definately rent out my 2 bed bungalow in Cleethorpes because, as you will know, we live in one of the cheapest areas of UK. I'd want to know i could come home if I needed to. We can't predict the future and we don't know what the housing market will be like in 2 years time but I'm sure I wouldn't be able to afford to buy in UK again.

Houses on the East Coast of Canada are cheap compared to UK and you'd have to be pretty sure you weren't coming back or put your remaining money in a bank account to give you some capital to put back into a UK property.

Hi..I am a Canadian and a native of Toronto so have too much knowledge of snow, sub zero temps as well as stifling humidity (blackflies are my pet peeve:eek: )...most properties in comparable locations in Canada are cheaper than here eg. my hometown (Canada's largest city) is cheaper than London for the same type of property. Perhaps the OP is planning a trip to Lotusland aka Vancouver/Victoria where the climate is definitely more amenable...after time spent on Britishexpats the picture for him/her should become a bit clearer. I've said to people I've met in the UK who have exclaimed 'I've always wanted to live in Canada!' visit in the winter first...if you can cope with that you're well on your way.

Anyway..we're settling in for a harsh winter down here on the south coast:D

Canucklehead

socks_uk

I'm a pale skinned English Redhead! Hate the sun, heat, mosquitoes, love the snow (on holiday!) love the fact I can drive pretty much anywhere in UK in about 6-8 hours from where I live ( I can go east to west coast in about 3 - 4 hours) but drive for 4 hours in Canada you'd probably still be in the same Province.

As my husband and I have discussed, we'd have to have an air conditioned house with an open fireplace and insect screens to doors and windows, a big car with cruise control and plenty of money to keep coming back home for holidays! Oh, and I can't speak French!

Nice to meet you Canucklehead.

berserker

Thanks for all the advice Guys.
Yes i have been to canada quite a bit and truely love the place. Especially the Sub zero temperatures. I'm a winter sport nut.

as for transferring assets to canada i'm not too worried its one of the reasons i'm thinking of moving all my assets to capitalise on the hightened exchange rate.

And I know if i ever have to come back i will be coming back to one of teh cheapest house areas in the country

sooz

Some good friends of ours recently moved to Canada (1/2 of them were Canadian national)

After just over a year, they realise that for work they need to move back.
They'd sold in London, and bought in Canada. Now they cannot afford to buy back even their old house in London, or a smaller one. They are looking far far outside London now, with a huge commute into work.

They had not planned on ever moving back, but their situation changed.

I realise London isn't Grimsby though.................but still something to consider

socks_uk

berserker wrote: »

And I know if i ever have to come back i will be coming back to one of teh cheapest house areas in the country

Yep, cos you wouldn't want to pay more than we have to to live here! :rolleyes:

Actually, it's not bad now I've moved from Hainton Ave area to round the corner from the new cinema. We're thinking of booking a holiday for next Easter to go visit the in-laws. We'll see how our finances are after Christmas.

Canucklehead

socks_uk wrote: »

I'm a pale skinned English Redhead! Hate the sun, heat, mosquitoes, love the snow (on holiday!) love the fact I can drive pretty much anywhere in UK in about 6-8 hours from where I live ( I can go east to west coast in about 3 - 4 hours) but drive for 4 hours in Canada you'd probably still be in the same Province.

As my husband and I have discussed, we'd have to have an air conditioned house with an open fireplace and insect screens to doors and windows, a big car with cruise control and plenty of money to keep coming back home for holidays! Oh, and I can't speak French!

Nice to meet you Canucklehead.

Hi...sounds like the conversation I've had with my husband...I hate too much sun, too much cold,too much snow (hell is driving to work through a blizzard and discovering all the school buses have been cancelled...80 teachers having to share the 3 disgrunted students personally delivered by their folks) and the various, flesh eating insects...we ideally need two homes i.e. one in the northern hemisphere and one down under...need to check the Euromillions tonight!
I can't speak French either, but the majority outside Quebec can't either:D

Pleased to make your acquaintance.

Canucklehead

Canucklehead

berserker wrote: »

Thanks for all the advice Guys.
Yes i have been to canada quite a bit and truely love the place. Especially the Sub zero temperatures. I'm a winter sport nut.

as for transferring assets to canada i'm not too worried its one of the reasons i'm thinking of moving all my assets to capitalise on the hightened exchange rate.

And I know if i ever have to come back i will be coming back to one of teh cheapest house areas in the country

Hi.. you are well and truly sorted then...will the Left coast be your new home?...fantastic skiing/snowboarding but property prices have risen sharply in the past couple of years...lots of work in BC and Alberta if you have a trade.

All the best for your move.

Canucklehead

socks_uk

berserker wrote: »

Need your advice guys,



I'm not sure whether to sell up here and buy in Canada and make the most of the current exchaneg rate.

I was just talking to my husband about the exchange rate and he says that although the £ is good for us against the US $, because the Canadian $ is strong against the US $ you'll probably get a worse exchange rate than you did 6 months ago - about $2.20 to £1 6 months ago - $1.91 to £1 now (Post Office website).