Siouxie

Not scaremongering, just making you aware of the potential pitfalls.. if we didn't and only told you positive stuff, you may even come back and say "Why didn't anyone tell me this!!!"



Ultimately it's your decision - this is an internet forum full of mixed points of view and opinions - you take what is useful to you and ignore what isn't, lol.

This is pretty good advice until you know that you are going to be able to be here permanently; if after a few months or a year you find a way to gain PR then you can look into selling it. If you do decide to sell it, make sure you have a valuation suitable for Canadian taxes too!

Pulaski

Renting your home (one dwelling) is a bit like investing in the stock market by putting half your life savings into one stock selected by sticking a pin in the equities page of the Financial Times.

Aviator

Would depend on the agreement, but I seriously doubt there is any liability risk on a rental agency They check references and collect the rent, beyond that it is down to the landlord. I would not depend on how much of an eye a relative would keep on a property, I suspect their employer would not want a disproportionate amount of time spent. If you decide to rent, one has to accept the risks that go with it. I got out of the rental game long ago, more bad experiences than good ones.

If you choose to ignore comments from those with experience, that's a personal choice. Some have had better experiences than others. You will have your own experiences, then you can decide if they were good or bad.

If you think Britain, grey, cold and rainy, wait until you get to the wet coast (there is a reason we call it the wet coast!). When we first arrived at the beginning of fall, it started raining and ended sometime the following April.

Canada is not a utopia, it is somewhere different, eventually it becomes the norm and not unlike where you came from.

Deciding to rent ones home in the UK as a safety net is a good idea on a temp permit, as is renting in Canada. Renting out in ones home country because of a temp status and buying in a country where you are temporary, seems a contradictory rationale.

BristolUK

At least with 'spot the ball' contests you could tell where the ball was when it went PSSSSSSSSS!

haggis88

The grass is not always greener, it's just fertilised with a different kind of bullshit

Why not study somewhere interesting instead of boring, cultureless Canada?

MillieF

I couldn't agree more. With age and experience I wouldn't have done it, but of course it's different when you have worked very hard to get your grips on a piece of bricks and mortar...and it was the anchor to guide me back to somewhere that I had no family...the FTSE 100 would have without doubt been a better star to steer by

Stinkypup

I kind of think your opinion is possibly ever so slightly swayed by your lack of suitable employment- understandable perhaps but just I think needs mentioning.

Shirtback

No. It wouldn't.

I don't think any of us are scaremongering, I think we're being honest; with a slight bias towards worst case scenarios.

Your relative should be able to give you the "no frills" rundown:".

dbd33

Believe me, what I described was nowhere near as bad as the end of that story. I was aiming at explaining just enough to raise the idea that renting a house out and living abroad isn't necessarily the prudent course.

Snowy560

Many of us have rented out our property in the UK when we've come to Canada. Not all of us have sold immediately. I've seen this countless times on this forum.

Although renting from a distance was a bit of a hassle, the time I was most anxious about the property was when it was empty for several months before it was sold.


S

Shirtback

I "got" that. Even with a top-notch letting agency, AND relatives moreorless in situ, it's not a piece of cake.

Or even as a student ...

:: Personally, knowing what I know now, I'd rent in Canada, until I knew whether I wanted to stay.

Snowy560

Sorry I deleted the last bit from my original message because I recalled the OP was intending to study. I do know TFWs who've bought though.

S

Fliksokka

I'm not being ungrateful for advise from people who have been there and done it but what else could I do with my property for two years other than leaving it empty?
It leaves it vulnerable for breaking into and squatters. Plus, empty houses still need paying for....
I won't have any sentimental ties to that house as we'll have only lived in it a couple of months.
Many of my friends and family live in rented accommodation and none of them have ever trashed these homes and I know plenty of people who rent their owned houses to tenants and I've only ever heard of one that went badly (they let someone really dodgy manage the rental and that person rented it out to people who turned it into a cannibis factory and completely wrecked it, ripped up all the floors)
Perhaps someone can give me an alternative?

Jerseygirl

We left our empty...apart from a couple of visits per year. Coming up to 3 years we decided to sell for tax purposes. We didn't want the hassle of renters. I suppose it depends where the house is located and do you have anyone who could keep an eye on it for you?

dbd33

From the original post:

"Our plan is, as we are lucky enough to own our house in the UK, to sell that house and split the money to buy a small house in the UK to rent out while we are gone."

My suggestion would be not to buy the small house in the UK.