mandyrawlinson

did any of you in canada leave a roperty behind in the uk, somebody pointed out that it is better too leave a small house/apartment behind, coz it stops making you feel trapped once you have made the big move over too your new life.

i dont subscribe to this point of view but then again i aint emigrated before.

do any of you, who have made the big move, know what this blokes going on about.

agree or disagree.

thanking you
leadman

p.s hope you understand what im chatting about.

Rich_007

All cicumstances are people-situation-financial specific BUT there was no way we were moving with PR leaving proeprty in the UK.

1. We wanted/needed the funds from equity released.
2. We didn't want baggage or a UK albatross.
3. We were very confident of making the move successfully.

So far no regrets but had we not been in situations 1 and 2 then despite still being in 3 who knows if we'd have left a property in the UK.

It seems like ancient history now but glad we did what we did how we did it.

Rich

scrubbedexpat074

I left one, cause I couldnt sell it in the time I needed too, it has had no impact on my move at all, I want to sell as soon as I can so that I can say I have no physical links left with the UK. I think it's easier without property as you do all you can to get on with your new life. That said, it hasn't hampered us at all, we're never, NEVER, going back.

Zig

Tiaribbon

I have to echo the comments of the posters above. We sold our UK property as we have no intention of ever going back to the UK - if we aren't successful where we live now, then we will move to another part of Canada.

R2D2

I think in an ideal world, if we'd been blessed with plenty of wonga, i would like to have kept a house on in the UK, but ALAS NO. We needed the equity in our home to set up here and have a smaller mortgage etc etc
A Uk home could be an easy escape route if things in Canada don't work out......maybe TOO easy, you could give up too quickly.............but of course if you were really unhappy from day 1, you would be glad to have a home to go back too. Depends on circumstance and which way you want to view it.

philcUK

I/We also left a house. It was just for a comfort feeling. It is a big move for some people, and seemed to be more of an issue for my wife. There is no right way to do it, just the way that suits the individual.

It's is OK to sell up in Canada and move back, some people though say they feel trapped having sold up. You only are what you think.

pak2

personally I would not want to leave property in the U.K. As has been pointed out before the release of equity makes life easier in Canada. But most importantly the housing boom seems to have ended in the U,K, and only just started here in Calgary. Having property here should put us in good sted as it were. As an aside I woulf feel that keeping a safety net in the U.K. would ditract from the commitment and effort put into a new life in Canada. personally I gave it 110% and did not spare the horses! So far all is well. But like others have stated - each to their own!

Phil

Bleech

We're leaving a place here.
Not for a comfort feeling or anything, but it's just the way things have worked out.
The rent will pay for the mortage and give us an income.
We can always sell it later or ideally sell it when I retire. The only downside for us doing this is that we wont have as much $s as we'd first worked out, but we'll still have enough to start again.

Daveyboy_The_Red

we are just about to leave our apartment here which will be our holiday home as we will be coming back to the uk every couple of months at least for the next year or so. it also saves the hassle of shipping too much!!!!

Mans

Its a tough one.

From an emotional point .... I think its best to have a clean cut, sell up, and move on without looking back.

However, from a financial point ..... I think its a good idea to leave property in the UK. I have a buy to let flat which I purchased 2 yrs ago. The rent covers the mortgage so no worries on that side. Also the property in in good repair so unlikely to have many problems in the foreseable future. The property is in London (west hampstead) and in the long term should (in my opinion) do well. Though no doubts I expect headaches and issues in keeping the property I think the the financial returns would compensate nicely

We have an offer on our main residence. I think if we had kept that its too easy to keep looking back to England when the going gets tough in Canada.

Good Luck
Mans

triniangel

I am from the Caribbean and have finally decided to keep my house for at least one year so that the rental will be a sort of income for me while i job hunt. Also I have aplace to stay free in Canada for 6 mths so I can use time to search property there. There is property boom inmy country and my husband wanted to sell straightaway, but I guess it is me having all these anxious moments ab moving esp as I am a teacher and the job market is bleak for me. Anyone feels like me?

dbd33

I have a friend here who kept the house in the UK and rented it out, just in case. If he has a financial crisis he'll sell it and if his business collapses he can go back to it.

He left the UK in 1984.

hot wasabi peas

I'm a Canadian living in the UK and I still have property in Canada. I initially came to the UK for a lot of reasons but none of them were, "I will spend the rest of my life in the UK" or "I hate Canada, get me the ph*ck out of here" so I've never felt the need to sever ties (though some days my family provides me with more than enough reasons!). Also, I've never felt having a place in Canada has ever been that tempting to go back to when going through periods of homesickness/culture shock or other difficulties here. Place or not in your home country, it's not easy to just pack your bags and leave where you find yourself anyway. I started packing my bags once during a darker moment and it took so long that I eventually changed my mind!

Plus, I bought waaay before the boom in Victoria for pennies and they have turned into solid investments which generate income - not something I want to get rid of.

CalgaryBlade

Agree with you on both counts there Phil.

We originally intended to buy a flat to rent out. However, (in our opinion) the housing market in the UK is over valued and so we stuck the cash in a high interest account as it's a better return at present and less hassle.

iaink

In the long run history shows that UK property values will grow at a higher rate than canadian property, regardless of what is happening in the short term. One or two exceptions like nice waterfront exist though...there is a finite supply of that here.

Looking at the historical housing cost trends you would be nuts to sell UK property unless you couldnt afford not to.

From an emotional standpoint I guess it depends on the person. Some people need that "got to make it work" motivation that comes of having nothing to go back to, and others need the comfort of knowing that plan B is still there.

I dont know if many people have the financial option of not selling though. I thought dbbs friend had the right idea, rent it out, and only sell it if you really need the money.

In an ideal world I guess that once you decide that you are going to stay in Canada you have two choices, either hang on to it until you are ready to retire and then sell and use it as a retirement nest egg, or sell once you decide that canada is working out, wait for a good exchange rate and use the money to live more comfortably in the shorter term.