Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Had a chat with them last night and they seem really helpful.?

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Talking with them ourselves at the mo. Seem to have lots of contacts in NS. We find them to be very helpful and they're pursuing some leads re. jobs for Lisa in particular.
All in all seems a great service:)

Steve

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Thanks so much,they do seem really helpful,will go along at meet them in march at the show.Have you been out to NS yet?

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

They seem to have a lot to offer for free that always makes me suspicious. They are very much South Shore and miss out all the advantages of living on the North Shore.

Personally, I found everything I needed to know about relocation on this forum and the web. There is no substitute for personal experience so I would always suggest getting over here and talking to as many people as you can.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

We met Mike & Orla at the emigrate show and again when we were out in NS.We've kept in touch with them and I'min Halifax next month. They have proved to be extremely helpful and have been a useful source of contacts for accomodation, jobs etc. Their service is free, and there is no obligation, so you could always get in touch ith them and compare their help with the information you find out for yourself. There doesn't appear to be much to lose

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I find them to be really helpful and they have saved me some money on a few things as well as letting me know about things and pointing me in the right direction. they seem genuinly nice people! I presume they make their money through referrals from the companies they recommend??

Outontheboat, please don't take this the wrong way, as you seem a helpful sort of person, but why are you so determined to crowd out the north shore with everyone from this forum lol ??;) Guess it it keeps Annapolis nice and empty, I should be applauding you:huh:

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Thankyou so much they do seem really helpful,hopefully we will get to live our dream:)

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I just get fed up with the North Shore being ignored and seeing people only given one side of the coin and their choices limited by third parties.

How does the uk2novascotia business make money then?

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

By getting a commission from the companies they refer people to

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

we've used uk2novascotia and they are very helpful, met them at Sandown last year and in Halifax last September. They have good contacts etc but ultimately you still have to do it yourself so there is no substitute for jumping in and finding things out for yourself :thumbup:

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Yeah they are very helpful I get emails with lots of hints tips, jobs etc..and I met Orla in Halifax Oct 2006 she was very nice.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Thankyou so much:)

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I met with them and spent half a day with their realtor. Never got the discount flights offer though. Perhaps it was because I didn't use their realtor. That was really not clear in the conditions though.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

we spent time with there realtor but did not buy through them and we recieved the voucher. Just ask them, i'm sure it was just an oversight on there part

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I found them helpful while their realtor is working with you, but if you talk to another realtor they will not contact you again

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

oh ok thankyou for that..

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

we have not found that however!!!

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

oh right,they do seem most helpful to me.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I have no experience of them whatsoever, but we have relocated ourselves to another country previous to this relocation to NS, and I would be wary of anyone who do this as a business. They get commission from somewhere, and does that mean that the companies they use are the best ones for you? I would just be somewhat cautious myself, it is a business afterall so how *you* centred is it?

Just my ponderings about using any relocation company, never having used one, those are my reasons why I guess. But certainly there seems to be a good following of people who have very successfully used them - so good luck! But trust your instincts too.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Ive not used them as such but I have met Mike and found him honest, up-front, helpful and well informed. He lays it all out very plainly - including how he makes his crust - and there's no hard sell. There's no forms to fill or contracts to sign. You can use none, some, or all of his contacts. Up to you 100%.

His info about taxes, property, schooling, weather, all the mundane bits and pieces is useful when youre on your first recce and dont have time to bugger about.

UK2NS has some "bulk deals?" with realtors, car rental, removals, money exchangers, Zoom, job pimps etc so you can save a few bucks there. Fact is you need to deal with all these things at some stage.

At a minimum, UK2NS gives you some confidence that these "preferred suppliers" are not fly-by-nighters of cowboys. If Mike heard a supplier was crap he would just start to recommend another supplier, no? If you had a problem one of the suppliers he can often phone up and mediate (can be useful that what with the time zone and subtle differences in culture).

Disclaimer: I dont use UK2NS at the moment but I have done some due diligence into a realtor, a money exchange and a shipper. All seem to me to be pukka enough and the charges appear to be the same or similar to what I would be paying elsewhere.

I would recommend UK2NS, particulalry if you are interested in the HRM area.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Thankyou:)

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Thats interesting. I met Mike after I had decided to use another realtor and he was a bit sharp with me. He did go on to give me an outline of his other contacts but I have not heard from him since.

I was a bit uncomfortable with the "use our recommendations to protect yourself from sharks where other ex-pats have come a cropper" line. It felt a bit like scaremongering.

I am not saying that they are doing anything illegal. He did inform me of how he gets his income and I was not expected to sign anything. I just felt a bit uncomfortable.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

There are some horror stories about realtors seeing the old dollar signs when a non-canadian comes their way. The german couple spending $600K CAD on a 6 bed 125 acre farmhouse up near Amherst for example is one thats passing into folklore. Sounded a good deal to them at the time until they realised the going rate was more like $150K.

Realtors are reknowned for their, ahem, "efficiency" for parting fools and cash. Canadian realtors are no different and from what I hear from certain Canadian friends, they are worse.

The one I met via Mike was reasonably laid back though. Haven't gone elsewhere yet but the vibe I got was "here's the houses - get back to me if you like any." No hard sell.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Don't get me wrong, the realtor Mike recommended was perfectly nice, it's just that another one I met appeared to understand what I wanted better. She showed me houses that were really much closer to the brief I had given to them both.

I just feel that my choice of realtor (or any other service for that matter), is my choice and I don't feel that I should have to explain that choice to a relocation agent or any one else for that matter.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I understand.
And I agree 100% with your choices comment.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

We are currently using Mike and Orla at UK2Novascotia to assist us in our move. They are thoughroughly nice people and will be our next door neighbors for a while in a few weeks time. I have spent several 30minute plus phone calls to Orla and she is always willing and able to offer good advice. They cost nothing regaining their money via the firms they reccomend. So their service is FREE, they also offer money off or discounts on some of their reccomendations i.e 100 pounds discount on shipping 2 for 1 flights with Zoom etc. there is no pressure to use their reccomendations, take it or leave it, they also have a good handle on the local job market and companies looking for good workers.

They are coming to our welcome to NS party on 2nd Feb so we will meet them face to face then, but they do make you feel very welcome, all in all very nice people. Oh and by the way they are expats themselves, and have been through exactly the same process as we are all going through, but now have a lot of Canadian experience behind them.

So from the Snort family the answer is a big:thumbsup:

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Mike is a Canadian qualified Realtor - please everyone stop being so naive - there is no such thing as "free" when you are in a business - someone, somewhere pays.

Realtors charge up to whopping 6% commission for a Sale in Nova Scotia that is shared between the company representing the seller and the company representing the buyer - sometimes a single company represents both. So a split with a "recommended by Mike" Realtor still brings home the bacon.

His realtor scare stories he gives have not been encountered by me in reality - pun intended. The Real Estate business in Canada is highly regulated and policed. (See NSREC By Laws)

Remember if you are not yet Resident and plan to sell a property before you are, you have to pay Canada Revenue 33% Capital Gains. I bet Mike didn't tell you that. Ouch!

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Just a quick question - I have heard of Mike and Orla and have met Orla. We didnt use their services (don't like the smell of rats much) but good to those who find them helpful.

My question is have they ever promoted any area other than Fall River or close to Fall River?

I'm almost convinced that they have a vested interest in selling land/property there - I maybe wrong, but as mentioned before by others, something just doesn't feel right.

Just my 'penny' for the pot.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

That's the realtor's business area.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

If I may just stick my 2 cents worth in on this one...

We didn't use UK2NS so I can't comment at all on their service. From what people say it sounds very helpful.

Specifically on the subject of realtors though - be aware that introducing you to a realtor is the aspect of the service that almost certainly brings in the bulk of the revenue for them. As another poster said above, realtor commissions can be up to 6% so on a $400k house there's plenty of room in that $24k for a cut from the commission to cover the cost of meeting with you and providing some advice and introductions. There's nothing illegal or even odd about that - its how the system often works here in Canada.

However, I would never advise anyone to meet with just one realtor. By all means meet with their realtor but make sure you meet with at least some others too. Definitely meet with at least 3 realtors before you decide who to use. Ask them all the same questions (about different areas, types of houses, what's good value and what isnt) and see if you get different answers. Whether you realise or not at the time, your Realtor will have a big influence on your decision of which house to buy and what is a sensible amount to offer for it. The things they tell you about areas, maintenance costs, what the property market is doing, what has good resale potential etc etc are all things you end up relying on to make your decision so your choice of realtor can have a big impact on whether you make a wise purchase or not.

Some realtors will be really honest and tell you that the house you like is way overpriced. Its probably not what you want to hear if you like it but its something you need to know. Others might tell you the price is a bargain and not to waste time negotiating as someone else will beat you to it. After all they dont get paid anything until you buy. The bottom line is that you need someone who is extremely honest and you feel comfortable working with so never, ever meet with only one realtor and automatically take their word as gospel!

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Yes, as Tuppence says the realtors in question (Jerry & Annette Murphy) live in Fall River, specifically on Perry Lake (know locally to many as Perry Pond as it isnt really a proper lake) in the Fall River Village subdivision. So its probably not entirely coincidence that the majority of people who go through them end up buying in Fall River Village. Perhaps thats why property prices in Fall River went up by 23% in the last year - roughly double the increase for greater Halifax as a whole.

In fact I heard someone say they were selling raffle tickets there the other week and on some roads (like Canterbury) almost every door they knocked on turned out to be British. Ironically most of them probably dont realise as not ever talking to your neighbours is one of the great British skills.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

What does "Don't like the smell of rats much" mean? You may not like salespersons, realtors, consultants etc, your choice, but to be deliberately rude and insulting can cause unwarranted distress and anxiety, and possibly a lawyers letter. Mike and Orla are in business but I find them keen and enthusiastic, with good advice and contacts and there is no hard-sell.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

In response to Lol4874, it was a personal opinion about their business. I have met Orla and found her to be a very nice and helpful lady. However, with such a beautiful province - the 'smell of rat' I referred to was that they seemed to want to 'group' all Brits in one place. If they are only selling one area then that should be made apparent. Have you not noticed the amount of people that think Fall River is the only place that Brits can get by in ? I just think that it is unfair to 'lead' people to one specific place that suits your needs and not those of the people you are 'helping'.

I do not think I have been rude, deliberately or otherwise, nor have I been insulting. For information purposes, I do not have a problem with people selling things (everyone has to earn a living) nor do I have a problem with realtors.

Everyone should be given the opportunity to make their own decisions and as such should have as much information as possible not just one point of view.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

In fact I heard someone say they were selling raffle tickets there the other week and on some roads (like Canterbury) almost every door they knocked on turned out to be British. Ironically most of them probably dont realise as not ever talking to your neighbours is one of the great British skills.[/QUOTE]

Hi Paul

I believe there are 4 British families on Canterbury and my neighbours, to whom I have spoken, are from Vancouver, Calgary, Texas, Germany and Lebanon ;)

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Bit aggressive for a first post isn't it? I just wonder what interest you have in this too? Everyone using this forum has the right to express their own opinions. That's one of the good things about it, people can hear both sides of the story.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

You know perhaps I am feeling awnry because ive just had a hard days work packing the last of my house into a 20ft container and waving goodbye to it as it heads for our house (temp rental ) in fall river and I should feel realy excited about this, but i dont maybe its the sheer exhaustion I feel after taking the last 2 weeks to pack my belongings, carefully itemising each box with its contents and value and ensuring the whole move works with military precision, well it did.

Maybe it will take a day or two to sink in but today we passed the point of no return.

No I think what annoyed me is some of the responses to this post. From people who havnt used the services of UK2novascotia.

We used Anglo Pacific to ship our goods today, as reccomended by UK2novascotia inclusive of their discount, and what a very proffesional team they were, what kick back UK2novascotia get from Anglo Pacific I dont know or care about, their service and advice to me was FREE, and it was very gratefully received.

Our realtors are Jerry and Annette, but only after other realtors didnt seem to have a clue as to our needs as immigrants, I have made it very clear to Jerry what types of property we are looking at, and his first suggestion to me was Hammonds plains, however after we explained that we had based our search around the schools we wanted our kids to go into having extensively researched it on our recce, we said we wanted to concentrate on Bedford and fall river, by the way brits seem to choose fall river because it gives them everything they cant get in the UK, Land, great houses, peace and quiet, and lakes. Not to mention easy access to the international airport where a good percentage of us recent immigrants are going to be working.

Jerry is meeting us the morning after we land to start working on our plan to get our own house within 4 weeks, this is after he arranged for our mortgage advisor to meet us at the house an hour earlier. He has 6 houses for us to view on that day before he and his wife attend our party in the evening. I have checked them out through various sources I have on the island, and surprise they won the Innovation for industry award, and most succesfull realtor business awards, as well as coming with personnall reccomendations from several VERY GOOD friends of mine already on the island. Come on Guys I am about to depart with my lifes savings on a house in Nova Scotia, do you realy think I wouldnt check out our realtor before hand!!!! The fact that he and his wife are reccommended by UK2novascotia is because they are the best!!!!! and they have experience in dealing with UK immigrants. Personnally I dont know if they get a kick back from the realtors, I imagine they probaberly do, and good luck to them for having a living. But their services and advice to me their customer are cost FREE, and so far it has proven to be top notch advice as well.

Oh by the way did I not mention, the temp rental accomodation we have for the first 2 months, (which is incredibly difficult to find for a family of five,) was due to a phone call to mike who mentioned after hearing my frustration with finding somewhere to live for 5 of us that he was just about to put an add on their site for a rental by another guy from the UK who is moving out in the summer, I looked at the site saw the rental it ticked all of my boxes and booked it that day for 2 months.

Mike and Orla are people people they are succesfull in that they care for their clients, they are also cost free to those clients. If they make a living from those businesses they reccomend all well and good to them.

Guys and Gals I dont usually rant :curse:like this but I replied honestly to someones request for information about UK2novascotia having given my honest opinion alongside most of the other positive opinions on this thread I was slightly pi**ed that someone assumed we are naive, well I didnt get off the boat yesterday pal and I have travelled the world extensivelly, the last thing I am is naive.

Personnally I am more of a cup half full person, and wont slag anyone without positive proof they are linked with the mafiosa:eek:

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

You obviously know what you want and you did the right thing for you.

I met Annette. and as I said before, she seemed very nice. However, no realtor is right for everyone.

The best advice in my opinion is to meet a few and choose for yourself. Someone who is on your wavelength and gets where you are coming from. In my case this was not Annette, that doesn't meant that she is not successful in her job, or that she isn't the right person for someone else.

My only gripe was the reaction I got from Mike when I told him I was using another realtor. I hadn't said that I wasn't interested in any of his recommendations, just that one.

I am sure that people benefit from their service. Whether individuals can obtain deals as good individually as they can others will be able to answer better than me.

All I know is that there is a wealth of information out there and I have heard what Mike has to say and I will bear it in mind. However, I will never take the recommendation of one person without researching it myself. Perhaps I am just a control freak and others are perfectly happy to let someone else do the leg work. If that is what they want, thats fine. I just reserve the right to do things my way.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

I think that is exactly why a lot of people choose it.

After being about 3 feet away from my neighbours in the UK, I couldn't wait to own a couple of acres and have my own space (I own some trees :thumbsup:), but also be within an easy commute of decent job opportunities.

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

Well I dont blame you at all for being a little highly-strung after packing for 2 weeks! But I don't think anyone actually said you were being naive did they? The main thrust of my own post was really that nobody should just use the first realtor that was put in front of them and to make sure you meet at least 3 before deciding and, from what you say, you did meet others. And I didnt slag anyone off (but maybe you were referring to that other "rats" comment by someone else) but I do think its important that you know if realtors tend to have a bias towards a particular area.

Personally I'm more of an all cards on the table person, and like to make sure everyone is given a balanced view of how things are.

By the way, you do realise Nova Scotia isn't an island don't you? Have a look at http://nsonline.com/maps/. Do you see that little bit of land near Amherst that connects it to New Brunswick (just past the recently highly publicised North Shore).

Re: Anybody used uk2novascotia.com?
 

We have been in touch with both Mike & Orla, and Jerry & Annette. To be honest, we have found them all to be very helpful, and have offered a balanced view. Annette showed us around some houses in Hammonds Plain, and she also showed us around a house a couple of doors away from her own. This says something to me - would she really let you view a house so close to her own if she had anything to hide ? (something about not sh*****g on your own doorstep !). Annette also put my in touch with a member of her family about a possible job.

Mike & Orla have been great. They found us a great house to rent in Mount Uniake that was just perfect for our holiday, and have found me 3 contacts about possible jobs that would have been very difficult for me to find whilst in the UK.

I'm pleased I have spoken to them all, I feel they have assisted us greatly and whilst I accept others may have different views, they have never charged me a penny. I'm coming back out to Halifax in a few weeks time, and have arrange to meet up with Annette and Mike and Orla as the advice they have given us so far has been well worth listening to.