steve666

Yep, actually the big map of Canada on the kitchen wall is a giveaway!

fuschiagirl

We have thought about whether to mention emigrating. We have decided to say that we are going to Canada at the end of the summer but if we sell the house earlier then we will go and stay with our daughter in Kent. This could actually happen so we won't be telling fibs! The viewers should also then realise we are not desperate to sell - we're not but would like a sale in a reasonable time span!


The house has been advertised with "no upward chain" and there is also the possibility we could sell some contents to the buyer.

Joanne

steve666

We're in the lucky situation where we have funds in Canada to keep us for quite a while. So we're in no hurry to sell, although we can't afford to buy a place out there till we do.

fuschiagirl

We could go without selling here but I don't think I could stand the stress of being in Canada and not have sold here - does that make sense? Seems to be tempting fate!

Joanne

gloveman

Yes, we've made no secret of it. We're going by the end of May whether we have sold the house or not so we thought it made people look like we were serious and not going to be messing them about and they knew there would be no chain involved.

woodmanbg

We are ready to go apart from selling and the home went on the market last year. We live in the countryside and properties in our lane rarely come up for sale, two weeks after we were on the market there were five up for sale and as would happen with our luck ours is the only one not to sell. We had someone interested but they couldnt sell their home. It is so frustrating.

We took it off the market over Christmas and have redecorated the kitchen and are about to start on the main bedroom to freshen it up. I dont think it has dawned on my husband yet that its April next week and we need to get back on the market soon and cannt hold back any longer as he finishes all these jobs.

It is so frustrating and disappointing as we really need to be in Canada by the end of the summer so that our daughter can continue her education there. We will soon have to make a decision on which University she goes to in case we are still here in August and that will be the clincher. We are already leaving one daughter behind and I cannot leave two behind, so it may be make or break time for us this summer. It is so depressing because you feel your life is on hold, there are lots of things to be doing but no point if we are leaving the country.

I hope everyone else has better luck than we are having.

gloveman

Oh dear I hope we have better luck than you. We are in the process of buying a house in Canada and will be out there for late May. We really need to sell our place here first but we have a back up plan fortunately. We do have 3 people wanting our which is good but they all have their own to sell first. We moan about our situation but I would hate to be in yours having to leave one child behind and possibly two. Having said that I could probably handle leaving my 11 year old behind at the moment!! It's a good time of year to sell a house so get the painting finished and get it back on the market - there's still loads of time time between now and when you want to have sold so fingers crossed and good luck.

woodmanbg

Thanks. What makes it even more depressing is that we had a week over there last October househunting and whilst we were there our buyers sale collapsed so we didnt feel wise to commit ourselves. Every home we were interested in has since been sold and there doesnt appear to be anything as nice on offer at the moment. Still we are fortunate in that I have family over there who will put us up until such time as we find something nice - A nice acreage south or west of Bragg Creek, nothing less than five or six acres will do us nicely.

gloveman

We fell in love with the place we are buying and had to go for it - wouldn't have interested you as it only had 4.5 acres!

woodmanbg

Oh I could live with 4.5 acres, I am green with envy. Wish we had had the courage to go for it, but it is a long time to leave a property empty and expect other people to look after it for you, but still wish we had gone for it. I am sure we could have arranged something, not so brave in our old age I am afraid.

NovaBoy

Got to think positive! Just keep thinking about when you're on the flight to BC! That should keep you going.

We have actually sold our house, been in rented flat for over twelve months! Thought we were only going to be here about six months! It's not too bad, money from the house is paying our rent but it's dead money, not saving anything!

Good luck with the house sale and all the best when the move finally comes!

fuschiagirl

I think there is now a sense of anticlimax as the house is actually up for sale -I suppose I will get used to it once we have some viewers. It suddenly feels as though life is on hold - difficult to explain but I'm sure a lot of you know the feeling!!

Good luck with your move - have a wonderful future!

Joanne

NovaBoy

Yep - know what you mean - it's like our whole life's been in limbo for the past fourteen months!!

Just wanted to wish everyone selling their house the best of luck as I know it can be very stressful.

All the best & chins up!

ann m

Have you all "House Doctor'ed" your homes ??!!

Before we put ours on the market last year - and of course, I thought it looked lovely, I got a friend to cast a very critical eye over the whole place. She pointed out a few DIY things that we had become blind to, she suggested a re-arrangement of a bedroom/study scenario and a couple of other things that I simply would not have seen/thought of.

It took a weekend of last minute jobs - and then we held our breath. Something worked.

It's really hard to work on a place that you have mentally moved out of - is the outside clean and tidy? Are there cracks, chips and chunks out of the decor? Have you de-cluttered, 'cos you're going to have to anyway!

Many years ago, whilst working in an estate agents, I was frequently amazed as to some people's idea of decor, cleanliness, and general pride in their home (or lack of!). I mean, just look at mls to get the idea .
Not for one minute am I suggesting my fellow Expats would fit into any of these categories of course , but do be super critical, fix the obvious, and then my fingers and toes will be well and truly crossed for you.
I do feel your frustration - it's a poo situation to be in.

Best of luck to all of you

steve666

My wife is coming back after we land to work until xmas (probably) in a contract job so she'll deal with the sale. Although I still want it gone by August at the latest.