Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

We're renting out our place (we got offered £100,000 less than the asking price last year :eek: and decided not to bother selling just yet).

The flights are booked for us and the dogs to go out next March :thumbsup:, no jobs or visas yet (had the 60-day letter but no meds yet), but I just want to be in Calgary with all my family (our 2 other grown-up kids meeting up :D )

As others have said - don't dream it - do it!
Good luck, whatever you decide.

KatieMoon :D

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

We are still going. Fortunately we managed to sell our house along with all the furniture to the house buyer from hell at £20k less than we wanted to. The cars are sold, our jobs are quit and we have moved in with the OH's mum. Just waiting for passports to be returned complete with visas now.

It seems that every step of the way there has a been an obstacle (we should have been there in October). The exchange rate is pants but we have waited so long and spent so much money (probably around £10k up to now) for this to happen, that we aren't letting anything stand in our way.

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

We are still going, now much earlier than planned. The house is up fo sale but if it doesnt sell before we go c'est la vie.
We will definitely be on a shoestring then but we will cope.
We were going to take everything but the costs are so high that now we are just taking the minimum. We need ready cash.
OH has a job to go to so he will be earning almost straight away.
Yesterday he said it would be nice to build up our empire again lol.
He works in food retail, everyone has to eat!!

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

It's good hear people going ahead with their plans, despite all the doom and gloom the media feeds us.

I was feeling a bit down and fed up with the whole process but hearing other stories has boosted my movitation.

Need to bite the bullet and try and sell the house next year, and get on with moving to Canada

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Thats the spirit;)

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Need to bite the bullet and try and sell the house next year, and get on with moving to Canada[/QUOTE]

Good for you. PMA all round
Tina

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Thanks Lorraine, have to say I did wonder if we are bonkers or not but I just figure that if we don't go we will never know! I quite like the thought of rebuilding our little empire as Alberta Bound says above!

Wow two free turkeys, that takes some doing! I wish we could find the house buyers from hell but doubt very much we will be able to. One last push to sell the house come January and if not it will go up for rent in the spring.

Sounds like you have a fabulous attitude. I don't think I'll ever miss the UK, will miss the "three f's" family, friends and familiarity but that is all.

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

You bet we're in the same boat! Well this was our dilema yesterday because of the credit crunch:

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=578488

Within the last hour we've had our house purchasers on the phone saying they want another £10k off the price! Bear in mind we've knocked £20k off already and this has been going on since July.

They've now just managed to get a mortgage last week, we're at crunch time - signing contracts and now this!

We've declined their offer, but hoping to call their bluff really hoping they'll go some more.

I'd like to tell them to shuv it where the sun don't shine, but I have to bite my tongue at the moment. At this rate I'll have no tongue left!

So when you ask: "just wondered if anyone else is in the same boat"

We have a boat, it has a hole in it, taking in more water by the day, so I reckon by the end of the week we could be sunk :)

The UK is talking itself into doom and gloom everyday on the news, which is making people really scary about spending.

Even if you did sell your house and had the lump sum fat cheque. where are you going bank it for security? Most banks will only cover up to £50k

This global crunch really is a mess :ohmy:

Still, can it really get any worse? :unsure:

Y

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Sorry to hear they are trying to 'gazunder' you. To me that is nothing short of blackmail. I hope everything works out for you. Let us know what happened after you declined their latest 'offer'.

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Hi,

You're right, it is blackmail. But in their eye's, they're trying to bag a bargain and using the global climate, together with our plans for Canada, as a weapon!

The "little devil" that sits on my right shoulder with his fork, is prodding me and saying:

"tell them *******"

but the the angel that sits on the left shoulder, is saying:

"Strike a deal, or you'll have to start all over again"

But the thought of being blackmailed, leaves a very bitter taste! Especially with these pair, as they're the rudest, and most obnoxious pair of individuals you could ever wish to meet.

We'll see..........

Y

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Another way to look at it is "yeah but i got out"

I would say that any buyer with a morgage pre-approved would be going for mega bargains, i know i would :blink:
We had the buyers from hell and they put me in hell as well, but honestly looking back i am glad i did the deal.........i'm here ;)

Good luck on everyone selling there houses :wub::wub:

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

I sympathise with you Yogi, but I have to say that if I were the buyer, I would probably be asking for at least £10k off if the negotiations have been going on that long. It's not blackmail, it's part of the English house purchase process - accepted offers are not binding contracts. The buyer has no interest in what your house was worth, only what it might be worth in the future. And the outlook has worsened considerably since July.

It would be prudent for any seller in England to expect a gazunder attempt in the current circumstances. Especially if the buyer knows how important it is for you to sell. The outcome will depend on how much the buyer wants your house, and what the buyer's alternatives are. As the seller, you need to put a price on the ability to move on with your life, and that's hard. I know, I sold with negative equity in '98 on a house I'd paid the mortgage on for 7 years.

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

We will be putting the house up for sale in January, hoping that we sell within 10% of asking price. Will not be giving any information about why we are selling, as we do not want to be hostages to fortune. Gazundering is an evil way to operate and difficult to stop. However would sooner lose a sale than be blackmailed because of desperation

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

Once you have lost enough sales, you may become desperate. By then house prices will have fallen further, and you will be in a weaker position. The longer that goes on, the more likely you are to end up accepting a price even lower than the first one you rejected.

Gazundering is not difficult to stop - it's impossible to stop because English law permits it. You don't have an agreed price until contracts are signed.

Whether it's evil depends on circumstances. If negotiations have dragged on so long that the market has fallen further, I as a buyer would seek a further price reduction and feel perfectly justified in doing so. If declined, I would need to consider how much I had invested in surveys etc. before walking away.

Re: Postpone move to Canada or power on with the move
 

In any deal a price agreed should stand unless an issue is shown up on a survey. However accepting that we are in a falling market, does not mean that a last obscene attempt to gain a financial advantage should be accepted. The sooner we move to the Scotish approach the better.