stepnek

Hello,

Recent threads on this forum have suggested that if possible people moving across to Canada might be advised to keep their property in the UK just in case they want to move back. Having said that this isn't an option for us as we need the money out of our house sale to make our lives in Canada. So, whether we like it or not, no turning back for us. Yikes!

Anyway we've had our house up for sale for a while now and we are onto our third buyer having had two others fall through. They are first time buyers so there's no chain but we are anxiously watching the calendar as the visa's expire at the end of September and we want this thing completed. So my question is this:

Is it possible to market and sell a house overseas? I'm concerned about this purchase falling through and considering our options. Has anyone else sold a property in the UK while living in Canada and can it be done without continually flying back?

Covenant

I suppose one option would be for you to prepare a power of attorney and nominate your mum/dad brother etc to deal with the sale and paperwork whilst you are in Canada. You could keep in touch with the Estate agent by email. get an agreement with at least two estate agents so that you maximise the cover you have with buyers.

Just a suggestion although I'm sure one of the expats will have a better idea.

Good luck.

Glaswegian

Wecame over without the safety net of keeping a hold of our UK property for three reasons:

1 - We emigrated with the intention of never returning - life in Canada would have really have had to be intolerable to be as bad as life in the UK

2 - We saw UK property as a liability. We got out fingers burned in the last property crash overe there and didn't believe that the then overinflated house prices could be sustainable long term. I've also worked in a accomodation office and known rental properties to be trashed by the occupants.

3 - If we continued to own our principal residence in the UK, it would have been more diificult to argue that we had permanently left the UK in the eys of the IR.

I'm sure that we could have sold our UK house from here, but I wanted to see the colour of the money and get it transferred out of the UK as quickly and as safely as possible.

SimonG

Been there and got the t-shirt. We moved at the end of August and left the house with the real estate people. They are pretty slow when your not there, but from a paperwork perspective we signed some initial forms before we left and then the rest was conducted via fax and post.

Somebody I work with actually went back to the UK last week to conclude their house sale.

We finally sold our house at the start of December last year.

Like you we needed to sell the house for the deposit on a new one over here. But even if we had not needed the money we still would have sold. It would have been too easy to have a house back in the UK when times where tough and just pack up and move back. At least this way it ensures you are going to stop for a while and try to make a go of it.

Pretty Flowers

I've got a flat in London which I'm going to sell when I move out.

I don't see much point in transporting all my worldly goods and belongings just to have the millstone of a property in the UK around my neck. The equity I've built up will also mean that I should be able to buy outright in Toronto, which means I can be a lot more flexible about the work that I can take should I need to.

For me emigrating is about starting a new life and not coming back, so selling up is definately the thing to do.

stepnek

I entirely agree with you. I've read comments elsewhere with people saying "don't sell your property in the UK" but for me I don't want an easy way back and besides I need the money!

For us the reasons for moving to Canada are very valid and if after we arrive in Canada we find it hard going well I'm certain that those reasons will still be valid. Nothing will have changed and we will have to stay and deal with the challenge.

Anyway back to my original post. For plan B if Plan A fails I'm looking for experiences of anyone who might have sold their house while overseas having made their move. Thanks for the replies so far.

iaink

If you need all the money, then I guess you need to sell, but IF YOU DONT NEED THE MONEY, KEEP THE PROPERTY

Sorry to shout, but UK property right now is probably the single best investment you can have, never mind the safety net factor, you have an asset there that is growing in value at >20% per year. When it comes time to retire that kind of investment is priceless, especially given exchange rates and relative property values.

As far as not wanting a safety net, you have to remember that way more immigrants than you would think go back at some time, and a lot of these people also said I'm never going back. Think how far the Uk property market will have inflated in 10 years, when you want to move back to support your eldely parents or whatever. Always have a plan b. What seems like a permanent move now, may not be.

Unless you have no other option (other options including remortgaging to generate some equity and using UK rental income to pay the new mortgage) DO NOT SELL YOUR UK PROPERTY. I am sure there are plenty of agencies prepared to manage your UK property for a cut of the rent, so you may not even have to worry about tenants and damage etc etc,

My 2c

Iain

Covenant

I 100% agree with you Iain, but like Stephen, I'm in a similar position and need to rely on the funds released, and have limited choice in the matter.

What I am doing however, is leaving enough to put a small deposit on a flat and putting this out to rent . The rental income should hopefully cover the mortgage and additional expenses, and if worse come to worst I will have something to return to.

Very hard choice though.

Padsnbon

I'm in the same boat with selling to obtain the equity and yes, a straight forward Power of Attorney is your best option.....we recommend them all the time....I work at a Solicitors.

They shouldn't cost much to set up and if you have a friend/relative who is trustyworth and pushy which is even better, in the case of trying to move things forward for you with your Solicitors/Estate Agents.

With your property falling through twice, I am sure you have most of the initial paper work signed anyway, such as Property Information Forms etc so its just the Contract and the final documentation really. With modern equipment you could push from your end with emails too

Good luck

stepnek

Some interesting comments Iain and I can see your point.

Here's my take on the situation: As to property prices increasing well I don't share your confidence although I know that many others do. I certainly believe that in the very long term it makes a good investment but how many can be certain that they won't at some point need to sell and possibly then at what loss to what could have been? My house is a tiny, pitiful house and one of the cheapest here in town and yet has an offer of £175,000 on it. Last year it was valued at £140,000. I don't believe that this kind of increase is sustainable and that a collapse of sorts will happen soon. My house is very much a starter house and there aren't too many people now down here who can afford to start home ownership at £170,000+. When they are finally priced out of the market then the trouble starts. Colleagues of mine at work have properties above £300,000 to sell and are now dropping prices to encourage viewings. True enough if there is a collapse then in the long term values will creep up again but for me now is a good time to sell this property and get the benefit of some real profit.

I recognise that I live in the South East and it may not be an issue elsewhere but I have to look at my local situation and how it effects me.

Gail

We moved over here in October and our house sale in England wasn't finalised until March. We signed all the necessary paperwork before we left even though we didn't have a buyer yet. My father had power of attorney but in the end didn't need to do anything.

We kept in touch with the estate agents by e-mail and they sent us a letter every month with details of viewings, offers etc. We telephoned a couple of times when things were being finalised just to make sure everything was ok.

The solicitors also communicated by e-mail, and they paid all the money at the end into our UK bank account - then we just trasferred it over here through the currency broker.

Make sure you're not with Barclays bank as getting your money is very difficult. You can only transfer 2000 pounds at a time via internet banking and 3000 pounds by phone banking - not very good when you are talking about a large amount. In the end we sent a cheque, via registered mail to the currency broker. My husband is with first Direct and they will transfer as much as you like as long as you get through the security to your account. Next time we visit the UK one of the first things I am going to do is go to Barclays and close my account. Another girl I work with has also had the same problem with Barclays.

If you are leaving the house empty you won't have to pay Council Tax for the first 6 months. Also you have to let the insurance company know the details as some of your policy won't be valid.

Good luck with selling, it was nerve wracking at times having the house still in the UK but it was worth it to get over here sooner. It also gave us time to look around and decide where we wanted to buy. Unless you are well off you probably won't be able to afford to keep it indefinately as you need at least 35% downpayment over here.

dingbat

Selling my UK property was a very big mistake for me - very. I would now be extremely comfortable financially if I had kept it and would have had a place to call home after an acrimonious divorce. If you need the money you do, but once you sell you will never catch up again if you do indeed have to return to the UK. The Can $ is not worth much anywhere - the only bonus is the initial start up here is easily paid for with sterling proceeds.

Bear this depressing fact in mind - I came here in 1996 with a reasonable sum of money - the equity I realised on my house. After a year of unemployment, rent, kids, hidden costs of living here, I had nothing left - nothing. I did not "live it up" and my standard of living was less than that I enjoyed in the UK. Keep your property if you can or sell and buy a smaller investment to rent out....life here can throw things at you when you least expect it.

As a side note, another Brit I know told me today that she is going back to the UK before school starts. She is the last of five families I know that have given up here (three different provinces were tried by them). I was so down when she told me...we arrived here within a month of each other and have only corresponded by email for the last five years as she moved around. They have never really settled, and her husband got laid off again, for the third time in a year. He has already got a job to start in the UK the Monday after he lands. She has only ever worked in Sears - it was all she could get, and she was an HR manager in the UK. Both of them said that they will never be back and feel relieved that they finally bit the bullet and are going home.

Glaswegian

Last year I considered going back to the UK when I got laid off and the money started to run out.

The only thing UK agents wanted to know was when my flight would land.

If it wasn't for Tony Blair and IR35, I wouldn't be here.

I sometimes wonder how irrepairable the damage to the UK done by Labour is.

Do you think the country will ever be the same as it was pre-Blair?

dingbat

I think so - give it about three years and then the tide will turn. I have to say that my politics are usually left of centre, but Blair baffles me with his peculiar alliances and policies. I grew up in Thatcherite Britain and I watched some terrible things happen to a society that I loved, some good things too of course. While I would personally abhorr a Conservative government fort the effects it usually has on the less fortunate, anything has to be better than the right wing Liberals in BC.
:scared:

Glaswegian

But how long afterwards to repair the damage?