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Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Old May 8th 2013, 9:16 am
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Default Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Hi all,
Here is my story.
Left to Canada with new Canadian husband. Lived there 16 or so years. Had good job (husband now retired). He wanted to move house so I dug my heels in and said if we were going to move it would have to be back to the UK. Came for a 'look-see' a year ago and moved mid Dec to a holiday cottage (furnished and weekly let) while looking for a house.

Major problems
Holiday let was terrible (sounded/looked good on web and talking to landlady...) we were there a horrible 3 months in winter. I have never been so cold.
Estate agents are totally rubbish (we found our house ourselves on RightMove).
Had terrible trouble trying to prove we weren't money laundering (we had liquidized asserts before moving from Canada so we could buy a house without a big mortgage)
Solicitors slow as molasses (get someone very local so you can at least go in and see them)
After moving (been here 4 weeks)
Took 2 weeks to get a landline and internet.
In general still having problems with companies changing to our new address. I advise at least a 3 month redirect.
Good points
Food is not as expensive as we feared, nor are utilities (apart from cell phones-we fell foul of 0845 numbers...)
Love the new house!

If anybody is interested I will post as I go
Cheers!
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Old May 8th 2013, 10:08 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Keep posting I'm interested. I know it doesn't always go that smoothly.
Pity you got stuck in a cold rental for the winter.
I had heard you have to have proof of not money laundering when buying with a lot of money brought from another country. Had you already transfered it to a UK bank or were you doing it once you found a house?
I'd been reading on another site that house buying is slow as molasses.
I think I'd go mental with the wait, people taking many months to get the mortgage and stuff sorted, and then slow solicitors on top. Then in UK people can pull out last minute, so 6 months of your life down the tube having thought you had the place sold.
Here it's 30 days from accepting the offer and bingo your done.
The house we are in was so slow, but it was only half built when they accepted our offer. Even then it only took from mid april till we moved in 4th of July.
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Old May 8th 2013, 10:39 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by Paws3
Hi all,
Here is my story.
Left to Canada with new Canadian husband. Lived there 16 or so years. Had good job (husband now retired). He wanted to move house so I dug my heels in and said if we were going to move it would have to be back to the UK. Came for a 'look-see' a year ago and moved mid Dec to a holiday cottage (furnished and weekly let) while looking for a house.

Major problems
Holiday let was terrible (sounded/looked good on web and talking to landlady...) we were there a horrible 3 months in winter. I have never been so cold.
Estate agents are totally rubbish (we found our house ourselves on RightMove).
Had terrible trouble trying to prove we weren't money laundering (we had liquidized asserts before moving from Canada so we could buy a house without a big mortgage)
Solicitors slow as molasses (get someone very local so you can at least go in and see them)
After moving (been here 4 weeks)
Took 2 weeks to get a landline and internet.
In general still having problems with companies changing to our new address. I advise at least a 3 month redirect.
Good points
Food is not as expensive as we feared, nor are utilities (apart from cell phones-we fell foul of 0845 numbers...)
Love the new house!

If anybody is interested I will post as I go
Cheers!
Please continue to post

So glad you love your new house, especially after that rotten place you stayed in for the winter!

When I read that it takes longer to get some things done over there, I truly welcome that because I think it is proof of a slower pace of living. After living in the USA, I think it's wonderful, although I know it can be frustrating at times!
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Old May 9th 2013, 5:40 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Welcome home Paws3
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Old May 9th 2013, 2:19 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Thanks for the replies!
Buying the house was very slow. We were told 4-6 weeks and it was a struggle to get things done by 8 weeks (with constant nagging). As others have pointed out, both parties can drop out at any time so it is very nerve wracking. And on the money side, bring ALL paperwork in hard copy (internet statements are NOT accepted) and have it with you. You will have to provide a complete paper trail for ANY cash from when received (salary etc).
Yes we did use HSBC which had both Canadian and UK accounts. I guess this helped a bit but we still needed a very nice obliging Bank Manager this end to sort out a lot of queries and to countersign reams of paperwork.

Now I have stopped working it is amazing how much time I have to do things I love (gardening, cooking I am even baking bread!)

Canadian husband is getting settled slowly. My answer to his major anti-UK moans is basically I suffered Canada for 16 years but as now his parents have died and he is retired (2 major reasons we moved to Canada) he will have to do the same here! (actually I think he quite likes it but he just likes to moan..

More later
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Old May 9th 2013, 4:04 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Phone/internet time seems about right depending on who you use, we had to wait a few days, but there were companies offering next day service, then we found you had to have been living in the UK for the last 2 years. We had the same problem with the first place we rented, just wasn't what we had thought, particularly as all the upper floors were sloping and had lots of repairs hidden under the carpet.

Post Office redirects in the UK are now for a minimum of three months, well it cost the same for three months as one month.

All house sales are a problem, when we sold up to move to Spain we sold the house by auction, so once the auction was finished it was legally binding, as it happened we sold to a private buyer before the auction date, but they were told that the property would still be advertised for the auction, and if they hadn't completed by the auction date, the property would be auctioned.

Phone landline, get the deal that includes free weekend and evening calls, 0845 numbers come under the 'free after 6 pm', and most of the firms work till at least 8pm.
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Old May 9th 2013, 6:42 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Paws3,

Thank you soooo much it is so helpful to hear what the experience is like from those who are living it. Please, please do keep posting and sharing your thoughts and experiences as you settle into your new life.

I didn't know about the slow time to get internet and phone connections, so weird, I wonder why they take so long? Good to be forewarned I'm used to the US way!

No money to transfer so I won't have anyone wondering about money laundering but good to known the difficulty you hit with that and that they need hard copies, not Internet statements.

Whereabouts in the country are you living?

Thanks again for the great post!
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Old May 9th 2013, 9:12 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by NiHao
I didn't know about the slow time to get internet and phone connections, so weird, I wonder why they take so long? Good to be forewarned I'm used to the US way!
I suspect the real reason is that you will have no credit history in the UK when you apply. In moves since then we have usually had the phone and Broadband on the day we moved in. If you have a credit history then it would be simpler, I was lucky and was able to use my address that I lived at prior to moving to Spain, and it seemed to be accepted.
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Old May 11th 2013, 5:55 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Yes please keep posting. I find it amazing that if you are with HSBC and have a bank account in UK and Canada with history you will still have this problem. I better look into this as we also have accounts in both countries. I would be interested to know how you find UK after living in Canada? My OH is is not sure about moving back to UK!
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Old May 11th 2013, 11:15 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Mikelincs - of course I didn't think of credit history but that makes sense, thanks.
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Old May 11th 2013, 11:44 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by feelbritish
Yes please keep posting. I find it amazing that if you are with HSBC and have a bank account in UK and Canada with history you will still have this problem. I better look into this as we also have accounts in both countries. I would be interested to know how you find UK after living in Canada? My OH is is not sure about moving back to UK!
No progress on that front then?
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Old May 11th 2013, 5:53 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by perthhomeschool
No progress on that front then?
We did discuss it the other day about the visa options for me and I will have to work then as well although part time. Today was his birthday and he told his mom when she phoned that we want to travel when he retires and she will see more of him then in the same breath says that he will probably go to part time work until we sell the house and does not want to sell house until he is ready to retire in two years time! I do think we will go eventually I live in hope.
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Old May 11th 2013, 6:45 pm
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by feelbritish
We did discuss it the other day about the visa options for me and I will have to work then as well although part time. Today was his birthday and he told his mom when she phoned that we want to travel when he retires and she will see more of him then in the same breath says that he will probably go to part time work until we sell the house and does not want to sell house until he is ready to retire in two years time! I do think we will go eventually I live in hope.
Sounds much more hopeful than it did before
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Old May 13th 2013, 9:00 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

Originally Posted by feelbritish
Yes please keep posting. I find it amazing that if you are with HSBC and have a bank account in UK and Canada with history you will still have this problem. I better look into this as we also have accounts in both countries. I would be interested to know how you find UK after living in Canada? My OH is is not sure about moving back to UK!
Yes we were very surprised after trying to do all we could bank wise before leaving Canada. I would advise getting a £ account 12 months before leaving but they will not let you open an account in the UK until you actually arrive. Luckily I still had my old NatWest account so I could use that for getting money.
It took a £100 deposit before I could get a mobile phone (and a letter from the bank verifying my address...) and a UK drivers licence IS an ID card by any another name. Get one asap as it is critical especially if you don't have a UK passport (or if you do, you will have to carry it for ID).

My husbands UK visa (in a Canadian passport) was useless nobody knew what it was so it wasn't accepted.
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Old Jun 1st 2013, 12:05 am
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Default Re: Back 4 months after 16years in Canada

I kind of have one foot in Canada and one in the UK, because although I'm living in Canada for another year, I also own property in the UK and have spenta couple of months each year there since we came to Canada in 2006.

The British housebuying process is maddeningly slow and uncertain compared with Canada, and I speak as a retired UK solicitor. In my experience, it's not just lawyers, but estate agents and mortgage brokers/lenders who move at the pace of a snail, with the added frustration that until contracts are exchanged, the parties are not legally bound to complete the sale/purchase, and you are spending money on a survey, solicitor's fees etc, knowing the whole deal could fall through at any time.

The money laundering regulations apply to most financial transactions nowadays, and apply to everybody. Generally, you have to produce ID documents, or certified copies.

We've just sold our house in Canada. We're going to move into rented accommodation for our last year here. We are in the process of buying a house in Devon in advance of returning next year.
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