Are you moving house?

At present we are living in a 3 bed semi. Far too big for us to manage. We have decided to look for a suitable bungalow. Easier said than done. We have been to see a few but all needed completely gutting which we don’t want to do. We don’t mind a bit of painting but not major work. Another thing to consider is stamp duty goes up in April. Apparently contracts must be signed by 1st April otherwise the new rate stamp duty kicks in. This is what an estate agent told us.

I wish you both good luck please keep us up to date with your journeys.

Grammaretto
^My DC all have so are not short of advice. They have my best interests at heart but are not holding my hand
I have no intention of living near any of them -at least I don't think that's a good idea.^

That is what we thought, and planned our relocation to be more accessible, but not close to either.

In particular, as DD has never married or had a live-in partner, I was determined that she shouldn't find herself the single daughter expected to look after her aged parents.

So what has happened? She did some recce in the town we have in mind, saw the house of her dreams and moves in next month. We will probably be within a mile or so of each other.

Her agument is that being that close to us, she will call in on us for the occasional hour when she comes into town to shop, and, if there are any emergencies, she is on the spot, not having to get into the car and drive for an hour or more to reach us. We have no intention of being dependent on her or expecting her to be at our beck and call, so we will have to see how it works out.

My New Years Resolution was a decision to move. The
maintenance has become a stress and I really don't use
all the space I have. Decluttering has begun and I'm
enjoying it. Major decision of where to move to is the
most difficult. Small steps is my motto.....

Norah

We're not moving, have never. However, my brother moved when he retired. He looked for his location carefully, thinking to how he lived and what he liked in his days, weeks, and months.

He decluttered, packed, moved home to live with us. His agent priced his home, he was quite willing to accept less and do whatever was required - he'd no daft notion that his home was perfect or that he'd find perfect.

In the end he married, old age shock. They live in her home.

Wow!
It goes to show how anything can happen however carefully you plan!

Not that kind of excitement here but I have begun to declutter and have booked a valuer from an Auction house who will hopefully tell me if I possess any furnishings worth selling.
I must also speak to a book seller. I have been given a few contact numbers.

If not, there's always Freecycle. Our charity shops are very sniffy about taking stuff.

We're not moving, have never. However, my brother moved when he retired. He looked for his location carefully, thinking to how he lived and what he liked in his days, weeks, and months.

He decluttered, packed, moved home to live with us. His agent priced his home, he was quite willing to accept less and do whatever was required - he'd no daft notion that his home was perfect or that he'd find perfect.

In the end he married, old age shock. They live in her home.

Thanks for all the input I am taking into account transport, GPs hospitals shopping etc and I’ve been steadily clearing ‘stuff’ the last 3 mths but still a lot to go. I’m not intending on taking everything furniture wise with me, hopefully I’ll have enough to buy new.
NonGrannyMoll it’s hard making all the decisions but if it’s going to suit you to move then try to make the decision and make a start.

I downsized in my early 60s. I’ll be honest, I couldn’t do it now. Too much stress and hassle. So do it asap. Good luck !

We aren't (yet) but we've been discussing the possibility for a couple of years. The main thing holding us back is that, at rock bottom, DH doesn't want to move. Also, he's a stroke survivor so, much as I want to move on, I don't want to take all the awful fuss on my shoulders.
I'll be following this thread anyway, just to see how you all get on (and glean some tips for the future). Good luck!

Good luck, Babs03, and to you, too, tanith, if you decide to take the plunge.

We've had other house moves in the past that haven't caused as many problems. Perhaps we're owed a bad one .

We moved three years ago. I’m in Scotland so the selling/buying system is different but it was still stressful! So be prepared to accept that there will be hiccups along the way.

We moved to a new-build and despite the negative press they get, we’ve been very pleased with our new home. We’ve gone from a village that had lost all its amenities to having a large supermarket, a garden centre, a pub and regular buses all near at hand.

If you haven’t done it already, start decluttering asap! It’s never too early and even if you somehow end up not moving, you’ll be delighted to be rid of unwanted stuff from your life.

Good luck.

Cabowich

Sorry to sound so negative, but we're going through it now, and it's an absolute nightmare.

We've been 'under offer' for over six months and it's only now, just when I thought everything was ready to go, that all the problems are surfacing.

Our buyers decided to have a drain survey, found problems with the drains which up to now have all worked well (but might now in the near future) so we've had to bring our selling price down to cover the costs of fixing the problem.

Now, our buyer's buyers have raised a query with their house!

I just feel like saying to everybody "Enough! Just buy or back out, but stop messing about at this late stage"

Why all these problems didn't raise their ugly heads at a much earlier stage, I have no idea.

Anyway, rant over. If we do finally move, I suppose I'll look back on this very stressful time and think it was worth it.

I can relate to that. Nearly went all the way with buyers first time but things dragged on, the survey revealed that the roof was fine but would need work probably in a few years time, they said ok and went along with it, then suddenly pulled out saying they were worried about the roof, we offered to lower the price if they got a quote but I think they were looking for an excuse because then they pulled out anyway and we lost the bungalow of our dreams.
Next buyer only lasted a couple of months before pulling out and we lost another property we loved.
But we are still trying.
Have lowered the price and got through two estate agents so far.
Fingers crossed that this year we do actually move.
We honestly can't see it to be honest.

Moved 24 times over three Continents and six countries. Last move 3.5 years ago in mid-70s. Very important advice given to be near doctors' surgery, dentist, bus stop.
BTW apropos the above - just think how many plugs we have had to change throughout these moves! All electrical goods need the plugs changed - big chore but so far it has all been worthwhile. Longest move was from Oz to Belgium.

tanith Wherever you fancy moving to, please make sure you are close to and have decent public transport. There will be a time when you can no longer drive.

Shops, GPs and dentists nearby, in my opinion, are essential.

My bugbear is the bus stop, although only 1/4 mile away, and it is a killer for me.

Sorry to hear that Cabowich I hope things are more straight forward from now onwards. I’m prepared for things to take time I’m in no hurry.

(but might not in the future)

Sorry to sound so negative, but we're going through it now, and it's an absolute nightmare.

We've been 'under offer' for over six months and it's only now, just when I thought everything was ready to go, that all the problems are surfacing.

Our buyers decided to have a drain survey, found problems with the drains which up to now have all worked well (but might now in the near future) so we've had to bring our selling price down to cover the costs of fixing the problem.

Now, our buyer's buyers have raised a query with their house!

I just feel like saying to everybody "Enough! Just buy or back out, but stop messing about at this late stage"

Why all these problems didn't raise their ugly heads at a much earlier stage, I have no idea.

Anyway, rant over. If we do finally move, I suppose I'll look back on this very stressful time and think it was worth it.

Thanks everyone lots of good info and suggestions I’ll bear in mind. My daughter is administrator for a group of estate agents which will be very helpful as she’s aware of how things work and there’s a colleague discount on fees too (every little helps).
My valuation is on Tuesday so fingers crossed it’s good news.
I’ve seen several possible houses but I need the valuation so I know where I stand, then I’ll start viewing possibilities and have a good drive around the area get the feel of the place.

We’re not moving at the moment ( moved 7 years ago) , but it’s not ruled out in the future. My piece of advice is to let the moving company do the packing. It’s something we’ve done every time we’ve moved and takes away so much stress at an exhausting time. Well worth every penny.

I did it 4 years ago. A move is always quite stressful, more so when I did it in the time of Covid. It is a hard decision moving away, when you've been in an area for quite a while. All the best for moving day, once the dust has settled and your furniture is in place in your new home, hopefully you will be glad to have made that change. Good luck

Good luck Babs and well done Sago

I haven't had to move house for 45 years . It's a different world now.
My DC all have so are not short of advice. They have my best interests at heart but are not holding my hand
I have no intention of living near any of them -at least I don't think that's a good idea.
I had my DM living with me for several years which has put me off.

I value my friends locally and wonder if my DC could up and go depending on jobs so feel that moving to be closer to any of them could put an extra burden on them to consider their old ma in the equation.
Also I would need to start making new friends, not so easy when you are older.

We are moving but no idea when, have been let down twice, had two different estate agents. Hopefully this year we will actually move to live closer to family. Have seen two properties we loved sell but hey ho we keep on keeping on.
The thing is to brace yourself for the worst and hope for the best, hopefully you’ll end up somewhere inbetween. Neighbours of ours sold within weeks and moved within months. It can happen like that so fingers crossed 🤞 And London is a very fast moving market.
Wishing you all the best 🌺

We are sold STC and have found a home to buy.

We have had a number of hitches but our solicitor is on top of it all, he is a friend of 35 years and very good!

Our buyers are a bit flakey and not very good at communicating, they are very nice people though.

We have been clearing out for a while and can now start packing, we have rented a storage unit for a lot of things we don’t need immediately, garden pots, tools, garage contents etc.

We start filling the unit on Wednesday.

I have a note book solely for the move, I am writing down all the “to do” stuff, mail that needs cancelling, change of address notifications etc.

FishandChips I also feel alone, especially in the wee small hours!

There isn't much Property about as people are advised to wait until Spring.
I have looked at 6 properties so far, the most recent one last week.
I liked it but there were a couple of negatives for me. I looked on rightmove.co.uk just now and see it's under offer!
Ah well. It wasn't meant to be.
I think I should secure my sale before thinking of making offers.

I must activate my lawyer too. I have had 2 valuations. One was great though she said it might take a long time to find a buyer. The 2nd told me anyone buying my beautiful historic
house would pull it down and build flats!
This is one reason why I would love to sell it to a friend who loves it and would continue to use it fully as we once did.
Ofcourse I may not get top dollar but does that matter so much? As long as there's enough money to buy me a comfortable, small home in a good location, that will satisfy me.

We have had our house on the market for a year in an area where few houses are selling. Yesterday we had a serious potential buyer round - but they have a house to sell.

Our plan, originally, was to move about 100 miles to be more accessible for our children. Except that our daughter went to recce the area to see what it was like, saw the house of her dreams, and will be moving in next month, so we will end up living within a mile or two of her. For DS travelling will be reduced from 4 hours to two and it will also be a very easy train journey.

We have done all the things that Oopsydaisy1 recommends. I would add if you are not happy with your first estate agent, do not hesitate to move to another. We chose an agent who was superficial the right one for our house, but found their service so poor, we moved to another after a few months.

I would recommend this site for getting youstarted with all the things you need to do. It is the basis on which I have been planning our move. www.which.co.uk/money/mortgages-and-property/home-movers/moving-house/moving-house-checklist-aMppD6l8mlbQ