Are you moving house?

A small apartment. My mum recently passed away so I've some inheritance so I'm going for a shared ownership. I'm presently decluttering and having to get rid of lots of my furniture, which is hard but il get there !
I feel for those of you having to sell your property , must be stressful . Best wishes and here's to our new homes

That's interesting winterwhite.

My DC sound a little like yours.
Not a retirement complex but certainly they see me in a much smaller house.

I am going to sell up but mainly due to the rising cost of keeping up this very large house now I'm on my own.

I will miss it terribly. My lovely garden, the space, the quiet position tucked away behind the busy high street and my studio which has been my workplace for 45 years.

One of my DGC cried when he heard it was going to be sold. But he is a child and lives in New Zealand.

So many different solutions that people find suits them. It’s very interesting.
I’m lucky that my family have been letting me go slowly as I will be leaving a daughter and Granddaughter here in London and it’s going to be a wrench as we are very close, they understand why I’m moving but are sad about it as my daughter doesn’t drive so visits won’t be just a quick 10min walk as it is now. I will miss my lovely neighbours I don’t think they believe I’m actually going, they will need to find a new solution for parcel deliveries as I take them in all the time.

Well, we are bucking the trend. We are house renovators and improvers. We are trying to sell our big village house, a listed building 550 years old, to move nearer our children, to a small town where everything we need is a mere 100 yards away, easily accessible on foot or buggy.

The difference being that while we do hope to buy a specific house, it is not a sensible retirement flat or modern property. the house we have in mind is another listed house, not quite as old, but a renovation project. The difference being that instead of us gradually doing the property up ourselves over the years, we will be employing a builder to do the work, although DH will still do the project planning and management, and I will do some of the redecorating and make the curtains.

This moving house is not for the feint/faint (not sure which is right) hearted. Well everything is done now and when I give the go ahead the house will be on the market. Next is booking some viewings. I’ve had a few wakeful nights I can tell you.
How’s anyone else’s journey going?

Well, we have had more viewers. they all love the house, and especially the garden, but most have houses on the market themselves, and being a very old house it has idiosyncracies that do not suit everyone. The house is in excellent condition. The house blurb describes it as 'well maintained'

We have had about half a dozen people teeter on the brink of making offers, we have reduced the price, and the estate agent says if we reduce again people will begin wondering what the problem with the house may be.

Now we have heard that someone else is showing interest in the house we want to buy, I am feeling quite down in the dumps today.

Still 2 more viewings today, both with houses to sell. Ah well may be the people who came yesterday, house sold, but doing more viewings today will come back for another look, they said they probably would.

Monica sounds like you are doing viewings yourself? I don’t think I will do that as I fear if I don’t ‘like’ someone I won’t them in my house, how daft is that! Good luck with todays viewers. Onwards and upwards.

Looking back at my life I realise I've moved every 10 years or so and the main advantage of this is new pasture and leaving behind sad memories.
We have no plans to move currently and I rather envy you people. Would love to move somewhere near the sea.
Hope all the house viewing goes well.

This is such an interesting thread.
I wish I had the courage to move as it
would free up 1000’s in equity and make my retirement far more comfortable.
But……I worry about things like, what if I really regret it? what if I can’t make any new friends? and quite a few other things.
Living just outside London the facilities are great, ( transport etc ) so I’m used to that.
I think I’ll just save up for a nice caravan somewhere & have the best of both worlds.

Best of luck to you all on your exciting new moving adventure.

I love my house and moved myself in 2019, did all my own packing, downsizing etc, I was 72

I decided to go for good insulation and easy maintenance, so I bought a new build from a well respected local builder. I chose the situation very carefully, bearing in mind, situation, shops, buses etc

I bought bigger than you would expect and most definitely wanted stairs and storage for my many hobbies, also garage and decent sized, private garden. I have all of that

4 bedroom detached and all the rooms are used, I now have a dedicated sewing room, health room, storage/ spare bedroom and main bedroom. I don`t need 3 toilets nor a bath but the bathroom is only for visitors and is not in my en suite, which has a large walk in shower

My advice is to look at your actual needs, hobbies, future hobbies, guests etc. To increase my vegetable-production needs, I have also got a local allotment

Moving is very stressful, especially when the buyer says they are cash buyers but then need a small mortgage. We had a very dedicated thread which morphed into several continuation threads over time, we all helped each other through the process and all ended up in happy homes

That sounds perfect for you Karmalady you don't say how far and from what you moved?

Good luck M0nica I hope someone commits to buying soon.

The downsize house I am viewing next week is quite large, 3 beds 2 bathrooms, 2 public rooms, a conservatory and garage. Plus an accessible attic. It's expensive too but doesn't have a leaky roof, more than an acre of land with trees to worry about and big energy bills.

Some friends sold their house very quickly. It was in tip top condition. The agent showed viewers round while the friends went on holiday for a week. When they returned it was sold! She told me it was stress free and she didn't even need to tidy up the place each day.

Our viewings were while we were on holiday.
I have finally met our buyers.

We are packing now, it’s hard work.

When my husbands company moved us (many times) they provided us with Pickfords to pack and unpack, hotels, etc.

I didn’t know how lucky I was!

I once sat in the hairdressers in Newcastle upon Tyne and the hairdresser asked if I had any plans for the afternoon, I told him we were moving that day, the packers were in and I was going to go home then set off to drive south to an hotel near our new home, I was 24 and didn’t think it was at all unusual!

I didn’t even have to clean the house, it was all done!

I cannot imagine how much it would cost now!

Fortunately we are fit and able so I’m thinking of all the money we are saving.

I’m upsizing too as my eldest daughter is going to live with me for now. So 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms with one an en-suite with a wc downstairs. One I just found online is detached newish also has a garage and utility a real upgrade from my little 2 bed semi. Houses are so much cheaper out of London. Garden is too big but as I’ll have a bit of help on hand not unmanageable. We shall see.
It’s nice getting others ideas and experiences.

I'm not moving house but wish I could. I've been here 16 years now and it's too long. I enjoy new environments and new neighbours etc. I simply can't afford to move, and probably haven't enough energy anyway.
Good luck to those of you who are moving. It can be stressful, so best wishes.

tanith

Monica sounds like you are doing viewings yourself? I don’t think I will do that as I fear if I don’t ‘like’ someone I won’t them in my house, how daft is that! Good luck with todays viewers. Onwards and upwards.

i am quite happy doing the viewings. The estate agent is more than happy to do them, but I feel I know more about the house and can answer questions better. I am quite good as working out their family and wants and showing them how the house can meet them. One viewer wanted to know about the arranements for maintaining the short access road. we share with 2 other houses. I had the answer, I don't think the estate agent would.

I have viewers doing an unacompanied walk round the house at the moment. I always offer this, after a guided tour, only a few take it up.

I agree about the stress moving incurs! We had been debating moving for around a year, but couldn't bring ourselves to do anything about it as we love our home, which is in a lovely village in beautiful countryside. I felt we should start to think about the future, as my husband is severely sight impaired so doesn't drive, and we have 3 buses a day that don't go anywhere we might want to be. Also I have had lots of hospital appointments after getting cancer 3 years ago, and our nearest hospitals are 50 or 100 mile round trips. I have had lots of offers of support, but prefer to be as independent as possible. Last Sept, a couple knocked on our door & said someone had told them we were considering moving, and if so, could they buy our house!!! We felt this was the prompt we needed! Sadly they cancelled their offer later on, so we put the house with an agent and have managed to sell it pretty quickly. We want to move back to the area, 75 miles away, where our family live (and we lived for 40 years before coming here 10 years ago. There is not much for sale that ticks our boxes but we have found a house so hoping all will go through! My husband in particular is very sad about the whole thing - a head versus heart dilemma - though he agrees that he would struggle living here on his own, if it came to that. Part of our current stress is that we have seen 2 potential houses, one house we really liked as it had a wow factor, but the second , which we have gone for, is in a better location, with better buses, social opportunities, facilities etc, being in a village location as opposed to a commuter area of mainly houses but no shops etc. Hoping we have done the right thing, and soon the sleepless nights will disappear!!!

Grammaretto, my move was 12 miles, from a small village with a village hall, good community and allotments. Two buses a day and they did not go far, no shop, doctor etc. I moved to a small old market town, which is growing and I live just 10 minutes walk from shops, 5 minutes from buses, 15 minutes from the surgery

It was a very good move for me eg my energy costs just £92pm.

Good luck to all of you, for those who find it emotionally very difficult. The walls seem to release you once you have finally taken the decision to move

I love the story of your Pickfords' move Sago! wouldn't that be nice.

I don't know how I feel about showing people round. I've had 2 valuations. One was wonderful maybe I've already said this but the second told me if anyone bought my house, they would pull it down and build flats!

I really hope the person who has told me he wants my house, will buy it though my DC think I should put it on the open market.
I feel that would be very stressful. It's such a unique property so could take a long time to sell and meanwhile, the curiosity factor, everyone would want a nosey.

Letting go of this house where my late husband and I had such happy times is such a wrench for me but with encouragement I’m getting there.
Grammaretto I wish you luck with your possible buyer and what a deflating comment by the other one.

I hadn’t realised that agents will inform buyers who express an interest in a certain area when a house is about to come on the market it’s called ‘off market sales’, not sure how that works.

My husband had a very serious stroke at end Nov and for the first time yesterday, suggested that we may have to move.

We love our house but we still don’t know whether he will be able to walk so he is thinking we should sell our house and a small house we rent out and buy a bigger bungalow.

We would like to stay in our village as it is a great community and has everything we need. Several shops, bus route, nice countryside and walks, not far from coast and other towns.

It will all depend on how my husband progresses obviously.

Primrose I wish your husband a good recovery it takes time after a stroke. No harm in making tentative plans.

Primrose53

My husband had a very serious stroke at end Nov and for the first time yesterday, suggested that we may have to move.

We love our house but we still don’t know whether he will be able to walk so he is thinking we should sell our house and a small house we rent out and buy a bigger bungalow.

We would like to stay in our village as it is a great community and has everything we need. Several shops, bus route, nice countryside and walks, not far from coast and other towns.

It will all depend on how my husband progresses obviously.

Hi Primrose.. could you find a building plot in your village, sell your small house and start building the home that would suit your needs?? You could supervise the building until you need to sell your main home to finish finance..

winterwhite

Best wishes to all the movers on this thread. My problem is different. DH and I are being nagged (no other word) by the children about moving into some form of retirement complex with care if needed! They're ganging up against us.

DH is frail and I have some mobility problems and poor vision. We're in our early 80s. Last year we gave up the car and rely on taxis and home deliveries. I think we do jolly well. Certainly we rattle around rather but we're now used to and enjoy the space.

They say this because they don't live very close and 'worry about us', esp one of us dying leaving the other to rattle around even more. That's inevitable wherever we are it seems to me, and a solution will be found for whichever one it is when the time comes. I don't want to cut short our life here for somewhere small. I wouldn't know where to begin searching for such a place or weighing up the pros and cons of the whole idea. Head firmly in sand.

Has anyone else been under such pressure?

In answer to your last question, my former neighbour was under intense pressure from her four adult children to move closer to them who were all in the Kent/London area.

They would not let it drop. She knew they really wanted her for childminding reasons which she did not feel inclined to do on a regular basis.

Anyway, she moved to Kent with her partner, beautiful house but they missed Norfolk and were not happy. He became very ill and she had already nursed two husbands through terminal illnesses and felt she could not do it again as she was much older.

His family came and took him away and she sadly took her own life. The loveliest lady I ever met.

winterwhite

Best wishes to all the movers on this thread. My problem is different. DH and I are being nagged (no other word) by the children about moving into some form of retirement complex with care if needed! They're ganging up against us.

DH is frail and I have some mobility problems and poor vision. We're in our early 80s. Last year we gave up the car and rely on taxis and home deliveries. I think we do jolly well. Certainly we rattle around rather but we're now used to and enjoy the space.

They say this because they don't live very close and 'worry about us', esp one of us dying leaving the other to rattle around even more. That's inevitable wherever we are it seems to me, and a solution will be found for whichever one it is when the time comes. I don't want to cut short our life here for somewhere small. I wouldn't know where to begin searching for such a place or weighing up the pros and cons of the whole idea. Head firmly in sand.

Has anyone else been under such pressure?

Hi Winterwhite.. If you are coping well and love your home I would resist the pressure to move.. Moving is tremendously stressful.. Much though your DC love you it is not their decision to make.. Just keep saying no firmly and politely!!

Six years ago Karmalady started a similar thread her, and this eventually ran to many thousands of posts over the next year. At that time, she was having a a bad time with her move. Several of us, all at that time in a similar process, became quite close friends and supported each other during this horrendous time of selling/buying. I was in my very late 70's at time, and trying to sell my house on the outskirts of East London (an area I had always lived in), and move down to Somerset to a flat.

This was pre-pandemic, and the problems that people have reported here were similar to those we had. I was actually having removal companies come round to give me quote, so near to completion were things, when my buyer suddenly pulled out for spurious reasons.

Eventually, all that little group made their moves, and all happily. I can honestly say it was one of the best decisions of my life.

As I am now the voluntary secretary to our voluntary |Management Company, I have to deal with Solicitors every time one of our 25 flats is sold so I can really see that bad and slow as things were back then, it is so much worse now. Solicitors seem to take forever to reply to the most simple questions, and usually is a clerk (not the actual solicitor), making the reply or asking the question, and equally often not very accurately!!! (eg: recently I was asked why a document that has to be done every 5 years, did not have a more updated version than the 2022 one sent to them!!!).

I would say be very aware that Estate Agents, will often give a high valuation in order to get you to go with them on a single EA basis. Then they will come back to you in a few weeks saying the property is overpriced and telling you to reduce it.

Try to use a Solicitor close to you, this means that any documents can be dropped in by hand rather than have the worry of posting them.

Use the EA 's to do viewings of your property. Maybe 2nd viewings can be done with yourself.

A real 'cash' buyer is one who has the money for the purchase in total in their bank, and do not need money from the sale of their existing property for this purpose. A 'mortgage free' purchaser is one who will use the proceeds from their sale to purchase the property.

Be prepared for disappointment - until contracts are actually signed and exchanged, nothing is definite.

Keep going - when that wonderful removal day does actually arrive, it can be the start of a really good part of your lives

GOOD LUCK