Help calm me. House buying and selling stress

shandy your sol will be asking you when you hope to complete, be careful to say something like before christmas, rather than february. Not forgetting that they all have a 2 week break from pre-christmas, nothing gets done then.

Afternoon all, I had already contacted my solicitor and have all the forms here ready to process. I've also contacted my surveyor but he's away until Monday, I've given him the details. Contract email has now arrived, so I'm ready to go.

I've just come back from the village, there are huge groups of tourists, without masks, marching along the narrow pavements. Not even going into single file so I could pass,I had to go into the road. So rude!

Sorry craftyone, I meant to add the contract said exchange/completion as soon as legally possible, is that standard?

My solicitor is fantastic and he got my probate through in record time, I was penniless at the time and very grateful. I hope my vendor's solicitor is as efficient. Feel nervous thinking of the move, we do get such awful winter weather here.

yes that sounds ok shandy, just tell your sol informally that you would like like to be in before christmas. He might then decide to get the searches in sooner rather than later

I think we naturally all felt nervous at your stage, put your nerves behind you. If the survey is fine then I can see you being very happy there in the future

Shandy, Have the vendors somewhere to move to? Obviously, completion has to be convenient for them.
I found that I had to really Project Direct as I wanted a particular Completion date (needed to be the Tuesday of Half Term Week. I just kept insisting and insisting for that date and did finally make it. From your point of view there is no hold up about you being able to compete as soon as all the searches are complete, so it will very much depend on what the vendors require. Think your present rental runs until early February, so a completion about mid-January would be good for you, as it would mean you could still have a two or three weeks to do a slow move of all your stuff over.
Been horrible weather here today. Absolutely tips down with heavy rain, then dries up, and for a short time sun comes out - but remains cold then goes very dark and the rain comes again.
Having actually started to make a Soda Bread, I realised that I did not have any wholemeal flour anywhere = so had to rush out quickly to get some. Fortunately, it was whilst we had one of those spells of sunshine. So nice that I am close enough to so many shops that this is very possible.
Meeting went well this morning and I have now been confirmed as Secretary - hope I can manage to do the job well.

Meant Project Manage - not Project Direct......

The agents have altered the wording of the description at my request and we have two more viewers in the diary. Fingers crossed.

that is good news pittcity, makes us realise how very pro-active we have to be. Hoping all goes well for you

I've got even more grey hairs tonight, I'm doing the paperwork and I'm on the proof of funds bit. I've still got more house sale funds to transfer to NS&I, but felt panicky over them not being a bank, and perhaps messing up my completion. Now I've calmed down and realise I just have to transfer funds from NS&I to my bank slightly in advance!

I'm glad your EA have complied Pittcity. Good luck and fingers crossed for your viewings.

no shandy, I had funds in ns&i just print out the page in ns&i. That is all I did, that is proof

I had pages of proof, this bank and that bank and ns&i and my sipp and my premium bonds page at ns&i

I made a summary with a total and that was sufficient. I showed my sol all the pages and summary and then told the EA that my sol had the details and that was enough

Craftyone is right Shandy it doesn’t matter where the money is, just that you’ve got it, be careful though and cover up any bank numbers etc.

And don’t offer it to the EA , just to your Solicitor if and when asked.

Sorry Craftyone posts crossed

All viewings are off for a week as DH has received the isolation message from NHS track and trace. Only 8 days though which seems odd as he's been out and about until last night.
Arrrgh!!

Morning all.

What a shock Pittcity, I sincerely hope your husband hasn't contracted it, best wishes to you both.

I've just popped in to say I managed to fill out all my forms last night, I've just hand delivered them through my ex neighbours/solicitor's front door. The new owner's mother was just going into my other neighbour's garden- she gave me a hostile glare as I passed, ha ha! He has had his bungalow on the market for over two years and it's just gone under offer. I'm glad he's finally sold, he lived in this bungalow with his late wife when they were having the chalet built. Although it was so hard living so close to the station initially, I think it's been good for me, I can now look without such an emotional charge, I am detaching myself. Bit like looking at spiders when you have a phobia! I'm just excited to see it restored - I didn't have the money and am glad he has.

I'm off to the beach early today as the tide is right, I went at 4 pm last night and by 4.45 pm it was nearly dark.

Enjoy your day

you will be able to inwardly smile shandy. I smile when I think that I had to sleep downstairs when the wind was howling, it was noisy upstairs. I smile when I remember that the rot was starting on tall wooden retaining walls, built against soil in the back garden. That worry was one of the reasons I sold.

I moved fast when I realised and spent all the hours painting, up ladders, paint 4m tall rendered retaining walls, amazing how much more attractive they looked but I used good paint, they won`t need re-painting for at least 5 years. I painted all the verandah railings and posts, was up a long ladder roped to railings and on the verandah I was clinging to thick corner posts while I reached outwards to paint them. Crikey I was 70 but never had that cannot-do thought in my head. I sanded each railing down then 2 coats of paint

Any sneaky bit of rot showing on the wooden retaining walls, I dug it out and treated with an expensive wood hardener, then carefully matched colours with wood filling. It was a woodpecker that alerted me, I was watching out of my patio doors and a woodpecker came and started pecking in one top corner.

I never thought I could go back but I went to see my neighbours before covid and I felt completely detached, wonderful feeling

Another rainy day again. Heard my shrubs I ordered beginning of last month are being despatched. Already got the spots picked out for them. Just cleaning to do this morning. My daughter and grandson coming this afternoon. So will have a fun time.

Having a piece of plaice for my dinner tonight. Will see if my daughter wants any fish ordering . Will get in touch with the fish guy as I would like some smoked haddock but only if it's natural dyed not the painted on stuff. Having the plaice baked with sweet pot wedges and peas and broccoli. Already looking forward to it.

Glad you got all the paperwork sorted Shandy and hand delivering makes sure they get it. I always hand delivered . It was reassuring to know they had got it.

Pittcity sorry your viewings are off hope your husband will be ok.

Off to do my jobs . Have a good day everyone.

I also only hand delivered. Would not have been happy at putting such important paperwork into the post. I always marked the envelopes as 'Delivered by Hand on.......(date)'.

Pittcity, so sorry that viewings have to be put off. Hope everything is okay for your OH, and that the viewings can all be delayed by eight days. Oh, dear, a difficult time being made so much more difficult at the present.

Shandy you are well on your way now. Arrange your survey when your surveyor gets back next week, and, hopefully, that will be more or less what you expect and can cope with - then start pushing your solicitor and the EA for a completion date.

Have had the fitter for the Karndean flooring round this morning, has done all the measuring - discussed with me how I wanted it, and will send to me the full estimate. Was quite happy when I said I did not want the work carried out until February half-term.

The tree tops on the main road, which I see from my living room are nearly bare of leaves now. They have provided wonderful colour for me over the seasons - the middle one is a cherry blossom tree and was covered on flowers in the Spring. Should now be preparing for Carnival , fireworks at end of Carnival week- not being held this year. Our municipal Xmas light turning-on ceremony is now just being held on-line - not quite the same atmosphere, but it has been brought forward to 14th November.

I have no bad, worrying memories of my house - it was in a good state of repair. One fence panel will probably need replacing in the not too distant future, but that is about it. Always felt cosy and safe there. BUT........I am so much happier in this flat, and no concerns about drains, gutterings, fences, etc. Only ever know it is actually raining (however hard), when I look out of a window to see puddles on the ground below.

Soda bread has worked out fine. Just so tempting to nosh it with some honey on it.

I saw on TV last night that St. Ives has turned its Christmas lights on early to bring some cheer. There's a bit of a backlash with some people saying it is disrespectful to Remembrance Day veterans.
Glad to hear Shandy's paperwork has been submitted. Wont be too long now!
Enjoy your fish Whiff. We are having gurnard tonight.

Afternoon all, just back from such a very wet beach walk, the rain isn't hail but it felt 'sharp' on my face I've got too fat for my raincoat and felt really uncomfortable, must eat all the biscuits and not buy any more!

I'm just doing some 'go compare' house insurance quotes, ready for the exchange - it does seems odd you have to insure the building from then. Not sure what locks there are on the front/patio door either, but so far, quotes are coming in at £100 ish. Half the price of the station, so that's a good start!

I'll be selling my Nissan X Trail too, so that will be more savings, car tax is £250ish. Not sure whether to get an automatic or not, might stick with a cheapie little manual run around as I don't drive far now. I've just had new wipers fitted, such a treat, the others were scraping as they 'wiped'. Car shop man said he changed his every six months, think I normally do it annually.

Stay dry!

Not sure I understand. As you are not getting a mortgage or any sort of loan on the new property, nobody can tell you when you need to get our insurance started from. Something you can sort out once you have moved in and you usually get a better deal if you do a contents and building insurance together.
when I moved here, I did contact my existing insurance company, changing my insurance from a combined one (covering a house with an E - east london post code) buildings and contents to just contents in a 20bed flat in WsM - and they PUT THE PRICE UP!!! I queried it and they put it down a small amount - so I cancelled and found a different (large) company that gave me the same cover for my contents (indeed, slightly better), for a much smaller amount. Same thing happened with my car insurance - from being left on frontage of house in East London, to being in a locked garage in WsM and they did not reduce, so again I found another company who did.
really do not understand how these insurance companies work.

Shandy check about the Insurance, the only time we’ve had to Insure a property on Exchange is when it was empty (on exchange) the home owners should still have their own Insurance as it still belongs to them legally until completion.
We took 6 months between exchange and completion on this house, that would have been half a years Insurance when it wasnt ours.

any property needs to be insured by the potential buyer from the day of exchange. Buildings not contents

The risk in a property passes to the buyer on exchange

I think you could do with waiting until afterthe surveyors report shandy. The insurance will require construction details ie concrete or not and what is on the roof ie slate etc I think you may get a better price if you are able to be specific. I went via a local broker for the exchange insurance as they knew the area, I told them I needed buildings until completion and then would need contents too. After that year I did change to saga and got a very good quote