Help calm me. House buying and selling stress

Amazing the number of cancelled/postponed jobs happening. I was so disappointed when the painter we had booked to carry out the painting of our six floor stairwell cancelled at the last minute. Not his fault, he had damafged his hand a few weeks earlier, assumed he would be okay for this job, then knocked it again a few days prior to starting and been told by hospital not to try to use it for at least six weeks.

First large work that I had organised on behalf of our FLat's Committee, and took it quite personally. That job now being carried out (fingers crossed) in November. Then next Tuesday contractor due to come in the clean all the carpets in our public areas. Had a phone call from him yesterday afternoon, saying he had been 'pinged' so had to self-isolate for two weeks and would then be going on holiday. That work delayed until (fingers crossed) early August. At least the new cleaner started this week as arranged!!!

I must comment that I have been moved to tears today at the wonderful way in which so many of the Manchester folk have risen to the occasion in their active support for Marcus Rashford. He is such a great. role model for our young adults.

My daughter’s house buying seems to be following the same pattern as so many of you! It sounds like nothing has even started yet.

I was thinking of replacing my kitchen pre lockdown and finally booked a company to come round and give me a quote last week. They cancelled as the designer was unwell (she said it would be only a couple of days, not covid) and hasn't called back to rebook so not a good start. It's so tedious getting builders.

Kissngate so sorry to learn of added problems with your purchase. Difficult enough process without this extra problem.

Was good last week, when proper luncheon meet-up of G.netter took place - first since February 2020.

Everything pretty quiet on the home front here. Waiting for my lovely curtain lady to bring round my replacement new white vertical blinds. Next big job will be carpet/flooring in both my bedrooms. Not until October, they will come to measure rooms in September so I can then get full quote.

As places open up I am collating information on kitchens ready for that very large job next year.

I meant to say good luck to your daughter midgey, I hope all goes well.

Morning all, just popping in to see how you are.

Great news Pittcity, all ready for winter. Hope the bathroom quote doesn't make your eyes water!

Kissngate I'm sorry you've got this probate complication as well as the wait for your searches. I had a look at MSE for you but couldn't find anything helpful - apparently some cash buyers don't bother with searches at all. Can you download the Title from the Land registry to see if there might be anything to concern you?

Have a good day everyone, I'm going for a coffee with a friend this afternoon for the first time in a year.

Update: Patio and path finished. Garden looking good.
This week we are expecting a visit from the bathroom fitter to size up the job.

Kissngate am sorry that you are having such a nightmare do hope something happens soon. My daughter is waiting to hear when her sale might go through…..seems to be absolutely ages since the process started.

Kissngate sorry you are having delays. My solicitor always used the local authority for searches. They said it was the quickest and cheapest way to do it. Think someone on here did the searches themselves but can't remember who. It's been nearly 2 years since I moved.

Hope you don't face more delays.

Re my post above and the time taken for searches it appears our solicitors use a professional search company to do the work for them hence the delay due to backlog (ours probably not started yet). However when I checked turn round times on the Council land charges website it says 10-14 working days after payment. Has anyone paid the Local Authority themselves to speed up the process rather than using a middleman. Or has anyone instructed their solicitor to do the searches directly with the LA and not use the search company?

Just when you think everything is going smoothly .... We called our Solicitors on Friday to check on expected completion date ( we were hoping end of month) when he tells us not this month, probably not next either!! Why, because the Vendors solicitor is saying probate is complicated due to the deceased owning more than one property and multiple family inheriting. Also searches wont be back until August. You would have thought our Solicitors would have kept us in the loop but no. Very disappointed.

It's gone quiet! Are you all psyching yourselves up for the football?

I am cutting down endless ivy here. The tenants just let it grow rampantly.

Good luck with all the painting and decorating.

Oh lord that sounds like a nightmare, hope he manages to finish soon!

Further to my post dated 16th June.
The same guy is still here. We have had bad weather but also his forward planning and communication is awful. 3 weeks and the back garden is complete apart from a bit of missing grout where he went around a storage box instead of moving it???
Today he is building a front step and path. We had a trench all weekend which I managed to avoid falling down but must now remember to use the back door!
I am so looking forward to seeing the back of him.

Morning all, glad you bumped the thread Franbern, I'm hoping Yogi and kissngate are going to come back with some good news

Well done for painting your wall, I'm still working my way through my Sophie Robinson course on colour and still can't decide. She recommends looking at your wardrobe to see which colours 'talk to you' - purple for me! My daughter was really helpful when she came, and I've realised the main problem I'm having is due to the lack of 'character' here - to be expected in a more modern property. Need to give it a few more months before I finally decide. She did persuade me to throw away a few sentimental items I had put aside for the memory box. I wasn't 100% sure which of them had made a few pottery items - silly us to give them the same first name so their initials are identical.

I've been down memory lane this morning, I found the leads for my old 2003 tower computer, I haven't looked at these photos for over ten years. I have been deleting, but still have so many I need to buy another USB key, I've filled the 64GB one already. It's agonisingly slow, how did we get any work done in 2000!

Hope all people buying and selling are more relaxed now the stamp duty race is over, wishing you all good luck.

Really just writing something to 'bump' this thread up. Hope you got your car tyre sorted, Shandy. I detest those silly 'temporary' tyres that most cars seem to have as their 'spares' these days. Wish we could return to have a proper fifth tyre in the boot. Just means that a puncture means a double job, involving double time. And, those temp tyres have a speed limit of 50 mph. Last time, I needed it was at Reading M4 service station, and then had to limp the remaining way along the M4 and across the M25 at that speed - which I found extremely stressful.

Over this weekend, I have managed to paint one wall in my bedroom. I know this does not sound much, and in the past I would not even have thought anything of it. Always did ALL my own decorating, paintng, wallpaper, etc in the past. Just one wall - the one behind my bed - I wanted duck blue - all the rest of the walls are magnolia. Back in the past, would have done the first coat early in the morning. Carried on with my normal things until later in the afternoon, and then applied second coat.

Found it took me much longer, and needed to sit down to rest after about half an hour. So, in short bursts manage to dohalf of it one day, and the second half on Sunday. Could do nothing else either of those days. But it is done, looks lovely, brings together everything in that room (ceiling lampshade is in that colour - and curtains and roller blind has this in its design).
All that bedroom now needs is a new cream carpet (arranged for the Autumn), and it will be finished. Good sense of achievement.

Afternoon all, has everyone got tv on and their strawberries ready? Just saying a quick hello before I watch again, I wonder if my old friend is in the audience. She used to make a fake 'badge' and always managed to get a front seat.

Exciting plans Franbern! The carpet here is so thin and I find the grey colour depressing, I might have to splash out sooner rather than later. I'm still getting used to my 'open plan' kitchen and lounge, and think I'll also redesign that too.

I had to laugh as well as cringe at your car story, as it happened to me too about three weeks after getting my new car. In my case I pressed and pressed in front of the car with nothing happening, and thought my battery had gone. I lugged all my shopping back into town to the shop that replaced them, I'd bought my son the biggest ever Atlas in WH Smiths that day, I remember it well! Returned to the car quite hot and bothered, beep beep beep but nothing. THEN I saw the wellingtons and dog bowl in the back. I didn't have them in my car! When I saw my car about six cars along, I used the remote to unlock it - but the alarm started going off. I had to drive home with the alarm going off intermittently, what a noise!

Talking of cars, I got a puncture last night, I must recommend AutoAid to you all, it costs £60 pa. They use local garages and the man was here within ten minutes and changed my tyre to the 'temporary' one. I remember nearly always waiting hours for other, bigger, rescue people. I can't get into my garage until tomorrow, am nervous to drive on this tiny temporary tyre, so will be pushing my dog to my local beach in his pushchair tonight when it's cooler.

Right, back to Wimbledon! Enjoy!

Not sure how one person could book out a removal company for nine weeks. Sounds incredibly selfish to me.....a case of 'I'm alright Jack!!'. So, are they paying the full rate for every day for about 60 days!!!! Have this sneaky wish that they will not be able com[lete and move during this period!!!

Have made a couple of decisions about my flat. Bringing the new carpet for the two bedrooms forward - not waiting until next year - hopefully will get them done during October. Need to visit my carpet/flooring company sometime soon. Also decided to take the plunge and have my kitchen completely re-fitted next year. Know it will be upheaval, but benice for me (I have never, in all my life, managed to have to completely new kitchen installation carried out). Will also ensure that the flat will be very easy to sell when my kids inherit it. graph pa

For me, planning of a any big change gives as much pleasure (maybe even more), than actually having had it done - so I am planning this sometime in 2022 and yesterday had a lovely stroll around kitchen areas of Wickes and B&Q. Came home with catalogues. Picked up a couple of sheets of graph paper from my g.son in the afternoon. Lots of other companies to visit.

Whilst I was out yesterday morning, thought I would pop into my Curtain lady to arrange for her to install new vertical blinds in my Living room. Parked right outside her little shop, but she was closed -(on holiday for a week). Went back to the car and had an alarming few minutes when none of the doors would unlock. Tried all five doors twice, before I realised that MY car was the one behind that one!!!! Lucky I was not arrested for trying to break into that car. Not even the same make of car, just same colour and similar size!!!

Thanks Shandy.

I thought of you today Ellianne, the Gudrun Sjoden sale has started! That's amazing the rich client has booked the whole two months, how fantastic!

Hope your feet don't get too painful before your hydrotherapy sessions start Spice. Glad to hear the shutters look good.
Franbern we have guests from London staying this weekend whose relative owns a removal company. One very rich client has booked the whole of the next 2 months with them as they are uncertain when their move date will be, and they don't want to miss out or have to resort to cowboys!
Glad your dog is enjoying his outings Shandy. We've noticed a big influx of visiting dogs down here for the tourist season. The good thing is most of them are on leads in unfamiliar surroundings, so they're no problem really.
Good luck to those on the move.

Good luck kissngate, there's a sad probate story on MSE where the executor died, they are scrabbling to replace them. Fingers crossed for you.

A good idea midgey, I've been reading up on what to do. I don't have any 'hedges' here it's just fence with a few flimsy climbers, at the station I had a huge choice of safe places. And he's back as I type - looking more grown up today! Raining too hard for a cardboard box, I'll have a dig around to find a waterproof substitute.

Shandy, apparently the best thing for fledglings is to hang a cardboard box on the washing line and pop them in! Out of the cats way and mum and dad can still feed them.
Kissingate do hope things move soon!

Just a quick update as someone mentioned others not posted for a while. Nothing to report I'm afraid things going slowly as property we are buying is under probate so various parties have to be contacted before we get a response. Exchange certainly not going to happen before 30 June.

Any other cat owners on edge because of the fledglings that keep appearing?

I had a baby thrush sitting out by the shed yesterday, he/she disappeared after about two hours, almost immediately replaced by a black ball of a baby blackbird. The baby blackbird was there for six hours so I kept my cat in - he's just reappeared again. Fingers crossed Dad will be back for him soon, I'm sure it's the strawberries here that is attracting them.