Help calm me. House buying and selling stress

Thanks everyone - get the survey to read properly tomorrow . It’s a one off place in the Peak District so we won’t find another quote like it but I agree the idea of structural damage even ‘if only ‘ to the garage is very unwelcome . DH is fairly gung-ho about these things but even he is having qualms ... I will keep you posted . We have ebayed over £200 of stuff and freecycled / charity shopped lots more . Still a way to go but we are picking away at things - large or easily decided items first !

Hello, good to see the thread pop up, wishing everyone selling and buying the best of luck.

Marymary62, fingers crossed for you your bungalow 'cracks' aren't too serious. My friend saw a bungalow with cracks above the front door, as well as in the front step, plus a 'dip' in the back garden patio. Unfortunately her structural engineer said the bungalow needed completely underpinning and she withdrew from the sale.

My friend's partner previously owned the Shepherd's Bush prop shop Granny23, it's a great idea. I'm still hoping he's going to give me the 'Ladies in Lavender' patchwork quilt I admired!

Just sharing something I have discovered which may be of use to others trying to declutter.

I have a huge loft and over the years many family heirlooms have been stored up there - unused and unseen, too good for the tip and not wanted by Charity Shops. My DD2 who works in the film industry, contacted a 'props warehouse' which is delighted to have some of the 'period' items, notably my immaculate 1970 coachbuilt pram, MIL's complete Teas Made set (unused and still in its box and Great Aunt's 1920s typewriter and portable wind up gramophone.

The warehouse collects, stores and hires out such items to both theatrical, film and TV productions for set dressing. They do not pay a huge amount for items but do collect from your home and you have the prospect of seeing them again in period dramas.

Marymary my advice is pull out now and find another property to buy. A structural engineer will cost you a fortune to do the survey . And do you want to live in a building site for months also it's going to cost a fortune to have that work done plus if these things need doing there are bound to be more structural work to be done.

My brother and sister in law pulled out of the first bungalow because of the survey but have found an even better one and it's cheaper and without needing major work to be done.

There are other properties and you will probably find something you like better.

If you are downsizing you need to be ruthless. I thought I had been very good getting rid of things but 6 months after I moved in I was still getting rid of things I have no idea why I brought them with me.

Good luck with getting your husband to part with things. You both need your sensible heads on and not let your heart rule you. It's hard parting with things but you feel great when you do.

Good luck.

Well here’s my update - survey done on our ‘new but old ‘ bungalow . Not received it yet but we have been told the worst things (which are potentially bad !)
1) detached garage needs to have one wall rebuilt with new foundations as has been damaged by close proximity of tree roots in neighbouring property . So that conjures up all sorts of worries about the other wall and who’s responsibility etc. Clearly we would have to negotiate a purchase price reduction .... so not looking forward to
all that
2: even worse there is some hairline cracking in an inside and outside wall
Which is ‘probably historic’ but surveyor is recommending a structural engineer digs down and examines the foundation .....
Of course we will have to negotiate to do all this and fingers crossed it isn’t serious but it’s going to take ages to sort out . The vendors are selling on behalf of a relative in care and I feel sorry for them as I had to do the same with my mums bungalow and it was horrid to deal with all the problems but we can’t buy a house with problems we can’t afford to fix !
Meanwhile I am supposed to be helping DH sort out the garage and trying to persuade him that although I am fairly fit and active I am unlikely to go Canadian canoe - camping again ( we haven’t done so for years!) and could we please just concentrate on the things we can do ! He thinks we may do it one day with the GC but they are both under 4 so by the time they can I am pretty sure I definitely won’t be up for it !
We are making reasonable progress on most other things but the ‘inherited’ dining chairs are a sticking point - I’ve always hated them and they will be too big when we move (2 huge carvers and 6 chairs ) but he’s finding it hard so I’m trying to be gentle ....We have so much inherited stuff most of which I don’t actually like ... I want to be liberated !! We’re finding that a lot of the things we have lived with for years the other one dislikes so some bargaining to be done !

Whiff, I was in the position of viewing my last house as 'Mine'. I moved into it, downsizing from the previous family house. Loved it there, had such fun, doing it all up, changing things, totally to my own design and from my own money.

Problem was, that I had been conned 'persuaded', to hand over to my ex not only half the profit on the family home (the larger part of the mortgage on that I had paid off after he had left), but added to that made in joint owner of the house. I was foolish to have done this, but he was refusing to sign the contracts to sell the family house, and I was not well enough to go through a long legal battle with him.

This meant that although he never lived in, and only visited about twice that house, I was always uneasy that I only had 50% ownership of it. On a couple of occasions he tried to use his part ownership as a way of manipulating me.

One of the really wonderful things about my flat is that the ONLY name on the deeds is MINE!!!! Yes, he took fifty percent of the price of the sale of the house, which I had increased in value by all the work I had done and paid for myself. BUT.......I can now relax and know that he is out of my life for good now. He does not have either my address or phone numbers, and the children are all very careful that he can not obtain these. Think some of those feel angrier about his actions on this than I do. I am just relieved that it has all been sorted out.

I am so happy in this flat, sure that I feel healthier than I have for a very long time. Jobs still to be done are both bedrooms to have new carpet/flooring (taking place in November). Couple of internal doors I would like changed - expensive as they have to be fire doors. Hope to get that done in the next few months.

After that the only thing that would be nice - eventually - is maybe a new kitchen. I like the kitchen the way it is, a good easy to use kitchen, with a place for everything, etc. But not good cosmetically. Will look at saving for that to be sorted, maybe......but not for a good year or two. No hurry - have told my daughter down here, (who would have main responsibility for sorting things out when I die), that if that happened, it might be a good idea to have a cheap, but new kitchen installed before putting flat on the market.

Franbern do you feel the same as me that the 2 years have flown by . It was my 2 years in August.

I well remember your terrible journey to finally find your new home. But if you feel like me it was worth all the stress and worry selling and buying to finding find our ideal home.

Don't know about you but I have had fun making it into mine. Finally it was in July. Have you surprised yourself with your choice of colours etc. I choose colours I never knew I liked.

I have done things I never would have tackled in my old house. But even though the house was mine after my husband died I still thought of it as ours the family home . But the bungalow is mine. Do you feel the same or am I odd. !

I looked on Rightmove there is a house for sale further up the road to my old one not as big on the market for £275. Property prices don't seem to be going down.

The bungalow further up the road to me went on the day it was on the market. £290. It's rooms are smaller than mine. I paid £220.

My brother and sister in law had their offer accepted on the 3 bed bungalow £254 in Lincolnshire.

But as we who moved and ones going through the process of moving know only to well solicitors take forever. If you don't badger them nothing seems to get done. It's not as if everything isn't on line nowadays. How hard is it to press a few buttons.

I read the thread everyday and wonder how the movers are doing as well. Hopefully progress is being made.

Take care everyone.

This week is the second anniversary of my move. Lay in bed, recalling that horrible time of selling/buying. Particularly those final few days between actually signing my Contract and getting these exchanged. Signed Monday morning, but not all finally exchanged until Friday afternon. Problem with people at bottom of the three chain- who were using an internet Solicitor who could not be contacted!!!
Could never go through that excruciating time again.

More memories were brought to the surface recently when I went to do some shopping for one of the flat owners here who had just been discharged for hospital. Only when I took it into his flat did I realise it was the first flat that I actually viewed in this block, back in 2015 when I started my journey in moving from a house in London to a flat in Weston-super-Mare.

Actually spent (wasted) some time on the internet yesterday looking up all four houses I had lived in since my marriage in 1964.

In this flat I have a fairly large, shelved cupboard off the hall (think it would have originally been hot water cylinder/airing cupboard), now I use it for ALL my cleaning materials and gadgets. Anyway, I realised that I had not actually tided it up since a brief one two months after I moved. So, that was my job this weekend. Amazing what I found in there. some things to Charity Shop sack, others just thrown away.
Beautifully, neat and tidy now. Can actually see what I have got.
Do wonder how current movers are getting on - please do keep us up-to-date.

Just had a scam text on my phone saying I am eligible for a Covid passport . I didn't press the link just reported it as spam. It was from a mobile number. I have the NHS app on my phone and my vaccines are on there.

My brother, sister in law and her dad went back to Lincolnshire at the weekend and saw 3 bungalows. They pulled out of the 5 bed one because of the survey . But have put an offer in for a 3 bed one. Hopefully they get it. But the sale of both houses is going through . As usual lots of stupid questions. So glad I am never moving again.

How is everyone else's sales and buying going?

Pressed the wrong button.

Well my flu jab on Monday got cancelled as Boots out of vaccine. So rebooked appointment at another Boots for Tuesday. I thought the U3A meeting started at 2.30 but a friend text to see if I was going and realised it was at 2 but by then it was just after 1 so there was no way I could get there for then. ?. Unusual for me as I am always double check times. Still didn't waste the afternoon got a lot of cross stitching done.

Hopefully any new or old sellers and buyers will move soon.

Well house buying hasn't gotten any easier. My brother and sister in law had the survey back on the bungalow. They are revising their offer and dropping it by £20k. My brother doesn't think the seller will accept it. So yesterday they went to see 3 bungalows in the same county. They might find one they like better.

The sale of both houses is going through and they will still move. Luckily they have a friend up there who has a rental property empty at the moment so he has said he will let them stay there.

The declutter and and packing is still on going.

We had one of those Christmas cards at our last house Franbern which arrived every year for 12 years and then stopped..... we'll never know what happened!!!

Pittcity a few months after I moved into my last house (2003), I received a Christmas Card addressed, by name, to the former owners. Signed just with first names. Assumed those people would get round to updating their christmas card list - but NO - the whole time I was there (up until October 2019), the first Christmas card to arrive was that one. Sure the new occupants there are still getting it.

It's amazing how many people have your address.
Our 6 months redirection has finished. Far too expensive to keep receiving junk mail any longer.
We are now getting Christmas adverts addressed to the previous residents and I am forever walking to the post box with them marked "No longer at this address".
One company told us that they have their campaigns ready 3 months in advance and so the old address was already on the mail that would go straight into the recycling bin!!!!

For those of you compiling lists of organisations needing notification when you move - I have just found one I did NOT know I had to notify today (two years after removal).

Having decided to give up having a car, I had an appointment with We Sell Any Car rep who I spoke to last week on the phone. Arrived, he came over, asked for all papers (Vregistration form, Service Record, etc). We agree a price - then he told me he needed more prove of my identity such as my Driving Licence. He had not told me that so had not taken that with me.

Drove back home to collect that, drove back and we started again. Service Book, Driving Licence, V registrations form.......problem.....that was still in my old address in London. No-one had ever told me to have that changed.

No, sale could not go ahead until that form had been updated to my current address. So a wasted afternoon and I had actually said my good-byes to the car!!!

So, any of you compiling that moving list - do put on it the need to send the Green V form back to the DVLC showing you new address.

Bungalows are weird things Whiff. They are sought after not just by retirees but also by families in towns who want to add an additional storey, so their values increase a lot.

Had a nice surprise noticed the other day a bungalow like mine in my road is for sale same size . So looked in Rightmove it's on sale for £290. Paid £220 for mine 2 years ago. I know properties have gone up round here but not by that much. They will get it as well. As bungalows in my road and surrounding area are like gold dust.

Luckgirl very glad you got some money back from your solicitors. I well remember all the problems you had with them. Makes you wonder how many people they have had to give money back to as well.

My brothers and father in law's house sales are going through and the purchase of the bungalow. They are looking for a home for his mother in-law near to where they will live. Prices are so much cheaper there they where surprised. Shows how much prices vary for area to area.

After researching found it would cost £5+ to move both houses. So my brother has rent 2 storage units and has filled the one up so far. He has a large van and container trailer. They have friends who live near by so there will be plenty of bodies for the move into the bungalow.

Having my flu jab today at Boots after I have been to the U3A talk.

Hopefully all the movers will have exchange and completion dates soon. And anyone just starting on this journey good luck. It is worth it in the end once you are in your new home.

Wow Luckygirl, that was a large error, I was excited to get a refund of £130 or so back!

I agree that we should be more encouraging as the majority of us are now in our new homes. As my husband used to say, everything will be alright in the end, and if it's not alright, it's not the end.

Talking of curtains, my curtain maker, who came to measure up in June, has just posted on Fb that she is closing her books until January as she is so behind. I'll second that!

Gosh - reading all these posts reminds me of how things were for me a year ago - it all turned out fine in the end - just thought I would slip that in for a bit of encouragement!

Some of you may remember the saga of my thoroughly hopeless solicitor. Well - I thought I would never here from them again, but last week they rang and I groaned inwardly. But ...... they rang to say that in the final settlement they had taken too much from me and were going to credit my bank account with £1400 !! Another example of their hopelessness for mischarging in the first place, but I am prepared to forgive this! I did point out at the time that I thought it was too much, but they said it was money owed for abortive sales.

I did not even ask them where the error lay, just pocketed the cash, which has come at a very good time when I was getting new curtains for the new house.

Hang on in there kissngate, sounds as though you are going to have very short notice for completion when they all get their act together. Are you ready?

My vendor wasn't the person I thought she was, she told the EA various stories about 'working her notice' and 'her retirement' and delayed completion costing me another two month's rent and bills. Onwards and upwards!

Ah poor you kissngate, I remember it well. What is it with solicitors that they won't communicate with each other? It's like they are in fierce competition. In France when we sold the same solicitor acted for both vendor and purchaser, so much easier.
I think the EA needs to put pressure on the Executors. They must be wanting to tie everything up.

Just thought I'd pop in to say we are still waiting! ..Vendors Solicitor not responding to ours and Executors aren't communicating with EA. I could scream.

Thanks everyone ! My daughter also talked some good sense into me - she knows I love granny’s wash jug ( and so does she but she is divorcing and moving to a smaller home herself and with a 3 year old it’s not the time!) so she’s pointed out that if I’m worried about space I should get rid of some very large glass vases instead and excess cooking things etc - items of no aesthetic value and no sentiment. Sometimes it’s hard to the wood for the trees! I’m also employing my mother’s maxim of if it’s ‘neither use nor ornament ‘ it goes.
Books too - I rarely read them again so just keeping a few and some reference books - I know everything’s on line but it’s nice to look at a gardening or flower book . DH will have to cull his tools but he is already planning an extension to the garage ..?