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AIBU?

To just curl up in a ball and sob?

175 replies

AngeloMysterioso · 27/08/2019 15:28

My husband and I have been trying to move out of our hellhole flat for the the last year. It’s small, it gets incredibly hot, and we have to deal with the smell of cigarette and weed smoke coming in whenever we open our windows.

We found a buyer in October, and made an offer on a flat which was accepted in February. (Ours is a shared ownership flat so the beginning process of selling was always going to be a bit slow) This was also the same time that I found out I was pregnant. The new flat is in a totally different area to where we live now so I have been travelling back and forth to the hospital I thought I would be delivering in for all my antenatal appointments. This hospital is widely considered to have the best maternity unit in the UK, which I was hugely relieved about as I have been extremely anxious about giving birth.

Since then, it’s been one setback after another. Our buyer’s solicitor caused delay after delay. Our vendor wanted more money as he was required to extend the leasehold, so we agreed to meet 3/4 of that cost, adding an extra £7k to the sale price. Then our vendor held back on requesting a management information pack from the building freeholders for about a month because he wanted us to pay for it. We thought we were finally in a position to exchange on the 16th of this month, when our buyer’s solicitors suddenly changed the figure of the deposit that would be going directly to our vendor. We were told this would be sorted last Monday. Then on Monday they said that actually they needed a letter from our buyer’s lender, and they’d get it back on Tuesday. On Tuesday the lender was waiting to hear from the valuer, which should be by Wednesday. Then on Wednesday they said it needed to be signed off by an underwriter, and we would be ready to exchange on Friday. All this gave us the suspicion that until last week our buyer didn’t actually have a mortgage in place.

Finally on Friday we had everything we needed from our buyer and were ready to exchange. At this point the vendor says he is going to pull out. Our estate agent told us he suspected that the vendor has had another agent in his ear telling him he can get more money for the flat if he rents it for a few months then puts it back on the market. DH made an offer to cover the vendor’s legal costs (around £2k) as a gesture of goodwill to get the sale done, which our estate agent implied that the vendor had been amenable to, but either way it was too late to exchange that day.

So- today. After several hours of chasing the estate agent finally got hold of the vendor about an hour ago. He has rejected our offer and wants more money. So DH has had to pull out.

So now, instead of moving into a new home and getting ready to start our family, we are moving in with my parents in law. Instead of giving birth at an excellent hospital, I am likely to be delivering in the hospital local to where we are now, the maternity unit of which I am reliably informed is absolute hell on Earth. Instead of being able to relax and get ready for our baby, we are going to be living under someone else’s roof, desperately trying to find somewhere to live in the just under two months between now and my due date.

My poor DH seems utterly broken. After so many months of stress and worry, it’s come to this. Instead of being able to enjoy the last few months of it just being the two of us, he’s been completely distracted trying to get us a home, and it’s all come to nothing, and he feels he’s let us down. All I can do is support and reassure him, but privately, all I want to do is cry.

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MrsSpenserGregson · 27/08/2019 15:31

OMG you poor things. Probably the best thing you can do today is curl up in a ball and sob - let it out. Flowers

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Eustasiavye · 27/08/2019 15:35

I'm so sorry to hear this op.
I don't have much advice im afraid.
Is it possible to rent somewhere on a short term lease?
In all fairness no matter how state of the art a hospital is, it quite often doesn't affect your birth.
Sometimes what will be will be and a quick birth will be just that where ever you are.
Wishing you the best.

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AngeloMysterioso · 27/08/2019 15:46

I know it makes very little difference to the labour, but apart from anything else the postnatal ward at the hospital I was planning to be in is only private rooms, so my DH can be with me the whole time, which has been a huge comfort to me.

A friend who delivered at the local hospital ended up with PND purely as a result of the awful time she had on the postnatal ward there, which sounds like it’s straight out of every horror story I’ve read on MN. I’ve had problems with depression in the past myself so now I’ve gone from being excited to deliver my baby to absolutely dreading it.

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AngeloMysterioso · 27/08/2019 15:58

I just want to find that f**king vendor and give him a piece of my mind for everything he has put us through. Our buyer will be lucky if he doesn’t get one when he comes to get the keys this weekend...

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madmother1 · 27/08/2019 16:04

This happened to me, many years ago, on the day before exchanging contracts. I went to bed and cried.....
7 years later, I realised we got a nicer house after all and it is just an awful memory. It will all work out. Big hugs x

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MyHeartIsBrokeButIHaveSomeGlue · 27/08/2019 16:13

Something similar happened to me in that we tried to sell our flat for a year and it was problem after problem. I was pregnant during this time and found it incredibly stressful (trying to sell/moving is bad enough as it is!). The sale finally fell through for a THIRD TIME when I was 37 weeks pregnant and we gave up. I was devastated and exhausted. We lived there for another year and then sold swiftly and bought an even better house than the ones we were then looking at. I look round our lovely home now and count our lucky stars that things ended up how they did and we got our house over the others.

But I cried lots at the time and so should you. It sucks. Let it out but also have faith that life works in mysterious ways. Your freak house is out there waiting for you and it WILL happen xxx

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MyHeartIsBrokeButIHaveSomeGlue · 27/08/2019 16:14

Not freak house!!!! Stupid phone! DREAM house! Your dream house is out there waiting xxx

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Ingurr · 27/08/2019 16:18

Your vendor has behaved badly. Good news that you have sold your flat.
Sorry that you are suffering so much stress.
Are you not allowed to deliver at the hospital where you have had all your ante-natal care. ?
We moved when I was 38 weeks pregnant and I was booked into two hospitals 150 miles apart.

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Napqueen1234 · 27/08/2019 16:22

The important thing is you got out of your hellhole of a flat. You are now in a great position- money in the bank and no change. Everything happens for a reason! We moved with a 4 month old- stressful but absolutely doable! Your dream house is waiting don't lose faith

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soloula · 27/08/2019 16:22

Aw OP what a nightmare! Try not to dwell on things - easier said than done, I know. It's just a short term blip. You're in a very strong position as a buyer now that you're not in a chain so maybe you will be in a good bargaining position and might end up with a bigger/better property when you finally purchase. Definitely not an ideal situation but hopefully things will get resolved for you soon and you don't have to stay too long at the PILs.

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Givemestrengthorgin · 27/08/2019 16:22

Don't panic. It's not ideal but you are now in a great position when it comes to finding your new pad (which will be better than the flat you were supposed to be moving too!). If you have already been getting your care at your preferred hospital can it not continue there? Definitely worth asking if that can happen. How far away is it from your in laws?
Vendor sounds like a dick head. I hope karma gets him.
It will all work out!

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Napqueen1234 · 27/08/2019 16:23

chain! not change

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BykerBykerOoh · 27/08/2019 16:23

I’m so sorry - just remember it will work out in the end (if it doesn’t work out, as they say, it’s not the end). It’s so tough when you are in the middle of it. Take one day at a time and congratulations on your pregnancy.

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DisgruntledGuineaPig · 27/08/2019 16:25

OK, deep breath - can you rent for 6 months near the new hospital and the area you want to live in? Get yourself settled there?

Your vendor might have done you a massive favour, you are now a buyer without a chain in an unsettled market.

Get a rental sorted, then get on to every estate agent in the new area, you know what your budget is and what you want to get, you are in a great position.

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OrangeSlices998 · 27/08/2019 16:25

Sorry to hear what a rubbish time you've had! Such a nightmare. Can't you give birth at the hospital you've been having your care at, even if its a bit far from where you're living? You're booked there now!

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diddl · 27/08/2019 16:26

Absolute shit about the hospital.

But at least the flat sale is going through & you won't be part of a chain.

I'm guessing you're a long way from your preferred hospital?

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MyDcAreMarvel · 27/08/2019 16:27

You can deliver wherever you want. It doesn’t matter if you don’t live near there.

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Funghi · 27/08/2019 16:31

Something similar happened to us. We rented for 6 months then went onto a rolling contract so we could move as soon as we found somewhere to buy. I know it’s 6 months of paying rent but at least it’ll be your own space, close to the hospital you want and you may end up paying less on the new place because you’re cash buyers and can move quickly.

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Disfordarkchocolate · 27/08/2019 16:31

Take a day or two to sob all you like. Then, just focus on getting on with it. It's not ideal but people have had to cope with far worse. Think about that fact that you have secure housing with family and that you can plan the support you need from your husband.

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AngeloMysterioso · 27/08/2019 16:32

In theory there’s nothing to stop me delivering at the other hospital, except that it’s a 52 mile drive which is not necessarily a journey we’ll want to make when I’m in labour.

I just keep thinking about how difficult living with my PILs is going to be. I mean they are lovely, lovely people and of course this is a huge PITA for them as well, but... their home isn’t our home. I can’t just get out of the shower and wander around in a towel. My father in law does not need to see my underwear drying on the washing line. I’ll feel like I have to be out all day or hiding in the spare room so I don’t get in anybody’s way. I have a hair loss problem so I wear a wig when I’m out and about, now I’ll have to wear it all the time. I do have the option of going to stay with my Mum where I would at least feel a bit more relaxed but I don’t want to be away from DH.

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Actionhasmagic · 27/08/2019 16:33

Feeling your pain! In a similar situation. I hope you have a safe birth x

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Waveysnail · 27/08/2019 16:33

But why cant you go to that hospital?

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LonnyVonnyWilsonFrickett · 27/08/2019 16:34

Maternity care is acute OP, you can be treated at whatever hospital you turn up at. Just don't go in too early to be sent back home!

A better flat is out there for you, and now you are in a perfect position to get it as a cash buyer. I definitely agree with the pp who said curl up and sob, let it all out - but it will get better Flowers

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Waveysnail · 27/08/2019 16:35

On positive you have sold your flat. Yoir in awesome position now to buy with no chain. Look for short term, fully.furnished let. Stick everything of yours into storage and start flat hunting

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putsomethingontheendofit · 27/08/2019 16:38

Yep, you can have the baby anywhere you want. I didn't have mine at the local hospital, I chose one a bit further away. No problem.

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