Is moving house extremely stressful if you are not buying the house

[CassandraBarrett]

I keep reading that moving house is one of the most stressful things people do in life.

Does this actually mean BUYING a house and moving? And that the buying is the stressful part?

The buying isn't a problem.

The moving is a pain. Packing, arranging transport, hoping the other side have signed all their paperwork (happened us that we were outside new property with truck and buyers of old house were a bit relaxed, worked out fine).

We are renting and it's a new build. So although the previous owners will not be in residence, the builders might be 🙈
I was hoping the packing won't be too much but I'm probably kidding myself!

I rent and the last time I moved I had a complete breakdown. I'm not even joking. I had lived at my previous address for 10 years.. that's a lot of stuff. Tip runs, cleaning, the waste removal people who were going to clear my garage let me down and I was due to hand the keys back. I eventually persuaded the agency to give me 48 hours to empty it but that meant I had to leave the unpacking in my new house.
When my mum sold her house the stress from the chain process almost broke her. I don't think one renting or buying trumps the other in terms of stress. Its just horrible.

Oh jeez @Northernsoullover that's awful
I hope it goes better for us

We exchanged on 23rd December, due to complete and move on 8th Jan.

Our last move was a breeze, but this one, six years on, has been a horror show. We've almost pulled out twice, at one point our solicitor, estate agent, and our buyer could not get hold of their solicitor for 4 weeks.

It's been a constant battle of surveyors, mortgage valuations, mortgage offers, trying to pack, trying to ready for Christmas and carrying on working from home, while juggling hundreds of calls.

I'm on my knees to be honest.

The stress from the chain process nearly broke me when we bought our house too.

Downward was easy, upward was a nightmare for various reasons. We nearly weren’t able to move at all due to the time the people we were buying off took to find somewhere - DH’s employment contract and our mortgage offer (that we’d extended the maximum amount of times) were very close to expiring. I’m still getting over it but at least we got in before lockdown.

Too many issues to go into.

Moving when you’re not buying is easier.

I’ve moved a lot (including international) and it’s really stressful. The only way I’ve found to make it easier is paying for a removal company that come and pack for you, transport everything and then unpack at the other end. It takes more organisation but you can specify if you want to unpack certain boxes or rooms yourself if you haven’t quite decided where things are going.

Ive moved in both circumstances; the easiest was moving from renting to purchase as we allowed a decent overlap.

Moving is horrible and hardwork whether you are renting or buying.

The most stressful was moving from 1 purchased house to another as everything had to be done one the same day and we had exchange and completion on the same day due to Covid so it could've fallen through at the last minute.

Hope it goes well for you

I definitely think it’s the whole moving process whether you are buying or renting. Each and every time it’s been bungling stuff into bin bags and scrabbling round.

Buying was stressful (and part of the reason why I’ll leave this house in a box) in its own way as well.

It's a fucking nightmare, you have to organise everything whilst at the same time having no control over anything.
We're not moving again until we have the money to buy a place, move our stuff over as and when is convenient for us, THEN put our empty house on the market. So probably never.

Is your rental furnished or unfurnished? I found moving not that bad until we acquired furniture... In general I think it depends on your life at the time more than whether you rent or buy. Our most recent move (mortgaged house to mortgaged house) was the most stressful I've been through but I think having a toddler, being pregnant, having a house full of stuff and it being during coronavirus all made much more difference than the fact it was a purchase and sale. I moved basically annually during the first half of my twenties and it was never that big a deal (though I lost a fucking fortune on dodgy charges taken out of rent deposits...) but I just had so much less baggage, in both the literal and metaphorical sense, then!

In the last 6 years I’ve moved 4 times; 3 times were rentals and the last was when we bought. Two of these were long distance while 2 were less than a mile away. The long distance moves were the most stressful; particularly with one when we hadn’t taken enough time off work for it. The move when we bought our house wasn’t stressful but it was time consuming and long winded as we had to provide lots of information and go back and forth a lot. I can imagine that having to move in one day is stressful as we’ve always had a bit of overlap.
I don’t find the packing stressful any more as it’s given me a lot of opportunity to get rid of stuff and I’ve learnt tricks like using cardboard wardrobes and having a suitcase of stuff for at least a week. I also find that paying for an end of tenancy clean takes a lot of stresss away too.

When we bought it was a new build and it made it easier as we had no chain. Also if you have DC it’s much easier if someone can take them for a couple of days.

I’m now in my forever home. Each time I have previously moved I have hated all of it and have felt very stressed until the moment I am in my new home and everything is waiting to be unpacked and then I feel a wave come over me and peace and harmony is restored.

I never found moving from one rental to another that stressful (apart from the time the removal van broke down, and the time the removal firm had the wrong day in the diary). Buying and moving was far more stressful.

I think the buying is stressful, not the actual move itself (that’s what you hire a packing and moving company for). It’s the worry about the chain collapsing, surveys changing the value or picking up certain things, solicitor delays, having a set date to move and that not being possible, buyers/sellers having unrealistic and often last minute demands, the bank wanting to do last minute extra checks, being gazumped (once it’s happened once, you always worry it will again)... Lots of chains do fall through so people prefer not to be in one or a big one.

Renting isn’t stressful unless your concern is about the owner selling but even then, plenty of other places to rent.

Yes, the actual moving is stressful, but I think buying/selling is the worst part about it, particularly when you are ready to go and then your buyers start playing silly buggers.

Never again!

I moved from rented into a new build. I found it was easier than moving as part of a chain. I'd recommend overlapping your last rental period with moving in day as then you can move at a slower pace. Although it seems a lot of money, in the long run it was totally worth it

I actually find the buying process more stressful than the moving process itself.

We’ve had some horrific experiences selling/buying, I swear buying the house we’re in now aged me 20 years. The constant back and forth between EAs, solicitors, surveyors etc is a nightmare, especially if you’re stuck with slow buyers/sellers. The people we bought from took weeks to respond to the simplest queries - we only put up with it because we loved the house. (From offer to completion took eight months, for what was a simple chain-free sale).

Moving was a doddle in comparison. We packed over a weekend, and paid for a removals company to do most of the hard work for us. We have hired a van and done it ourselves in the past too, and I’d do that a million times over, instead of having to buy another house again.

I think it depends on your personality. I love moving house, buying and selling, getting a house ready to sell, having a clear out etc.

I think it's the buying/renting process that's more stressful than the actual move.

I'm always worrying about the smallest details when it comes to paperwork/finances etc, but I find packing OK if I'm being very organised.

I've done quite a few international moves and you need a clear schedule and check list of how/when/where all your things are packed. One room at a time, one category at a time.

What really helps too, is throwing away every single item you know you don't use anymore, instead of packing it anyway and thinking 'I'll sort it at the new house'. It'll never get sorted, but it'll be an extra source of annoyance when you have to find a space for it again. (I don't mean throw masses of stuff in the bin btw - but donating/selling on FB/giving it to neighbours or friends is the way to go, it really does help).

Yes. I’ve moved house 48 times since birth (I’m 52).

Most of it during my 20s and 30s when I was footloose and fancy free
trying out different parts of the country for a change of scenery or job, I’ve lived at all compass points of the UK, rural and urban,

or because I’d try renting lodgings in an owners home and hated the set-up after a few months,
or rent a bed sit in a shared house and fed up with my belongings or food being stolen.
Or the break up of a live-in relationship.
I’ve been evicted twice. Once as a lone parent because the rent was put up, the other time my part time job and a massive Child Tax Credit overpayment meant rent debt just spiralled.

I’ve moved house by myself using a shopping trolley, I’ve moved from a flat to a house just two doors down, moved in rented vans, friends tiny Rascal van, estate cars, taxi, had to use a storage facility, not once with professional house removers though, and also including a baby grand piano through two house moves

But it’s the packing up that’s most stressful, you have more junk than you know, even after careful culling weeks before the move date. It takes so long to source suitable cardboard boxes and then label and pack individual items away. Since having children, even harder with all their gumph.

I’ve recently got married, and the house moving pallava has suddenly stopped dead. I’ve lived here 4.5 years, the longest anywhere bar the childhood stint of 10 years. My husband has lived in the same town he was born in his whole life. He’s never lived anywhere else.

My two children the eldest is 13, have already lived at 7 different addresses since birth, so hopefully they’re enjoying this 4.5 year stint. Luckily it’s a long term rental ; we’ve been offered another year long tenancy here.

Why do I move so much? No idea. Our childhood was in an idyllic rural location in the woods surrounded by rivers and lakes, and we were suddenly pulled from that to live in the cheapest cruddiest part of the nearest town centre in a two up two down. Our ‘playground’ went overnight from woods, rivers, lakes, parkland, horse fields and golf course fairways to concrete city. We used to roller skate on the top of a multi storey car park for the space and ‘fresh air’ overlooking the urban landscape. I imagine that has something to do with it, always looking for that idyll again.

I’m planning to buy a small sailboat and cruise parts of the world once retired.

I blame all the Sagittarius in me

I’m clearly a lightweight in this. However at the bottom of a chain less so. In the middle of a chain; it’s un-fun:

Clearing and getting valuations
Preparing for viewings
Viewings
Offers
Negotiating offers
Engaging solicitors
Lending (despite having 70% equity ours has still taken 11 weeks to go through)
Proof of savings (7 attempts to do this!)
Searches on your purchase (including crap like
HS2, chancel obligations, fracking and so on)
Valuation on yours
Valuation on purchase
Surveys
Then the endless bloody clearing and sorting and throwing and sending to charity, finding boxes, making decisions, trying to make others make decisions.

I’m 11 weeks in and it’s hell. I’ve had enough. Every single one of the above steps has taken hours and not been without issue.

I’m never moving again!!!!