Help me to keep sane while I try to move house...please

[Daffy]

Please can you try to help me keep my sanity whilst I try to move house. Those of you that have gone through it recently will know what I'm going through at the moment. It's not a long chain about four couples involved, but things seem to be taking ages. My solicitor doesn't seem to ba able to get hold of all the paperwork that he needs in order to complete our purchase, our sale has already been done and just needs signing on the dotted line.
The people that we are trying to purchase from seem to be dragging their heels in everything that they have to do.
Does anybody have any tips on how to get things moving along and can anybody give me any tips on how to get through the next few weeks. We are already on week nine.
It's making me very frustrated, angry, upset and weepy.

Oh Azzie. What a nightmare. Why can't it all be so simple. There must be a better way of buying a new house. I hope it goes quickly and smoothly for you from now on.

I'm still waiting. I really want to move at the end of the month, but who knows!

Look on the bright side - at some stage soon, we'll log on and find we've both exchanged and have moving dates and it will go lovely!

Yes you guessed it, I'm still here. Haven't moved and things aren't looking too good. People threatening to pull out and others just plodding along without a care in the world. We are now on week 12. It's such a roller coaster ride, one minute it's on, next minute it's off. Advice anyone please before I am mentally scarred by the whole affair.

In quiet moments I have these little fantasies where I win enough money on the lottery to buy the new house outright without needing to sell our current house first.

Our solicitor told us yesterday that we would be exchanging contracts at the end of next week, because the first time buyer at the bottom of the chain can't get their deposit through until then. However, he also told us that said first time buyer doesn't want to move until the end of May! It seems that that is when the lease on the place they're renting runs out, and they don't want to be paying mortgage plus rent for a month. While I can understand this to some extent, we've been ready to go since the original date we were given, which was the 12th April, so we're none too happy with this. Also, we've got my brother's wedding at the end of May, plus we're off on holiday in early June, and really want to have been in the new house long enough to have at least unpack! I know that the others in the chain (especially our buyers) are not going to be at all happy either. I just hope we can sort something out.

I was wondering how you were getting on - and Daffy too. Is there ever going to be an end of this for any of us?! I'm still waiting too. Our buyer's solicitor hadn't done the searches (which I thought was the first thing that got done!). Anyway, my estate agent is chasing our buyers solicitor daily and tells me that as soon as the searches are received we should be ready to exchange as that is the only thing outstanding. My solicitor thinks we should be able to seriously talk dates by the 22nd April. Fortunately, I know that our buyer is serious and that the people we are buying from are relaxed and happy to wait for us. But its all so annoyingly slow.

Good luck guys. At some point we will see the light at the end of the tunnel!

I don't have much experience of buying houses in England - the couple of times I did it, I was the start of the chain and now I'm back in Scotland where things are much more straightforward and we don't have to worry in the same way about chains.

But the first time I bought in England, I did have to threaten to pull out to get things moving (although in that case it was the solicitors causing the delays). As I was the "start" of the chain, I was in a bit stronger postion, but is it something you could threaten, and get that message sent back down the chain to force the first time buyer to get moving? It's a wee bit dangerous - but you could always just say you were "considering" pulling out, as the proposed time of end May would cause so many other problems it wasn't worth the inconvenience of moving.

I must say that our solicitor has been fairly useless while our estate agent has been brilliant - it's only through the estate agent that we've found anything out. I can't help wondering if it has something to do with the fact that the solicitor earns his money whether or not we move whereas the estate agent only gets his when the sale goes through.

EmmaM and Daffy, how are you getting on? Our estate agent told me today that the first time buyer at the bottom of our chain now has their mortgage offer, but can't raise the deposit until they get paid (hopefully today). The estate agent is trying to insist that they transer the money electronically so that we can exchange on Monday, but whether this will happen or not we don't know - they just seem to be messing about. I don't feel very confident about all this, and have a horrible feeling that we will be putting our house back on the market next week, in time for the bank holiday weekend. Sigh. Dh is in Japan on business until Sunday evening so I can't even talk it all over with him, except over e-mail. I hope one of you has more positive news!

EmmaM and Daffy, you probably don't want to know this, but we exchanged contracts today (after a last-minute dash to the Building Society to get the deposit money transferred in time). We will be moving on May 31st (the first time buyer won't go for any sooner). I can't believe it yet (but that might be something to do with the glass of champagne we had with dinner to celebrate!).

Good for you! That must be such a relief.

I haven't got good news. Our buyer and his solicitor are messing us around loads. Anyway, we've given the solicitor an ultimatum - either we have a date for exchange by noon on Friday or its going back on the market this weekend.

I'm so fed up. We really want our new house, the people we are buying from really want their new house. I don't think our buyer realises he is affecting the purchases of 3 other people.

We should be able to sell ours again pretty quick - property in our area is going like hot cakes, but its just the hassle and also the uncertainty as to whether the chain above will hold out.

So, we're waiting to see what Friday brings. I'd already started packing books, so I've got to get those shifted out, and make the place look presentable for prospective buyers again. AAaaaarrhhhhh.

Poor you, EmmaM - isn't it frustrating? We thought that with the first time buyer at the bottom of the chain - them taking so long to get sorted was messing 5 other people around who were all ready and desperate to get on with things. I think we were extremely lucky that a chain of 6 held together. Now all we've got to do is organize the move...

Well here I am at last....sitting in the study in my new house!!!!! Yes we did it!!!! About 3 weeks ago now, I can't actually believe that it's happened. It didn't go without a hitch though. Our buyers threatened to pull out because they were fed up of waiting, then contracts were supposed to be exchanged on the Friday but then didn't get done at which point someone further up the chain cancelled their removel men. Contracts were exchanged on the Monday and we moved the next day. We arrived at our new house and the people were still in the process of moving out as they were sharing vans with the people that had cancelled theirs! Nothing is easy is it? We are in now though and both my children have settled in extremely well. Good luck to everyone else.

Great news Daffy! Any key tips for me about handling moving day, and settling the kids in? You were lucky that it all finally went so quickly - I've still got 3 weeks to wait for our actual moving day and it seems like forever!

I'm moving in three weeks too so will be watching this thread closely (preferable to packing...)

Well done Daffy! I'm so pleased for you.

We have a bit more of a development. It would appear that all the contracts are ready on the sale of our property, just need to be signed. Anyway, our buyer is out of the country until Friday, but our estate agent has left a message with him to contact his solicitor and sort out his bridging loan.

We are getting closer, but no cigar yet. If it happens I shall probably collapse in amazement and then get very drunk. Hubby is about ready to explode. I no longer care. Still smiling though

Azzie. The best tips that I can give you are if you are doing the removel yourself like we did, make sure that you clearly label all your boxes. Make sure that you have a box full of need first items like kettle, mugs, tea, coffee etc. and also keep a good supply of biscuits and carton drinks as moving house is thirsty and hugry work. Try to make sure that you know where your breakfast cereals are for the next morning. Last tip is to try and have some one looking after your kids while you move, if you're not moving too far and ask if they can stay at friends or relatives houses for tea on the first night. You may be willing to eat anything at any time, but you can guarantee that they won't! That's about all really apart from good luck!!

Thanks Daffy. The kids will be at nursery all day on moving day, and my aunt is coming to do collecting, entertaining and feeding so that we don't have to worry about them while we sort out furniture, boxes etc. Luckily the house we are moving to is within 3 minutes walk of the chip shop, the Chinese takeaway, the curry house and the 8am-10om Co-op supermarket (and three pubs, should things go really badly!) so we should be OK on the supper front! My only nightmare is one of the children being too ill to go to nursery that day - I think I'll have to see if I can borrow someones house to park the sick child and my aunt at if that happens.

Sounds like you've thought of every thing! Have you got a moving date, exchanged contracts and done all that legal stuff yet? I never thought that moving house would generate so much paper work. After we moved I felt like I was constantly on the telephone telling people my new address and sorting out the utilities was a nightmare, as now people no longer get electric from the electricity board and gas from the gas board, it's a minefield, and are you sure that you wouldn't like to carry on with us as your supplier as we are cheaper than everyone else. I've heard it all.

We've exchanged contracts, got a moving date, and booked the removal firm - now we just have lots more paperwork to get through. I am amazed and horrified at the number of change of address letters we have to send out - luckily most of our friends are on e-mail, which helps somewhat. I took my aunt round for a peek at the new house from the outside today - can't wait to move in. We'll have so much space! It's quite daunting the amount of decorating etc we'll have to do, though - we've pretty much got this place how we like it, whereas the new house is very 1970s (and old 1970s, avocado green bathroom suite and all, not trendy currently-in 1970s). Still, it will probably do us good to have a challenge again!

We are also in the process of moving although we haven't exchanged yet. I'm refusing to get too stressed about the move itself or even the state of the house (we're taking on quite a big project, like some of you other guys, going from a nicely decorated, modern kitchen and bathroom etc to a house that hasn't been modernised since the 70s and the first thing we plan on doing is extending the extension!)
Anyway, what I keep thinking about is what to do for the best as far as our son is concerned. He is 10 months old now and sleeps happily, day time and night time, in his cot, in his nursery. How do i make the transition for him? We plan on decorating his room first so shall we put him in another room to start with and so then have 2 changes in a fairly short time or should we let him get used to his new room first, then move him into another room while we decorate and then move him back. We also planned on getting him a new wardrobe, chest of drawers etc but now I wonder if we should keep his current things so that the room looks a little bit familiar. The new room will be quite a bit bigger; might that cause a problem? If you think I'm looking for problems that aren't going to be there then please do tell me; I'll be more than happy to be told that I'm worrying for nothing. Thanks.

Mckenzie, I'd definately keep the same things for the time being so that something looks familiar - my kids are older than yours (4 and 2) but I'm going to take their pictures off their current wall and put them up in their new room straightaway to make it look as familiar as possible for them. As to which room, well, if you decorate it will probably look like a different room anyway? (I don't know how radical you're planning to be!).

EmmaM, mcckenzie, how are the house sales/moves going? Our big day is this Fri so keep your fingers crossed for me!

Good luck Azzie! Be prepared to be well and truly ehausted by the end of it all. Hope it's been worth all the trouble though...we think it was!

Well, we're in, and on the whole it all went very well. The removal men arrived at 8.15am and left us in the new house at 5.15 pm. The only hitch was at about 10.30am when our solicitor rang up to say that the money I had arranged to transfer electronically the day before the move hadn't gone into their account. I walked into the building society and told them that I had half my possessions in a van outside my house, and if they'd cocked up they would have to find somewhere for me, dh, two under-fives and two cats to spend the Bank Holiday weekend. Strangely enought it all got sorted fast .

Now we're unpacking boxes. We've found most of the really important things, and the kids love the space we now have available. I even have a room to put toys away in - no more sea of coloured plastic encroaching on the living room after the little darlings have gone to bed .

Dh keeps complaining how far he has to walk in the house to do anything - bliss.

The only downside is that the previous owners left the place spotless, and I know that it will never be as clean again....