Support thread for house sellers

[Spirael]

Just what it says on the tin, really! I'm sure there must be other stressed house sellers out there? Hopefully we can band together and get some small joy of (hopefully?) seeing our houses sell so we can get a move on!

This is a thread of hand holding and mutual support for the EA dealings, weeks of silence, frantic house tidying, no-show viewings, silly offers and tough decisions. This is not for house bashing and price slating. There are plenty of other threads for that!

I've been trying to sell for a year now. Had a surge of viewings earlier in the summer making the right noises, but all has gone quiet for the last few weeks.

However, we have a viewing booked for later this afternoon from someone who has sold their house and is able to proceed - wanting to move before Christmas. Currently swinging between pessimistic and optimistic, while trying not to look at the house we want to buy!

Anyone else out there? :)

[CuddyMum]

Toomuchtea - you're not being a wimp at all. I wouldn't want to be there at all either! Frustratingly I know that should we ever get an offer, that we could exchange literally in 3 weeks. Yes, it's nice to have someone keen, although you can guarantee when Mr comes round there'll be something he doesn't like.

Spirael - you're getting there -not much longer now!

Well done for starting this thread and of course the continuation of it :)

[Spirael]

Still nothing exciting to report here, unfortunately! Though the solicitors assure us things are slowly progressing and our buyers have mercifully not pulled any other stunts.

We still don't have a date, though there are murmurs that we might get one soon and it's still possible that we'll exchange/complete before Christmas. Sounds like things will move pretty fast once they give the sign off.

I really hope we can move in the next three weeks, it could be a bit of a nightmare scenario otherwise for family logistics!

And finally, I thought I'd better start a new thread before this one maxes out.

[CuddyMum]

Sounds good YellowWellies! If you like it it's worth breaking the rental agreement and paying the rental payments. Like you say, you are in an excellent position.

The lady who viewed our house likes it and will bring her husband but they haven't sold - at least they are on the market.

I went to view a house - well bungalow - yesterday and was a bit miffed that they were loitering at the viewing and didn't even bother to tidy up!! Ridiculously overpriced and in a poor condition. Lots of potential mind! It made me appreciate how tidy and well maintained my house is!

[YellowWellies]

Hey Cuddy all good here. We've sorted out a rental for our move to Fife. And, sods law just after a house has come on the market that we rather like. It's a good price too - £159k - with a home report value of £170k - so it sounds like motivated and realistic sellers. I think we are going to put a note of interest in, try to view it pronto when we move south (11th Jan - is that too late, I mean nothing is going to go this side of Xmas is it?) and sort out a mortgage AIP so we are good to go if we do like it. I'm going to ring the agent now and see what the vendors situation is.

It's funny - after living in our wee cottage in the dark ages we were almost decided on a new house (despite preferring period properties for stupid aesthetic reasons even though they are a nightmare) as the developers in Fife can't give them away at present - and with a new baby we figured modern and easy was the way forward. But this is a Victorian house - that has been totally renovated so it has really appealed to us.

I figure it will only cost us at most a couple of month's rent payments to break our rental agreement if the sale were to conclude before May when our contract ends? And that's IF we do like it... Also as we're now chain free that has to work in our favour doesn't it?

[CuddyMum]

Hope everyone is okay! Just touching base as they say. After a few weeks of no cleaning we have a viewing tomorrow. I am also viewing a house tomorrow too! How are all the sales progressing?

[CuddyMum]

Hello people - h

[YellowWellies]

Taking the grill pan handle is GENIUS! Perfectly passive aggressive, annoying on a daily basis yet easily dismissed as an accident - I loves it!

[RCheshire]

Just as long as you're not planning to leave a forwarding address!

[Spirael]

Even better. I could accidentally have taken a kettle full of boiling water outside in order to defrost the patio and tipped it over the lawn instead. Oops! Silly me!

[CuddyMum]

Boiling water is much better for creating crop circles :)

[DuchessofMalfi]

Just thought of something else - how about planting bulbs in a pattern or words (:o) that come up in the spring long after you've moved out.

[Spirael]

My DH has banned me from doing anything too obviously sabotage, but apparently anything that could be handwaved as me being neurotic/inept is ok. As is anything that can be blamed on the cats.

Can't do dog poo, but I could let my cats use the litter tray for a few days and then leave their offerings all over the garden. I'm also hoping my cats bring in some dead mice/birds over the next few weeks, which I can then freeze before leaving around the house on moving day. Less suspicious than prawns!

Like the junk mail, should be able to do that one. Would have to do it via snail mail leaflets though rather than anywhere trackable.

Also, we have a bottle of Lambrini that's been laying around for ages that we won on a tombola/raffle and have had no idea what to do with. It still has the ticket attached. Would it be more insulting to leave that (w/ticket) and two foam cups than nothing or an empty bottle??

Currently debating using bleach/salt/weed killer to draw crop circles on the lawn. Also thinking of taking one of the shelves out of our oven and the grill pan handle.

Whether or not I'll actually have the balls to do any of these is debatable, but planning them all is quite theraputic!

Incidentally... We're nearing the post limit for the thread, should I create a new one?

[DuchessofMalfi]

What YellowWellies says - prawns behind the radiators, and kippers under the carpet (evil :o). Also, sign the buyers up for every single totally inappropriate junk mail you can find - stairlifts, incontinence pads etc etc (more evil :o).

[CuddyMum]

Oh Spirael - what bastards! Leave 'em nowt! It wouldn't have been so bad if she'd raised it with you straight away and of course you would have had time to get your own quote/professional opinion. It's a shame you can't play her at her own game and refuse to reduce the price but of course can't risk your new house (and she knows it!). She's probably calling your bluff but you never know. I wish I had the balls to be that hard faced sometimes.

[marshmallowpies]

Oh Spirael I hadn't seen your latest post when I posted. How awful.

Here's two more suggestions (both found in my house when I moved in)

• wheely bin full of festering, stinking rubbish (not bin bagged, loose in the bin).
• dog poo in the garden (though that might have been foxes in reality).

Awful people.
It's behaviour of people like that which makes me not want to try and knock down the price of the house we're buying, even though I suspect with the asbestos and all it's going to cost us a pretty penny - I don't want to be one of 'those' people.

[marshmallowpies]

Had my feedback from the survey on our house last week - main comments were about subsidence (to which I've replied along the lines of the standard wording on the homebuyers report when I bought the house - some movement typical in a house of this age and on this soil but historic rather than recent) - and also a question about FENSA certificates for windows - my windows were done before I moved there but I had the back door replaced with a new glazed door & window.

This was done by my builders as part of my kitchen renovations so they weren't double glazing specialists - hence no FENSA certificate. I've got the building control letter confirming the council examined & approved the work, though, so I'm hoping that will satisfy them.

Apparently lack of double glazing certification is the single biggest thing that delays house sales - I've now learned from looking on DIY forums and Money Saving Expert!

The survey on the house we're buying has shown up rising damp, asbestos, lead piping - all apparently to be expected on a house this age. A fairly hefty list of things to deal with when we move in...

[YellowWellies]

Spirael I'd leave them a bottle of wine. In fact I'd leave them all of my recycling bin full of wine bottles . That's seriously bad juju on their part - some folks are just shits - karma will bite them in the ass in the end.

Prawns behind the radiators?

[Spirael]

Unfortunately we don't have time! We have a short deadline now to move for the house we're buying (repo with multiple bidders) and our buyer has sat on the survey for over a month now before getting any quotes or starting negotiations. She's also threatened to pull out and preserve her chain, saying her sister has a house they can move into.

We've basically been gazundered.

Not sure if it's a happy ending or not, but lovely DPiL have offered an extra £1k. £2k discount has been accepted. So we are still going ahead, but Christmas has been cancelled.

So, now I need all your best ideas for how to legally make our buyers lives miserable when they move in! (Anger better than grief right now, I feel.)

Will be going through the contract with a fine toothed comb and taking anything we haven't promised to leave. In addition:

No lightbulbs
No instructions (inc burglar alarm code)
Gas/Water/Electricty off
No extra keys
No matching furniture
No cleaning
No toilet paper
No hot water tank cover

Is loosening the taps a step too far??

[Badvocsanta]

He hasn't even been up to see the roof?
That's ridiculous.
Get your own roofer up there and get a quote.
Bloody Chancers!

[Spirael]

Not feeling the love for our buyer anymore...

Her roofing friend didn't make an appointment but instead checked the roof from outside and has decided the house needs an entirely new roof because the tiles are the original ones (1930s) and they don't make them anymore.

He's quoting £5k for the work and she wants at least half that as discount. We can't afford to discount by more than £1k and still move. Besides, the roof is sound, the house is dry and warm! It's not like it's missing or about to fall off.

The EA is busy negotiating with the £1k discount from our overdrafts and some furniture we can offer. I've also asked the EA to consider lowering their fees to help make up the difference, we're that desperate. We've been utterly shafted at both ends, with them negotiating our sale down and our rival bidders negotiating our purchase up.

DH is on a plane where I can't reach him, I'm stuck at work, I have no friends or family nearby (2YO DD aside) and feel like I'm about to burst into tears. :(

Assuming the whole thing isn't about to fall through, I am so not leaving a bottle of wine, the instruction manuals for the appliances, lightbulbs or anything else not in the contract!

I am also never moving again!

[SunsetSongster]

Sorry cuddy that things haven't changed. It sounds like it's just your area - are other things moving. We are very lucky I guess to be somewhere that there is more demand than supply. We've had another offer (from someone else) and it's better than the last one so may be able to go with it. We've put in an offer on the house we like that we know is too low but are hoping that somehow it will be accepted. We don't really have a plan B though so will have to see how keen the buyers are to move (they are chain free). I'm a bit nervous about renting as I want to make sure our mortgage will definitely go through before we give up this place.
Hope everyone else is ok.

[CuddyMum]

Just checking in! Nothing to report here. As expected viewings have now dried up so I'm doing some very minor DIY jobs - touching chipped paint up and filling around doors etc (thanks to teenagers and their fondness of banging doors!). I have started thinking about buying a new sofa and changing the blinds/cushions/rug in the lounge, which is something I was putting off in case we moved as I could like a corner sofa arrangement which just wouldn't go in our current house.

Mentally I have moved back into the house and am trying to come to terms with the fact that the house seems "unsellable"! If I had a reason why the house was not selling (like being on a main road etc) I might be able to accept it better. I had a 12 year old from Wilson Peacock knock on the door the other day and he too said that a large house like ours should easily attract families in this area.

We have agreed to keep the house on the market until the house we want to buy goes under offer.

[Woodlands]

Just catching up on here - congrats to YellowWellies!

Our sale is still chuntering through - we have just answered a load of questions from our buyers. I think they've had the survey back and (fingers crossed) haven't come back with any major hiccups. Still hoping to move by Christmas but I think it's looking unlikely!