How did people know that completion had happened before mobile phones?

[brokenshoes]

My DH and I have been talking about the logistics of moving day (we're moving next week).

He thinks that we wait in the old house until we get a call from the solicitor/estate agent to say that we have completed and then we can go to the new house.

I said that as we are moving 1.5 hours away, why would we wait at the old house? I said that we need to hand the keys for the old house to the estate agent as soon as the removal truck is loaded, then get to the new house where we sit and wait until we've had the call to collect the keys.

But then he made the point that what used to happen before most people had mobile phones? How did you know that the funds had gone through and you could collect the keys?

You phoned your solicitor from the red phone box nearest your new house.

Thanks PigletJohn! So you had to have a ready-supply of 5/10/20/50p pieces then on move day.

I think it might have been four pennies, or maybe a thruppny bit. Gran will know.

You do realise that 'most people' didn't have mobile phones until the early/mid nineties, don't you?!!!

Dad went and sat in the estate agents office and waited for the keys.

Or if you were moving locally you made sure the landline was still connected and waited in teh old house.

Minnie that made me in , how rude! I guess OP means because you disconnect your landline before moving to clear final bill?

Yes, of course SirChenjin!

It's amazing how quickly mobile phones have become ubiquitous and just how fast knowledge as to how things used to be done is disappearing.

(Also, I never moved house as a child and this is the first time I've sold a property, so I'm a bit hazy about the process!)

Dick for brains?

You're right by the way - you need to get on the road so you're there at the other end when the removals guys want to unload.

Oh dear...

We do still have a landline even now! But I'm asking what did people do if they relocated a long way away and there wasn't the option of staying in the old house.

You either went to the phone box, or you used a neighbours phone, or you phoned from work...we moved in the mid nineties and didn't have a mobile phone then, but can't for the life of me remember what happened. It wasn't a big deal, so it must have been fairly straightforward

I've never said this before...

"Did you mean to be so rude, Minnieisthedevilmouse?"

Anyway - adopt your plan!
The removal van will set off as soon as possible and will want access to the new house the minute you complete, so you don't want to be languishing pointlessly at your old house!

I would: have a once over in the old house once it is cleared, drive to outside the EA at new house, have lunch if time, or be equipped with sandwiches if not, get keys and let removal team in asap. Have the kettle, tea and mugs in your car: removal teams run on tea every 45 mins (they work fast and it's hard work).

Before mobiles? ONce I relied on the phone box method, once we waited outside the house and the EA came with the keys on the word 'go'.

I think we can only conclude Minnie did mean to be so rude.

I seem to recall using a phone box for my first purchase (1998 so not exact,y the dark ages!). I think some people also relied on the solicitor informing the agents who held the keys so they knew that they were OK to let you collect them from their offices.

Why would you want to stay in the old house?

Ei9ther you go to the new location and have lunch in a cafe, or if a very long way away, and the van is taking all day, you stay in a Travelodge - and the removal men stay in the van, sometimes, and unload the next morning.

You can't stay in the old house a second after completion, anyway.

Sorry Minnie forgot to add a

Traditionally, completion was noon, and in the 80s they used TSB with a product called 'speedsend' as TSB was the only UK bank with an online real-time system. There was also telegraphic transfer.

All the others used batch transfer which took place overnight.

We packed up and got everything in the moving van, dropped old keys off with EA 1 and then drove over and sat in the EA2, drank coffee & got the solicitor to phone them at the point they could hand over the new keys.

I think Minnie did mean to be so rude...

If the estate agent was really nice they would trust you enough to give you the keys the night before. Ours did.

I can't remember but because no-one knew what a mobile phone was, what you don't know you don't miss. We probably used the phone box but it wasn't a problem because everyone was the same. There was no internet either

i can remember hiring a pager when DS was due and you could buy some similar mobile thingy from the AA, to contact them if your car broke down.