How do I move out and into my new house by 11am pregnant!

[fashu]

Hi, so my solicitor dropped the bombshell that I have to be out of my house by 11am Monday. Only problem. I will get the keys to my new house at the same time because I'm in a chain. How is this even possible?
Its going to take a couple of trips to my new house and we can't get any help at the moment because of covid and to top it all off, I am pregnant and have a 2 year old! Can someone please explain how this works because surely it can't be right!

No matter what time the exchange happens, you are not going to get the keys to your new place before handing in the old ones, so you will need to do it in one trip. Move as much as you can to your mum's or a shorage unit, and hire a bigger van.

Also just a warning, it probably won't be drop of keys and pick new ones up at 11. It will be drop of key, then your solicitor has to contact their solicitor to complete the sale before your new keys are released. One or the other solicitor may go for lunch or be dealing with another case, plus the other people in the chain may have delays that hold everyone up. We ended up sat in the van for about 3 hours, so have a day bag packed and a plan for what to do with the toddler (warm clothes and a long park trip while dad sits with your stuff?)

I've bought and sold house 8 times and it's always been midday.

I don't see how you could have expected an overlap? The money from your house sale goes towards your purchase and it completes at a set time so you can't own both houses. Even if there was a gentleman's agreement that you could have some overlap, just think how that would cause problems further up the chain with the person at the top getting their keys in the middle of the night?

It's tough moving in a pandemic, but I like a pp idea of your Mum helping with the move (if she physically can) and you looking after ds at hers. Also, move loads of small bits to theirs in the meantime (if you're all local).

When I move house, if I don't use a packing service, I start boxing up at least three weeks in advance.

Good luck.

It sounds like the problem isn't so much the 11am time but the fact that it sounds like you think you would have keys to the new house and be making multiple trips through out the day to move stuff. This isn't how it works.

If you are using a transit style van upgrade to a 7.5 tonne box van (check your driving licenses allow it).

My buyer seems like a nice guy, single, no kids currently living with his parents so I'm hoping he will give a bit of grace if things do go over.

Speak to him now (through EAs) and explain that you might not be out by 11am but will be as quick as possible. Start packing now- the storage unit is a good idea.

I do think though banks and solicitors need to be a little more considerate given the current situation.

Nothing to do with a bank. If you are in a chain, I'm not sure how it could work differently, especially if you didn't want to delay? Did you not know contracts were being exchanged?

OP, use the removal firm! They will come to your house at 7am, pack up all your stuff and wait patiently until you get the keys.

Every time I've moved, I've been packed by 11am and am in possession of the keys by around 1pm.

There's a lot to do on moving day, if you can outsource some of this then do.

Don’t be like our buyer, we got our keys so legally owned the property, headed over with our van (first time buyers so moving ourselves) to find them still moving out and one of their mothers hoovering upstairs. We had to wait another 4 hours before they’d bloody shifted out taking multiple trips in their little van.

our seller sorry

We had to move (I’m also pregnant) and we just loaded the van ourselves, then the removal people dropped them at the door of the new place rather than inside. They were willing to go in but we preferred they didn’t with the virus. It worked out well and I didn’t have to worry so much then. If you have a lot of heavy items you might want another person though to help get them inside especially if there are stairs! Most of our stuff could be taken apart and rebuilt so it wasn’t really an issue with beds ect. We just left all our boxes ready to go the day before in the front room and took apart our other babies cotbed on the day of the move (probably the most stressful part to be honest😂) we also had to collect keys at 11. I stayed with the stuff at home while partner got the keys and then we started to move the boxes!

£300 is cheap.

We recently moved and they wore masks and gloves and literally only touch the boxes for seconds.

I'd be more worried about cleaning the new place if people are only just moving out.

In my experience it’s not a completely instantaneous thing. There is usually a period where your old property has sold and you haven’t completed on the purchase (funds come to you from your buyer and are then sent on with mortgage funds to your seller). So for 30 minutes or so you are effectively rich and homeless. It’s not feasible to do multiple small trips with a van between two properties in this case (which is why removals exist). If you can get someone to do it for £300 I’d bite their arm off, last time we moved the removals only service was almost £1k. You will usually hand the keys back to the agent, and collect the new ones simultaneously, but last time we handed them direct to our buyer (who waited 20 minutes or so whilst we cleaned up the place), and then waited another 20 minutes for our keys.

Spend the £300.

Banks need to be more considerate? To what?

We’re not far behind you OP but much bigger houses - 4 bed to 4 bed, plus we have the contents of a double garage, greenhouse and shed. We’ve been told midday. We have two DC.

Removers are arriving 7am
We have leased a container at £75 per month for one month and have been moving stuff most evenings.
We cleared the garage first, then every time we filled a box inside the house it gets put in the garage.
By the time it’s moving day literally all that will be left in the house is furniture, one box of essential kitchen stuff which will go in my car, and our overnight things/bedding which will also go in my car
Removers have said they will be loaded by 12, by which point (hopefully) the sale will have gone through. Then we wait for the money to move upwards and expect to get the keys for the upward purchase early PM.
In the interim we are planning on sitting in the car, eating chips out of the paper and generally hanging about!

Not without risk but it’s the plan.

When I purchased my first house 15 years ago the sellers took till 6pm to leave - luckily I had an overlap in my rental so it wasn’t too bad! I wasn’t pleased but in my case I could allow flex so I did.

Oh gawd this is my fear haha -my baby is due end of next month which is around the time we are expect to be moving terrible timing. We are renting though so we are just gonna suck up the cost and pay an extra months rent and the first months mortgage and have both houses so we have time! Nightmare as could really do without having to pay so much money!

We are just gonna hire movers though - I won’t be any help being so good pregnant!

Don’t you have any Neoghbours who can help? We’ve met several neighbours in the hallway of our apartment block who’ve offered to help bring stuff down to the van on moving day etc!could you ask for help?

Wow was not expecting this many responses. Thanks everyone for mostly being kind and offering me your advice. We've got quite a big van. Everything will probably fit if I put our clothes and stuff in my mums garage this weekend. We have thrown most furniture or left it for the seller because its fitted and we have ordered all new furniture for our new house.
I haven't done this before. I've always rented. When I moved into this house it was empty and since the house was local to where I grew up I made a decent relationship with the seller and we spoke a lot before we moved. I don't know anything about this so don't know why some are being snappy about what to expect. I'd been asking my solicitor about how this day works for a few weeks and she kept saying it will be fine we will work it out so you know, how else would I know. I thought there could be something in place so it gets completed but then a contract states we move by this time. Now I know this isn't possible.
Solicitor hasn't told me if we've exchanged contracts, I had to complain to get her to tell me the date agreed for completion. Overall solicitors have been poor with bad communication, but that's for another day!

I'm sorry but moving and being out of the house you're selling by 11 is totally normal and happens in every move with a chain surely?

Did you know Monday was your completion day?

The solicitor should have phoned you to ask for authorisation to exchange?

Are you exchanging and completing on the same day?

This is standard. No ne can set a time because it is reliant on when the money moves, which is usually by midday.

If the money moves at 11am, then you don't own that property anymore and need to have everything out.

The fact you are pregnant, don't want to pay for removals and there is covid is irrelevant.

It's like accepting cash for your car, then asking if you could take it for a couple of hours as you need to run some errands.

If you have access to the new house before you relinquish the keys to the old house, you technically have 2 houses

If you are paying for new house with sale proceeds of old house you dont own new house until you have sold old house

This query comes up time and time again on mumsnet so it does seem feasible that solicitors and estate agents aren't being as clear as they could be with second time buyers how the chain and completion day works.

It's obvious when you think about it that you have to leave a house you've sold at a set time and can't get into the next one until you own it, but it's understandsble that with so much else to think about AND the fact that first time buyers moving from parents or rented seem to move in gradually over a few days that they wouldn't click that can't happen up the chain.

You'll be fine, OP.

The chance of you completing at 11am is quite slim.
But, we were out of our 4 bedroom house last year and house cleaned by 11 so it's doable. We had removals though.
We didn't complete until 3pm though but we were moving into an empty house so had the keys.
I'd go to your mums for the day, with the kids and let the men do it.
Honestly don't stress, it will all work out.

Tho is what professional removal companies do everyday. Short notice but might find a local one available.

@fashu

We have to do it all ourselves. Yes we are packed but its not an instant job to get everything out of the house. Cheapest quote we have for removals is over £300. She didn't tell us this until this evening so not much availability either. I can put most stuff in my mums over the weekend but not the big items. Surely there is something In place for this because when would it ever work?

You need to pay the £300 for removal men to reduce the stress to you while you’re pregnant.

Does anyone bother to read the previous comments? 🤦‍♀️