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Original poster

Is anyone else preparing to put their house on the market?

418 replies

Clettercletterthatsbetter · 17/01/2021 18:20

I know, I know...we should have done it last year when the market was crazy busy but finances, family circumstances and whatnot meant that wasn’t possible and so we’re looking to sell our house and move this year.

Is there anyone else in the same boat who fancies a support thread to get us through?

We’ve had our place valued by 4 agents, have chosen one to go with and are currently doing a few minor bits to the house to get it in tip-top condition (filling old screw holes, a bit of touch-up painting and a good declutter) before we have photos taken.

Who else is looking to move in 2021?

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Thread gallery
6
ChurchRdRules · 20/01/2021 19:38

Clettercletterthatsbetter right then, the race is on!!Wink

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 08:14

@ConcreteUnderpants you’re on! Though I’m preparing myself for defeat as I don’t think our house will be a quick sell...

What are you selling and where? And are you staying local, or moving area?

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Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 08:17

@oohmama I seem to declutter our understairs cupboard about once a month but it still always looks messy - I swear the stuff in there breeds!

@wanderlove are you hoping to move far?

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Bollss · 21/01/2021 08:20

We are thinking about it. We've been renovating it for two years and are almost done. This was "the one" but turns out, it's not really the one at all. How's everyone found it? There is not much up for sale we are interested in either which worries me.

lazyakita · 21/01/2021 08:52

Reading with interest as we plan to sell, but OH is extremely risk averse and wants approximately two years worth of savings in the bank first Confused Luckily we have a good deposit from current savings & equity in our house. We plan to make this move our last, we will stay in the same area but buy a house with more outside space. I really want a period property, but this area is very expensive and not much gets listed, so it's probably good I have to wait. In the meantime I'm getting loads of odd jobs done in the house and gradually decluttering, so when he does say we are good to go I'll be ready.

Good luck with all your sales!

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 10:14

@TrustTheGeneGenie we’re in the same position in that there’s nothing up for sale at the moment that we want to view.

I’m trying to see it as a positive and hope that things will come on once we’re in a position to offer, but I am worried that things might not come along! But there are lots of us on this thread that are about to go to market and that’s just a tiny microcosm of MN - there must be plenty of others out there in the same position.

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Bollss · 21/01/2021 11:24

yeah that's a really good point. There is 1 house we might see but its wildly impractical so i dont know that its neccesarily a good idea!

to be honest we dont even know what we want 100% - another reno is possible, something finished is possible (not much like that round here though) - something a bit weird like above is possible.... who knows! we are every estate agents worst nightmare i think

movingonup20 · 21/01/2021 11:51

We are - divorce sale

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 11:55

@TrustTheGeneGenie we’re similar. We quite like the idea of a project, but not too much of a project as we have 3 small children. I also have my eye on a wildly impractical house - it’s the wrong size, wrong location, would probably be a money pit...

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Bollss · 21/01/2021 11:56

[quote Clettercletterthatsbetter]@TrustTheGeneGenie we’re similar. We quite like the idea of a project, but not too much of a project as we have 3 small children. I also have my eye on a wildly impractical house - it’s the wrong size, wrong location, would probably be a money pit...[/quote]
Sounds exactly like the house we like Grin

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 11:57

@movingonup20 welcome! How are you feeling about moving? Have you put it on the market yet?

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Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 11:57

@TrustTheGeneGenie if it’s the same one, you can have it!

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MindatWork · 21/01/2021 16:18

Can I join? We were looking casually for most of last year and saw several great houses but we weren’t in a position to move. Have just started decluttering and repainting kitchen this weekend (pondering whether I’m brave enough to do some tiling), and have a few electrical bits being repaired first week of feb. Other than than the whole house needs a deep clean.

We have a 2 year old so also trying to figure out where all the millions of toys will go. Nothing we like on Rightmove at the moment but hopefully something will pop up in the next month or two.

We’re on a mainline to London and the village has fairly good amenities - property seems to shift fairly quickly here and there aren’t many houses like ours around. However we’re ridiculously specific about our requirements down to a handful of streets we want to live in; DH is refusing to even consider selling first and going into rented if we can’t find anywhere so intrigued to see how this is going to go Grin.

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 21/01/2021 16:36

@MindatWork I feel your pain on the toy front - mine are 5, 3 and almost 1 so we have a lot of toys, books and other children’s crap!

My DH also doesn’t want to rent but if we sell ours and can’t find anything to buy then I guess we’ll have to in order to ensure DD and DS have school places.

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cupofdecaf · 21/01/2021 16:42

We've been keen to move since last summer but my employer is dithering about how much I can work from home which affects location.

We've done a few DIY things and getting some windows replaced soon.

There's nothing we like on the market and until work sort out what they want from me we can't really move anyway but our current house is now rather crowded and we want to be closer to family.
It's good to hear from people in similar situations.

Housebuyer2021 · 21/01/2021 17:25

I hate being in this limbo of being desperate to move, totally ready in my head to move but the house not being ready plus there’s nothing suitable on the market just now.

I want to fast forward time!

blanketyblankpen · 21/01/2021 18:30

I probably will do in a couple of years, this is for DD who's a FTB.

blanketyblankpen · 21/01/2021 18:33

Why is it that houses (at least the ones she's looking at) are going on the market at "offers over" the low end of the value, to attract loads of viewers and start a bidding war? This never used to be a thing, maybe it's just in cities? All the houses I've bought and sold have been OTM at the higher end of the price bracket, in the hope of getting an offer somewhere near it.

Comps83 · 22/01/2021 18:12

I honestly think I'm going to need therapy for my Rightmove addiction soon 🤦‍♀️

oohmama · 22/01/2021 18:18

'I hate being in this limbo of being desperate to move, totally ready in my head to move but the house not being ready plus there’s nothing suitable on the market just now.'

This is exactly how I feel! I feel like my life won't start until we move and I'm sort of in this weird limbo life
Lockdown doesn't help

Starseeking · 22/01/2021 19:07

Ooh, my next door neighbour attached to our house (semi) have put their house up for sale! I haven't been able to find it listed online yet, but when I do, it should help give an indication of how much we will be able to get for ours.

Theirs has a loft conversion (no dormers as we have quite high roofs), meaning an extra bedroom, and we don't, however the house is in poor decorative repair (rented until beginning of first lockdown, no-one has lived there since).

I'm wondering if it will look odd to potential buyers to have adjoining houses up for sale at the same time?

MutteringDarkly · 23/01/2021 09:20

I've taken ours off the market. We had really quick viewings and asking price offer - but the reality of it then hit home for DC and they really don't want to move. We weren't relocating, just looking for more space, so I am binge watching love it or list it, and have a friendly builder coming round to discuss renovation ideas instead. Hopefully should be able to make a decent difference with the money that would have gone on duty and fees... we can't extend out, but we might be able to loft convert, and reconfigure the current layout.

scubadub · 23/01/2021 09:23

Yes we are putting a property on the market (not our main home) but yes, we just don't want to manage it anymore.

Original poster
Clettercletterthatsbetter · 23/01/2021 09:24

@MutteringDarkly how do you feel about staying in the current house? What was it the DC didn’t like about moving, if you’re staying in the same area?

I’m lucky in that our DC are too small to really understand the implications of moving - DD was a little sad when I explained she would have to change school, but this year has been so disrupted anyway and she’s only in reception so hasn’t had chance to form strong friendships. They are mostly just excited about the prospect of a playroom and a garden big enough for a trampoline!

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MaryLennoxsScowl · 23/01/2021 10:59

Also want to move, but disappointed that there’s been nothing we even want to view on the market since before Christmas. And we need the kitchen wallpaper stripped and the walls skimmed and workmen are not allowed in until after lockdown! We can do the rest of the many small DIY patches ourselves but we can’t skim a whole room (I don’t think. Maybe should watch some YouTube and give it a try - can’t be worse than hanging-off wallpaper). We need to get best price for this as we want to make a move from one-bed flat to three-bed with garden (either flat or house) and it’s a big jump though we’d happily take a renovation on.
How much repainting should we do? If a wall has some scuffs but was painted only a couple of years ago, should we paint it, or can we do small patches without it looking uneven?