Upset about moving house when we haven't found another to buy

[IsItAllOverYetPlease]

I know it's ridiculous but I think I need a handhold please. My husband and I exchanged contracts in relation to our house sale today and have to be out before 1pm on Monday. With the removal van hired for the weekend, tonight is our last night sleeping in the house. Even with 6 months of looking, we haven't found a suitable house to buy so are moving in with my parents for the foreseeable with small child. They have a relatively small house and will a lot of us working from home it's going to feel very cramped, although I appreciate we're lucky to have the option.
We decided to move to be closer to my parents so that they can look after our child some days to save on childcare but we absolutely loved our house. We haven't met the buyers of it and they've been a pain throughout the sale process so I dont have comfort that it's going to a nice family. I know its a privileged problem to have but I feel so sad tonight about leaving. It feels like we might have to settle for a new house that we don't love and that I'll regret leaving this one which had everything we wanted apart from being a bit far from parents to make childcare feasible (and it could do more more bedrooms ideally).

Anyone felt like this before but felt relieved that they did make the move in the end? Any tips to make the moving process less stressful?

Just wanted to say, I understand - I may be in a similar position too in a month, but would have to stay in airbnb for weeks by the looks of it - and as I'm downsizing, when I buy I'll miss the space and lack of neighbour noise (semi detached halls adjoining - moving into a terrace). If I'm lucky it will only be a few weeks as I may have found a house.
It sort of sounds like it's your parents who should have moved closer to you - but I'm sure there were reasons you did it the other way round. You may well love your new house thoughm when you find one! Maybe for different things than yuu loved your old one, but still.

It may even happen sooner than you think - as you'll be in the best position possible. The reason I havent found is the competition and being outbid vut also people choosing no chain if offers are similar.

This is a tough one to go through and I feel for you! We’re also leaving our family home this weekend, because my DH and I are separating. We are both going into rented flats and leaving our spacious and familiar home. It feels a bit overwhelming at times but I think it will settle down once we’ve moved. I think it’s normal to feel a bit wistful and nostalgic at times like this. It’s a hurdle you have to get over and you’re doing it for good reasons. Better times will come soon I’m sure.

I was in a similar position once, we sold our first home to move somewhere bigger nearer to our jobs and good schools and my inlaws.

However a few weeks before exchange our purchase fell through due to unexpected issues with the survey which led to the house being valued for mortgage purposes as £0. Yes, nil. We had to pull out but we'd had an offer over our asking price we didnt want to lose, so we took risk and continued with our sale. Me, DH and our 3 year old lived with my inlaws for 3 months and all our stuff went into storage.

It was so frantic at the time, and my commute became horrific as DD was still enrolled in nursery near my old home so I had this mad dog-leg. But at least we weren't homeless. But still it was awful, I was so worried we would not find somewhere else we liked.

Thankfully we were incredibly lucky and found a house in our target area and we were able to move swiftly as we were chain free. I quickly realized it is in a better location than the original house and we have made a lot of improvements.

One thing, if you want to keep your existing mortgage deal you can port it, as long as you let the mortgage company know swiftly. You have, I think, a 6 month window to complete your new purchase. If you have a good deal this can be worthwhile.

Try not to stress out, and be very kind to your DH as believe me it's not easy living with inlaws in cramped conditions.

Everything happens for a reason. I once felt massive regret leaving one of our family homes but we had an upsizing plan and if we’d stayed we wouldn’t now (two houses after that) be in our forever home. Your forever home is out there and whilst it will be fraught at times living together, your child will have Gp’s to interact with and they will be able to give you two time off to be a couple

In the meantime, pack your kettle last and don’t forget where you put birth certificates and passports etc. Good luck!

We did this ten years ago but without the luxury of staying with family, we spent thousands on rent.

Don't regret it though.

When a property came up we liked we could proceed very quickly and were in a great position.

It's one of those things that's stressful at the time but easily forgotten once you move on. I think you're in the worst bit now - lots of uncertainty.

Good luck!

Yes, as others have said, you're putting yourself in a good position. You don't know you're not going to find a home you love, in fact putting living at your parents' between your current home and a new one is likely to increase your appreciation for your new place.

It’s awful and I mourned leaving my beloved house to go into rented but it gave me space and time to find our perfect home which we’ll never leave. Short term pain, long term gain.

We’ve moved a lot and had to make all sorts of interim accommodation arrangements. These included an aparthotel - fantastic to have someone come in and service your space daily, and have a little coffee shop/bar downstairs - and a travelodge - who were incredibly kind and would store our stuff & keep us the same room when we went to parents at the weekends, as well as laundering the kids sports kits in the week. We also once stayed 3 months in another family’s home while they went on a dream trip. The person most affected was my husband, who is fairly inflexible and needs routine, but for me and the kids it was an adventure.

We are in the same position but 3 months in. We still habrnt found anywhere, but the market seems to be picking up and we are in a very good position being chain free when it does. Good luck.

I am in the exact same position.
We completed today and tears were shed.
We'd lived there for 15 years. But it was a hugely expensive house to run. Victorian semi, 3 floors, sash windows etc.
We poured all our money into running and maintaining it and have got to the point where life's too short.
But since we sold the market has gone insane!
We are cash buyers living in rented and cannot get an offer accepted as what feels like half of London has relocated up north and they're throwing 50k over asking at everything.
We did it to be mortgage free so lucky as we are, it's not like we can chuck extra on the mortgage over 25 yrs like others are doing.
So now we're paying a ridiculous amount in bloody rent instead.

@HumourReplacementTherapy oh gosh I hadn't thought about the effects people relocating from London would have on the market up North. that sounds insane. Saying that I know a FTB who has been looking for a house for ages, saw one come up recently and rang within an hour of it going online but was refused a chance to view as they'd all booked up. Unfortunately the types of property we're after just don't seem to be coming on the market.

Thanks everyone for your supportive comments. We got the completion statement through today so it feels a bit more real and I'm coming to terms with it more. Life moves on. Keeping fingers crossed for something better before the summer ends.