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Original poster

About to put our house up for sale...anyone else? Part Two!

973 replies

InTheCludgie · 13/09/2022 14:58

Hi everyone here is the new thread for those of us who are about to, or are currently trying to, sell our homes!

So we are now back on the market and have a viewing tomorrow morning, plus one for early next week. This week is a bit tricky as it's DS's birthday so have had to say no to a couple of suggested times for viewings.

How is everyone else getting on?

OP posts:
LionessesRules · 20/12/2022 09:51

Congratulations @Doubleraspberry
Weren't the tenants responsible for paying bills?was it in their name when they changed supplier? Hope that can be sorted soon.

Karmatime · 20/12/2022 12:20

Congratulations @sellinghomeswithmn and @Doubleraspberry ! That must be such a good feeling just before Christmas. Good luck with all the admin.
I’m further back in the process but I received the contracts through for signature to be ready for exchange and completion next month so I’m keeping everything crossed.

manateeandcake · 20/12/2022 17:05

Congratulations, @sellinghomeswithmn and @Doubleraspberry !

I haven't updated for a while as I've been feeling pretty overwhelmed with anxiety, but as ever it's great to see others cross the finish line and to remember that it is possible.

Today we've accepted a reduced offer from our buyers, on the basis that if we didn't our purchase would have fallen through and we would have been looking at going back on the market in spring with a higher mortgage rate and ending up moving to a different area with less good schools (main reason for the move). They initially demanded a reduction of 15k, and what we agreed today was a reduction of 10k but actually more like 12k of our money as we had paid for some work and agreed to throw in the fridge and microwave that they have been bizarrely obsessed with. This is on condition of them informing their solicitor and lender immediately with a view to exchange as soon as possible in January. In between was a couple of hellish weeks, with them taking days to respond and including a "heated" phone call between the guy and our very mild-mannered and conciliatory EA when it looked like we weren't going to give them what they wanted. I think he is like a little boy with a fragile ego who subscribes to a Trumpian idea that you always need to be screwing someone over. We know they could try again in January, BUT we feel relieved that we have an agreement before Christmas and are going to have nothing more to do with them till January, and then hopefully not for much longer.

Original poster
InTheCludgie · 20/12/2022 18:00

Congratulations @Doubleraspberry and @sellinghomeswithmn !

Not great behaviour from your buyers @manateeandcake . Are you leaving your curtains by any chance? Maybe a few prawns stuffed into the lining as a goodbye present? (Half joking!)

OP posts:
BeauticianNotMagician81 · 20/12/2022 18:18

@bakeoffbakeon huge congratulations,

@InTheCludgie so pleased you've found somewhere.

@LionessesRules huge congratulations. Hope you have a lovely Christmas.

@Doubleraspberry congratulations and I hope you can get the electricity/gas sorted. Cheeky tenants. How did they manage to change supplier ? In your name? If so also fraud so probably easier to claim back.

We finally exchanged today . We've been waiting since last week and were starting to worry we would be locked in with two properties as we had to sign a rental agreement as there isn't much about to rent. DH was adamant he wanted out before Christmas so we are moving all our stuff over. I mean as if Christmas isn't stressful enough. We don't complete until early January so at least there's time to come back and get the last few bits and clean. Although it's quite a trip.

LionessesRules · 20/12/2022 19:28

Congratulations @BeauticianNotMagician81 . Enjoy Christmas in your (temporary?) new home (are you looking to buy in the new area eventually ?)

There seems to be loads of positives these last few week. Hope those of you still hanging on to the Rollercoaster get progress soon.

BeauticianNotMagician81 · 20/12/2022 19:32

@LionessesRules thank you. Yes it will be temporary. We are going to see what 2023 brings with the housing market and if we like the area there are loads of new builds going up so will possibly snap one of those up.

Original poster
InTheCludgie · 20/12/2022 19:48

Feeling really fed up. We had two viewings, one yesterday and one today. The one from yesterday hasn't come back to EA with feedback as they were planning to view a house which just came on the market today (also with our EA and on the next street to ours) and apparently they are 'really keen' on it. Can't help but feel a bit resentful of this tbh, we've been on the market for five months now and this person who just came on the market today is likely to get a buyer almost instantly. This house is really nice inside, and a small not very nice part of me is hoping that there will be a few interested people so it goes to a closing date, the people who viewed our place yesterday don't offer high enough and they don't get it and they consider their 'second best' (us!).

So the EA couldn't do this evening's viewing and I agreed to do it myself. DH took the kids out to get takeaway for dinner as I didn't want the house to smell of old food. Viewer appeared to be a no-show so DH came back with dinner and we started eating - door then goes and it's the viewer standing there with a dog in his arms saying he got lost. It was half an hour after the viewing appointment by this time! Needless to say he never got to see around the place.

Anyway. I'm just pretty scunnered with it all atm tbh. Won't be accepting any more viewings this side of NY as it's just too stressful at this time of year.

OP posts:
manateeandcake · 20/12/2022 21:25

@InTheCludgie That's so frustrating - and how rude to turn up half an hour late! I hope you are right about the viewers and the house on the next street.

LionessesRules · 30/12/2022 18:31

@sellinghomeswithmn we've got the stamp duty back!! So it's taken less than 3 weeks, and part of that is Xmas break.
It's got a tiny amount of interest added, so is a miniscule amount more than we were expecting.
Still not got the gas/electricity returned. Will chase them after new year if we've not heard anything.

Cuppasoupmonster · 30/12/2022 18:33

Can I join? My flat (not main residence, long story) is going up for sale in 2 weeks. I’m being pragmatic and not expecting to make much profit, I also need a quick sale - going on mat leave in March and the money will be desperately needed when the full pay portion runs out. Good luck to us all!

sellinghomeswithmn · 30/12/2022 19:00

@LionessesRules that's amazing! We're still waiting on ours but based on yours hopefully we'll have it by mid Jan 😱.

Thankfully I've received rebates for gas, electric, water and council tax. Once the SDLT is returned I can officially close this chapter.

Honestly, completing the sale is such a weight off the mind. I walked past the house a few days after we completed and felt a teardrop. Was such a great time of my life but also a noose towards the end.

Caithness · 31/12/2022 13:07

Hello @Cuppasoupmonster ( and everyone else still on the thread !) - I’m a recent joiner, and our house has just gone on Rightmove, so we are on that merry go round… good luck to everyone going forward into the New Year.

Cuppasoupmonster · 31/12/2022 13:35

I may post the link when it’s up for the feedback - I bloody love those threads so would be churlish not to join in myself! Can I ask roughly where your properties are (or just the region) and what the markets are like?

fuckthisagain · 31/12/2022 13:38

Can I join in?

Our house was sold in 2021 but our purchase fell through and we couldn’t find anything else and so after a whole year we lost our buyer!

Have finally found somewhere so house will need to go back on the market in January. FML I cannot be arsed. I think it will be whole different experience this time around though and I’ll be annoyed that we will inevitably end up with less interest and offers when it should have been sold over a year ago Angry

As you can tell I am VERY BITTER.

thunderouslug · 31/12/2022 15:13

Hello new joiners and good luck! I still check RM regularly for our area and the one we're moving to. It's dead. We shall see how that changes in the new year.

@fuckthisagain what a nightmare. Can absolutely see why you're bitter.

I quite enjoyed the break and dread when conveyancing resumes again. For a while it felt like back to normal life, no selling/buying stress. Our buyers just decided they want a survey after all so that'll happen next week. I'm a bit grumpy because they had the mortgage survey in early November and only now booked the proper survey when there's talk of exchange/completion in a few weeks? And it's a level 3 for an almost new house, so I am very concerned they'll just try to use this to renegotiate. I can't think of any faults but I guess every survey picks up something.

Caithness · 31/12/2022 15:22

Hi @Cuppasoupmonster to answer your query, we’re in Norfolk and I think the market has slowed somewhat. How about you?
I love seeing links but don’t know if I’d be brave enough to post!

manateeandcake · 31/12/2022 18:53

Welcome, @Cuppasoupmonster and @fuckthisagain

We are in east London and the market has fallen quite a bit, also very little coming on. We're hoping to exchange in Jan and complete early Feb. It's been a bit of a nightmare tbh. I've quite enjoyed the break over Christmas when there's been no possibility of anything happening but just want to get it done now.

Melminiani · 01/01/2023 14:31

Happy New Year everyone and welcome to all newcomers 🥳 I made the first reduction to my price on Christmas Eve and no idea yet as to whether that will have made any difference or not as my lovely EA is on a well-deserved break.

I’m not sure what I can do next as the market is so sluggish, but thinking of getting a survey done for myself so that a) I know if there are any nasty surprises and b) I can offer access to it for anyone interested in buying… a sort of incentive in that I’ll be showing that I (hopefully!) have nothing to hide and that it might save any potential buyers money if they’re happy/able to use mine 🤞🏼🤞🏼🤞🏼

Not sure if it will make any difference, but I’m just so keen to add some fresh energy into this sale…

RM2013 · 01/01/2023 16:30

Locally to us the market has definitely slowed. Barely any properties listed in Dec and lots of reductions for the ones that were already listed.

we went on the market in Jun and our first offer was end Jul. we found our onward purchase in Aug but then our buyer pulled out after a couple of weeks. We were lucky enough to get another offer within 24hrs. Sold again 23rd Aug. Lots of solicitor delays and errors and we are just waiting for completion.

anxiously waiting for solicitors to re open as they were only awaiting 1 form but I’ve managed to convince myself over the Christmas break that my buyers will pull out and it will all fall through again. We are just a chain of 3.

fingers crossed for everyone on this thread. It really is a stressful experience

Stayingstrongish · 01/01/2023 18:59

I’ve also noticed most properties coming up on right move are reductions now.

@Melminiani like your survey idea! Think that’s how things are usually done in Scotland, the seller providing the survey

Melminiani · 01/01/2023 20:31

Thanks @Stayingstrongish I’m not sure if it will make a difference, but this is my third time of trying to sell since April (first EAs absolutely hopeless, second time I had a buyer at the end of July but she pulled out a couple of weeks ahead of exchange in November) and I just want this to be over so I can literally and metaphorically move on.
As a pp said, I love this house so much and hate that it’s starting to feel like a millstone…

thunderouslug · 03/01/2023 10:51

I just found out from an automated email that our solicitor will be on holiday for almost all of this month. He was also away a week prior to Christmas. So essentially nothing is being done for well over a month. I am...not happy. Apparently both our buyers' and sellers' docs are all just piling up on our solicitor's desk, so we are the ones holding everything up. Is it normal for a solicitor to just go away for this long without telling clients and without anybody else covering for them?

KimmySchmitt · 03/01/2023 11:07

@thunderouslug I wouldn't have thought so, our solicitor took three weeks off in November but passed the case onto a colleague. Are there other solicitors at the firm? I'd be calling up ASAP and insisting someone else looks at your case or would consider moving solicitor (if that's possible).

manateeandcake · 03/01/2023 12:00

@thunderouslug I don't think that is normal, no. I would be furious and would be demanding that someone else cover your case.

It's cold and wet here and I can't say I'm thrilled to be getting back to house sale/purchase admin. We've already had emails from our sellers' EA saying they don't want to sell us any of the fittings and appliances we offered for, which is obviously up to them but is (a) disappointing as it means we will have to spend more money and (b) surprising as they have been in their new home for some time.

More seriously, they don't have a building completion certificate for the removal of a load bearing wall on the ground floor which was undertaken by them four years ago. We have asked if they can share calculations from the builder or structural engineer at the time. We are less concerned about compliance and more seeking reassurance that the ceiling won't fall down!