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Original poster

How do you cope with the stress of moving house?

322 replies

YukoandHiro · 12/10/2022 03:42

We're on a tight chain. If we don't exchange and complete within the next 2.5 weeks we'll lose our buyer as their mortgage lender won't give any more extensions to their offer (there have been endless complex delays with the paper work and we lost our onward purchAse so it's all take months)
It's touch and go whether or not we'll get moved or the whole thing will collapse.
I haven't actually slept for NIGHTS now. I'm exhausted and totally wired. I'm spending all my days on endless phone calls feeling frustrated and my work is suffering too.
We have two kids too so we still have to get them to school etc through all this. Honestly feel like I can't cope at all!!

OP posts:
Expelliarmus88 · 27/10/2022 10:53

@toastfiend we are the vendors in your position and we would be soooo annoyed if we were moving out and someone further down the chain was being so inconsiderate!! So sorry you're going through this

Gosh this whole process is so hard isn't it!

@hanna65 that's awful that a chain of 3 is taking sooo long :/ Hope things move along quick

@mistletoe1 think we may have found a solution but it has cost us more money but chain back on I believe. Need to exchange in 2 weeks but also need to book air bnb and moving company. Did I mention we have an infant !! Blush

Reallybadidea · 27/10/2022 11:03

Welcome new stressed movers!

It seems like most of the problems people are experiencing are due to people (agents/solicitors/buyers/sellers) being slow to get stuff done! Our buyers were telling us that in their home country all the lawyers get in a room together and it all gets sorted by the end of the day! Wish it was like that here. As long as I can remember there has been talk of improving the process in England and Wales - and yet here we still are!

Efficiency vibes and good luck to everyone in the middle of this Smile

Expelliarmus88 · 27/10/2022 11:52

@Reallybadidea I also wish offers were binding like in Scotland !! So many stupid laws in this country...

toastfiend · 27/10/2022 12:05

@Expelliarmus88 our vendors have been so accommodating and I feel terrible for them. They've actually already moved out of their property to facilitate our buyers' request to complete this month, and are understandably frustrated that they are being messed around so much. I'm really cross that we've been put in this position by those lower down the chain and I feel awful for our vendors.

I've made it really clear that if things don't happen within the next couple of weeks then it's likely the chain will fall apart as I'm worried our vendors won't hold on much longer, understandably, and we won't sell if we lose our onward purchase. It's just so stressful, the house we're moving to is my dream home, I desperately don't want to lose it. I think issues have been escalated today and positions made very clear so I'm really hopeful this causes things to start moving.

hanna65 · 27/10/2022 12:49

Does anyone have any advice what to do about my solicitor not replying to emails or calls, ever? Like I said below, she's replied to one email in nearly 3 months. Sat on paperwork for weeks and weeks without doing anything with it.

I've complained to her boss (and cc'd her in) which was ignored.

Estate agent helps sometimes but not all the time, and they've now gone off with Covid (and no one appears to have picked up their work).

mistletoe1 · 27/10/2022 13:08

Hi all, sorry to see more stress and frustration on this thread. Solidarity with you all.

@hanna65 I thought our solicitor was bad but at least they would take our calls. Can you change solicitor?? I’d be tempted if they won’t communicate with you and complaining hasn’t got you anywhere. I threatened to complain when our solicitor went on holiday without telling us at a very crucial point and the partner stepped in and progressed things.

@Expelliarmus88 oh I get it, the thought of being temporarily homeless with children in tow is not a fun time. If it helps, both removals companies we spoke to had storage and quoted for it when we were considering breaking our chain. A lot of Airbnb’s I looked at had decent cancellation timeframes as well.

Reallybadidea · 27/10/2022 14:45

@hanna65 honestly I'd sack the solicitor. I can thoroughly recommend ours if you're anywhere near Saffron Walden or another poster said their online conveyancer was very good? We had to switch to our current one when the previous one became seriously ill and although the process had to start from the beginning (searches transferred to new one which helped) we got to exchange within 3 weeks!

hanna65 · 27/10/2022 15:04

Would sacking my solicitor not hold things up even further? Speaking to both my buyer and vendor, their solicitors are nearly at a point where they're ready to exchange, it just seems to be mine that has done nothing. I'm worried changing solicitor at this point may thorough annoy everyone in the chain?

hanna65 · 27/10/2022 15:10

*thoroughly

toastfiend · 27/10/2022 15:17

I asked our agent if our buyers changing solicitor would help the other day (I'm literally at the point where I will pay their fees for them to be with a better solicitor), but he said it could set us back quite significantly (6 weeks or so) so may not be worth it. Obviously another poster here has had a much shorter experience than this, but it could be risky. Maybe call some good, local conveyancers and see if they can give a more accurate picture of timelines? Perhaps make it clear to your solicitors that this is an option you're seriously considering if they don't sort themselves out? I wish our buyers would do something to give theirs a kick up the arse, they're happy to agree with the rest of us that they're shit but I'm not seeing any decisive action to combat the shitness.

hanna65 · 27/10/2022 18:16

I'm going to pop in to the estate agents tomorrow morning and kick up a fuss I think. They always manage to get through to the solicitors (funny that!), so I might see if they'll call them whilst I'm there. I'm at a loss with what else to do really.

toastfiend · 27/10/2022 18:19

Our buyers have just raised a late enquiry which is actually a question I've already answered extensively twice, once to help them out with an enquiry their buyers had raised. I'm beginning to wonder if they're serious about buying our house or just stalling for time before they change their minds. I feel quite sick with the stress of it tonight.

Original poster
YukoandHiro · 28/10/2022 04:05

Moving day tomorrow and I can't sleep. I really hope the only thing that goes smoothly is the final hurdle of completion. I can't face sitting outside the house with the van for hours waiting for the call to release the keys!
DDs are staying with grandparents so also nervous about how they'll feel coming back to a new place. Luckily nothing else in their life is changing (school/nursery) as we're moving in the same area so hopefully that will help.

OP posts:
Original poster
YukoandHiro · 28/10/2022 04:07

@hanna65 I think that's a really good plan. Also they are sometimes the only people motivated enough to get it done because they only get paid when it is

OP posts:
windysocks · 28/10/2022 05:49

@YukoandHiro good luck with the move! We are still in limbo, getting through to our solicitors is almost impossible!

mistletoe1 · 28/10/2022 06:11

Good luck today @YukoandHiro !

Also completion/moving day for us. I’ve had two hours sleep Confused.

user1487194234 · 28/10/2022 06:20

Expelliarmus88
Unfortunately offers aren’t binding in Scotland
In fact the Scottish system gets more like the English system every day

WhatTheHellIsAQuasar · 28/10/2022 06:20

hanna65 · 27/10/2022 15:04

Would sacking my solicitor not hold things up even further? Speaking to both my buyer and vendor, their solicitors are nearly at a point where they're ready to exchange, it just seems to be mine that has done nothing. I'm worried changing solicitor at this point may thorough annoy everyone in the chain?

My solicitor was so utterly shit that we threatened to move but then he bucked his ideas up. Still we are completing today and I still refuse to have anything to do with the lying greasy twat - I’m making my DH deal with him now. Lucky I have a DH because the conveyancer is a massive sexist.

I would get recommendations for another solicitor and ask them how quickly they could get started on it for you. Nothing more stressful than a crap conveyancer. You could ask yours for your file and only pay them for the work completed and pass the file to the new sols. I wish we had done that.

good luck to everyone moving today and those still stuck waiting

Sunbird24 · 28/10/2022 06:27

Also supposed to be completing today - everything is done for my purchase but it’s my sale that’s holding things up! As of 5pm yesterday we still didn’t know if the landlord who owns the shared ownership part of my buyers’ house is signed and good to go. The buyers’ mortgage offer expires on Sunday. I’m pretty much all packed up and ready to go with the movers due to come at 0930 but no idea if we’re actually going to make it or not…

lannistunut · 28/10/2022 06:31

Good luck 🤞 today, I hope you get a good night's sleep soon!

Original poster
YukoandHiro · 28/10/2022 06:35

Oh god @Sunbird24 that's so stressful!!! Luckily our whole chain exchanged on Tuesday so we should be fine today but at the beginning of the week it was looking like it might go to exchange and completion on the same day.
I've got everything crossed for you!!

OP posts:
Reallybadidea · 28/10/2022 07:28

Good luck today @YukoandHiro and @mistletoe1

Three more days to go here and lots of packing left - we've been here 20 years, so it's emotional!

SpaceyCake · 28/10/2022 07:44

Eek good luck peeps! Hope it all goes well today!

Original poster
YukoandHiro · 28/10/2022 07:54

Good luck @mistletoe1 - we'll have to send each other messages when we have keys 🔑

OP posts:
Expelliarmus88 · 28/10/2022 10:19

@user1487194234 oh no!! I thought it was! Gosh another reason for independence