The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (continued x3) thread!

[fromtheshires]

As @movingtoplan has finally flown the nest, I have taken the torch and started a new thread as there are less than 80 replies remaining on the current thread before its full!

We've had lots of completions, exchanges, offers accepted, maddening conveyancing teams, strange requests, and worries to last a lifetime. Welcome welcome.

Catch up here: Previous Thread

Good luck to you, whatever stage you're at in the process.

My update is our onward purchase was completed months ago but due to buyers pulling out we had to start again with a buyer and they are just in the final stages of conveyancing and we are talking dates! I really hope I am not on the next thread.

Fingers crossed, we are all working towards 9th August completion though no date on exchange yet. Six in chain and sold way back in February. It’s been a long stressful journey though not as bad as others and mostly because I’m a control freak.
I’m pretty much packed anyway but when would you formally instruct removers? They’re pencilled in but I don’t want to formally accept quote as any change and I incur fees.
Also got lots of questions about broadband etc. is there a good thread for imminent movers?

Good luck to you all who are nearly there or starting this journey!

Keep the faith - you WILL get there!

I've had a second viewing from someone who made an offer we accepted but waiting on 100% confirmation.

I tried to look at other houses on the road but my potential one is a little different so not sure how to guess. I thought I'd start with what it sold for previously and then average out the rest of the houses.

If it is over priced wouldn't the agent have told them to reduce?

No news today if the mortgage lender will extend our offer by the 2 weeks. Mortgage offer officially expires in less than a week.

FUUUUCCCCKKKKK SAAAAAAAAKE

It's gone up 70k in six years from what they paid to what they want and 16500 in the five years before that.

I'm feeling fairly chill here, completed my final yoga teacher training on Sunday and on annual leave this week having a holiday in North Wales (with my extended family who are a bit bonkers but I'm just trying to coast through any dramas 😬)!! Our house is sold sstc with nothing more to do on that side so now just trying to push through our purchase and hope sketchy vendor follows through. Had a survey on the onward purchase today and waiting for the report before re-negotiating the sale price (already been down valued 30k by the bank).

Congrats to @BG2015 😊 hope you have the best holiday now safe in the knowledge that your new house is waiting for you when you return!

I wouldn’t judge it - I’ve just had 4 months of wasting my time with someone who’s now going nowhere. And now it’ll be back on the market again. It’s very easy to be on the market for a long period of time when offers fall through.

@BG2015 Ahhh huge congratulations, bet that feels amazing, and you can celebrate on holiday too!!

@CharlieBalf oh I really relate to that feeling of dread when the estate agent rings, I constantly feel like it’s going to be bad news.

@BirthdayRainbow I’m intrigued to know what’s wrong with that house, if anything! One we went to see looked perfect on Rightmove and from the road, but when we went to view it, next door had built an illegal massive balcony which was literally on the boundary looked down directly into the garden! Safe to say it won’t be selling any time soon with that there!

Our vendors agent is honestly useless and it’s taken me a week and a half to set up a second viewing! And even then they booked it on the wrong date! We’ve STILL not got our memo of sale re our sale, something to do with having a named solicitor (they’ve chosen the firm). I’ve chased today again. And NatWest have asked for further info regarding my overtime despite having given everything they’ve asked for, they want it stated in my employee contract the rate at which I can do overtime, except the overtime agreement didn’t exist when I got
my contract. I’ve got a signed letter from my boss with the agreement and rate of pay so hoping that satisfies them, my overtime is higher than my take home pay so think that’s what worries them.

It’s so fricking annoying this isn’t the first time. I feel like buyers are so blooming indecisive right now. This was again right to the point of exchanging. I feel like a lot get to this point and think ‘oh seller will be desperate now, let’s push for more money off’. If you can’t afford it or aren’t sure you can.. why bother offering..?

Ouch - that sales memo should be out. Sounds like your EA is forgetting that she needs to keep that ball moving!

I just don't get it as a buyer (as long as you have a reasonable seller) - you like the place enough to go to the effort of viewing (at least once), spend money on searches/survey etc, get to the finish line and then try your luck for the sake of a bit more money off. How many times can you do that before you've spent the amount you were trying to 'save' in the first place.

Ha thanks - the lady that handles sales is currently on holiday which may explain the hold up. It's that time of year again where everyone is jetting off except me!

There have been no offers though.

@AshRJ they sound like chancers. I'd say that you are 100% on the nose with their tactic.

Im sorry you are in this situation and have been messed about. Its soul destroying isnt it.

Hi everyone.

I've been lurking on here for a while, but I can't sleep so need to splurge.

My house went on the market in May. It was a crazy feeding frenzy. 13 viewings booked in the first week. It went to best and finals after 2 days and agreed at 15k over asking. It's a good little first time buyer house in an area of Birmingham that is supposed to be the place to live for the young and hip - I don't see it myself, but then I am neither young nor hip. As you can tell because I used the word hip...Three times now.

I was warned that the onward purchase would be tough. I'd been looking for ages and only a couple had come up in the previous 6 months. I was told anything like what I was looking for (period, 3/4 bed, on one of my top 3 roads) would come
up rarely and have a bidding war.

Then a house came up on one of the roads a week later (mid May) Put in offer. Offer accepted. I couldn't believe it.

There are 7 of us in the chain, so I figured we were in for the long haul and all manner of shenanigans.

Surveys were all ok. Searches came back quickly...

Then today my solicitor called to give me a proposed completion date of...next bloody Monday.

I've had a panic attack.

I hate to sound like a smug twat, because this has gone ridiculously smoothly so far and some of you are really going through the ringer (it also may yet crash and burn - you just never know, do you?), but I can't sleep. My head is spinning. I have too much to do, too little time and I can't wrap my head around how quickly it's all going.

I don't know what to focus on first.

It is just me and my 12 year old DD this week, as i'm a single parent and my 19 year old DS is on holiday for a fortnight - he'll have left from one house and will return to another. It was all that sudden.

Heeeeeeelp

Send your DD into her room and she takes out anything that she no longer needs, wants, fits, uses or is broken. Prior to this set up cardboard boxes for - charity shop, recycling, tip.

Organise packers and movers. You'll know if you have time to pack yourself or not.

Cancel anything that is regularly delivered to your house or on subscription.

Sign up with the Royal Mail for postal redirection.

Stop food shopping and eat what you have, one less trip out and less stuff to move. Focus on the freezer as will need to be emptied, defrosted and off to move.

Stick a note on the kitchen wall for things to do on the last day - read meters for a start.

Breathe. It has to happen so don't stress. It's pointless.

@mrsmalaprop that's a shock all right! I was reading down your post and kept expecting you to say that the chain had collapsed. You can only do what you can do in the time available. Have you booked removals yet?

Thank you so much. This is really helpful!
I already sorted through the garage at the weekend and have a huge pile for the tip and another for the charity shop (I have arranged for a charity collection van to come on Thursday, which focuses the mind).

Removers are coming this afternoon to look it over and quote. They have availability for Monday. Another I contacted can't come out to quote until Thursday, but I will want it sorted before then, so if the first one seems reasonable, I'll just go with them, I think.

How do you properly clean in nooks and crannies when everyone is moving on the same day and there's no time between removers leaving and the next ones arriving?

I am excited and happy and, obviously not complaining. It's just very fast. I did a lot of decluttering before it went on the market, but there is always more, somehow.

DD is very needy of my attention. She has already had a little cry because I am a little bit stressed and I'm expecting her to amuse herself and not get under my feet. I gave her some of her own stuff to sort through yesterday and she just kept saying 'Mum, mum! Look what I found! Look, Mum, look' every 5 minutes.

It's not all doom for her. We booked to go the Harry Potter studios tour on Saturday about 6 months ago, so she will have my undivided attention all day, but that's a day of packing I've lost. Eeeek!

I do need to breathe!

How do you all manage the stress of this process? I’ve bought and sold several times but suspect I’ve been very lucky not to run into major problems until this move. The chain is almost ready to exchange but we’ve been in limbo for about a month due to issues our buyer is having. This has been dragging on for weeks now, with promise of, but still no, resolution. We lost our first buyer a month in, and now it looks like we may have to go back on the market again.

I’m not sleeping properly, am spending all day in a state of heightened stress (heart pounding, especially when the phone rings), DH and I are snapping at each other, and I’m struggling to focus on work. Exercise doesn’t seem to help as much as it should, and I know alcohol isn’t the answer (well, most of the time). Does anyone have any tips for things that have worked for them?

Otherwise, solidarity.

No, I'm falling apart here. Put weight on, in such a bad mood I haven't wanted to go to the gym, not been interested in cooking properly, snapping at my partner. I'm so sick of it. The only thing that's making me feel better is that my partner has promised when the next round of answers come back from our solicitor, he will be willing to withdraw from the purchase, which is what I've wanted to do for weeks now.

Oh I totally empathise on all that. I can’t be bothered to do anything/go anywhere and when we do, neither of us really enjoy it.

I’m sorry to hear that it looks like the end of the the road for this purchase, but you obviously don’t have a good feeling about it, and I’m a firm believer in going with gut instinct. I hope the stress abates a bit with that decision.

It's so stressful and I also feel like I can't focus on anything as you're in limbo waiting

Waiting for the phone to ring is killing me.. spoke to our ea yesterday who said she would spend today sorting out a date and where we are up to. If our buyers aren't ready god knows what they've been doing as we answered enquires on the 27th June!

Yes I got sick of it all yesterday, being made to feel like I was acting irrational by being concerned about flood risk, so I went to the village, knocked on all the neighbours doors, asked at the local cafe and post office, and accosted the dog walkers to canvas info on flood risk. It was very informative! The property has flooded several times before it was converted and the stream near it has burst its banks multiple times, and the bridge to gain access to the property needs to be rebuilt regularly. And yet the vendors are saying no flood risk and it's never flooded. Just goes to show you can't trust people! I'm so glad I got out there and asked.

Our sale has fallen through for the second time 😭 they’ve just changed their mind apparently. So so frustrating. Estate agent has told me to keep quiet and not tell the vendor of the one we’ve offered on for a week or so as ours sold quickly the last two times. Hoping it will again, just so frustrating.

Good on you @sugarbyebye seems like the detective work paid off. Can't remember your whole story so far, but you'll be withdrawing based on the flood-risk and looking to get something else?? good luck to you if so, a very valid reason to pull out!

@AliceinSlumberland that's so gutting, I'm so sorry that's happened to you again. This is why I think there should be some kind of deposit held by the EA so that if a buyer pulls out for a reason of their own doing (changes mind, can't get finance etc) rather than survey related then the seller keeps the payment to cover their costs. Really hope you find a buyer quickly!