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Anyone planning to move in spring or earlier.

274 replies

mrssunshinexxx · 04/01/2026 15:58

Been in current home almost 8 years want to upsize and move location to where my dc’s go to school. Got a couple viewings booked this coming week.
reminding myself of the headache that comes with moving

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Fibrous · 05/04/2026 08:02

I know how you feel Sortis. We are buying a house that needs everything doing to it and the enormity of it all is bearing down on me. I am not looking forward to leaving my beautiful, warm, functional home. But we will manage it.

Our buyers came round for a second viewing to measure up. They are very nice, I think they’ll fit in well with all the neighbours thankfully, as it’s quite tight knit here.

Our sale is progressing - they’re waiting on one of the searches but otherwise I think they’re ready, solicitors queries answered, mortgage approved. We are lagging massively behind - our vendors are so slow. We haven’t had anything from their solicitor yet. It took them a month to accept our offer and then another week to find a solicitor so we’ve only just ordered searches. I hope they hurry up!

Mum5net · 05/04/2026 08:32

@CreepingCrone Best wishes and congratulations to you. Hope you’ve had a couple of really happy days and many more to come.
@mrssunshinexxxin your position I’d have felt those emotions and irritations, too, but probably done exactly the same. We didn’t rock the boat and now on the other side . Getting over the line is the goal. Your hopefully new neighbours will be delighted to have you in their place I bet if that’s how they behave.

mrssunshinexxx · 05/04/2026 15:21

Has anyone not had a survey done?
I know the mortgage company does one but it’s literally a drive by.
if the house is fairly modern and recently renovated no signs of damp / subsidence / drainage issues … isit really worth the paper it’s written on?!

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UnilateralDecisions · 05/04/2026 17:29

I’ve always had a survey done when I buy a house - there are different levels of survey that are more or less appropriate depending on the context. I wouldn’t feel comfortable not to have a survey.

The bank only does a valuation to check that they won’t lose money should you be unable to pay your mortgage.

canyon2000 · 05/04/2026 19:37

We moved last year and didn't get a survey. Tbh the guy who did the survey on our house we were selling didn't do much. He didn't even go in the loft, just poked his head through the hatch. It seemed like all he did was check the lights worked and the doors closed. He was gone within 30 minutes and charged £600!

Singleoldermum · 05/04/2026 19:53

mrssunshinexxx · 05/04/2026 15:21

Has anyone not had a survey done?
I know the mortgage company does one but it’s literally a drive by.
if the house is fairly modern and recently renovated no signs of damp / subsidence / drainage issues … isit really worth the paper it’s written on?!

I've not had a survey done other than a valuation. Modern house, still with remainder of NHBC guarantee.

I did pay for extra searches though which are relevant for the area.

Sortis · 06/04/2026 06:12

We only got the mortgage survey done on my current house. I was so disillusioned by my first experience of paying for a survey and how back-coving it was. It was a combination of if “couldn’t inspect X so couldn’t possibly comment” and “Y is quite likely unfit for purpose so there’s a chance the whole house will fall down”. Both times I’ve bought old terraced houses though. I figured if the others are still standing, and they’ve stood this long, I’ll risk it.

Sortis · 06/04/2026 06:15

I made the mistake of reading Reddit last night and a UK Preppers post popped up. They seem to think things are going to get pretty bad and I was quite worried about taking my money out of a house and in to the bank. I also think I should go to the shops and get a bit of food and water in (we’ve been running groceries and toiletries down so there’s less to move).

Fibrous · 06/04/2026 07:59

Hmm that’s a dilemma. I’m a massive prepper but have also been running my supplies down - I usually have about six months worth of food in at any one time. I think I’m down to two months now.

where we’re moving to will have a walk in pantry so my plan was to do a mega shop once we moved.

Fibrous · 06/04/2026 08:02

We’re having a survey done but just level 2. Just because we’re overstretching ourselves and the house we’re buying is old, empty, and a bit weird. We have already walked around it with a builder though and he said it’s not falling down but definitely needs a new roof.

Sortis · 06/04/2026 09:01

(I've been to Lidl, I've spent about £70 on tins, dried food, treats and water. Everything apart from tinned fruit is what we'd normally eat, so over the year it will get cycled through. I love the idea of a house in the countryside with a pantry and a chest freezer, but I'm a city woman at heart and too used to having food and groceries within a ten minute walk).

mrssunshinexxx · 06/04/2026 11:04

Can’t decide what to do it’s been extended and renovated in 2023 with new roof and solar panels It looks mint and my husband is very handy

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Sortis · 06/04/2026 11:11

What are the costs of the different types of survey where you are?

mrssunshinexxx · 06/04/2026 17:40

@Sortis if we were getting one we’d get the level 2 RICS £1100

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Fibrous · 06/04/2026 18:08

Level 2 in my area is £600 (north Derbyshire/stockport).

Sortis · 06/04/2026 18:27

That's a big difference around the country isn't it? It's £450 - 500 here apparently.

Growlybear83 · 06/04/2026 18:41

We’re still here unfortunately. Our vendor’s solicitors kept ignoring our solicitor for over two months and we then found out that she hadn’t found anywhere herself until four weeks ago. There were more red flags when we realised she was planning to take all the fitted appliances, which were all huge Gaggenau items and would have cost a fortune to replace, and when we went back to measure up, we saw that there was enough rubbish to fill at least two skips which we don’t believe she’s planning to clear. By this time, she had decided that she wanted to exchange and complete this week! .

The agent selling the house was her son, and he was being really evasive and shifty. We had a level 2 survey carried out which found that the roof was failing and needed to be replaced. My husband was a quantity surveyor for all his working life and worked out tjst it would cost just over £100,000 to replace, including the cost of the temporary roof and scaffolding, and the vendor told us last week that she would only reduce the price by £30,000. We had already agreed a £40,000 reduction on the price of our house, which also needs a new roof, and we had stretched ourselves to our limit with the house we were buying. It’s now back on the market and we will hopefully have our offer accepted tomorrow on another house which we love, but which needs quite a bit of work. We had hoped to move to a house that didn’t need anything doing, but there is so little on the market that we can both agree on.

My husband is retired and I’ll be stopping work soon, so this has got to be our final move. We’re just hoping that our buyers will be patient enough to wait for our new purchase to go through 😬. After 35 years in the same house, I’d forgotten just how horrible moving is!

mrssunshinexxx · 07/04/2026 11:22

That sounds mega stressful @Growlybear83 you’ve done the right thing pulling out

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Sortis · 07/04/2026 14:36

So the reason I wasted my Saturday waiting for a viewer who didn’t attend is because she cancelled and the estate agents office didn’t tell me. What am I actually paying them for? Two hours ago I asked them to accept an offer on the house and keep me informed about how the call goes. Not heard a thing.

Singleoldermum · 08/04/2026 17:32

We have an agreed date for completion!! Fingers crossed this time....

Singleoldermum · 10/04/2026 17:35

Well, we've exchanged!

I've booked the decorator to come in for the week after completion so it's all done and fresh whilst still empty. How exciting!

mrssunshinexxx · 11/04/2026 07:13

So fun ! @Singleoldermum are you moving straight in?

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Sortis · 11/04/2026 07:15

Congratulations and fingers crossed for smooth completion.

UnilateralDecisions · 11/04/2026 08:08

Congratulations @Singleoldermum!

Fibrous · 11/04/2026 12:12

Great news @Singleoldermum - how long did it take from offer accepted to now?