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Spring house selling/buying support thread

589 replies

PyjamasForever · 13/04/2026 21:16

After quite a lengthy time on the market I finally have an offer on my house and have had an offer accepted on a house I want to buy. I’m feeling a bit uncertain it will happen with the current financial situation and wondered if anyone else in a similar position wanted a thread for a bit of moral support?!

We’ve instructed solicitors, filled out our TA6 and TA10 forms, applied for a mortgage and have some documents to send them… I then find the next bit the hardest bit about buying and selling when you have all those uncertain weeks with searches/surveys etc and it could all fall apart at any minute!

OP posts:
WWBWBapparently · 11/09/2026 07:18

Good luck to everyone today, hope you all hear some news ☺️

KrankyKumquat · 11/09/2026 09:45

You too @WWBWBapparently .
I've had a stressy night's sleep, churning all the different options round in my mind. There's no obvious solution other than taking a £1500 punt on the proposed completion date and praying it all comes together next week and we exchange. Hoping the others feel equally strongly and push their conveyancers too.

LivingLounge · 11/09/2026 09:52

KrankyKumquat · 11/09/2026 09:45

You too @WWBWBapparently .
I've had a stressy night's sleep, churning all the different options round in my mind. There's no obvious solution other than taking a £1500 punt on the proposed completion date and praying it all comes together next week and we exchange. Hoping the others feel equally strongly and push their conveyancers too.

I’m with you on the stressy nights sleep. Eyes sprung open at 4am and heart was racing. I’ve decided to start ditching my furniture (as I have the council booked in and will lose the slot entirely otherwise) even though exchange hasn’t happened yet. The sums of money you end up throwing around, or taking a risk on, to make things work is pretty insane.

2longinthetooth · 11/09/2026 10:35

@WWBWBapparently Bittter! Id be fuming, we had a similar situation when we moved into our current home, they gave us a provisional date so I booked annual leave which was a nightmare to organise, then they just decided oh no they cant do that day they wanted the following week, I couldnt rearrange leave for that date nor could my husband, so I had move us in on my day off from work, my husband had to go to work, removers were fantastic but it was so stressfull. I ended up so stressed I went down with flu and then was on the sick for a week.
This is our 4th move and each time im trying to learn the lessons from my last moves. Dont have the buyers bully you or call all the shots, you have options, as your husband had hurt his hand would you be open to rearranging completion to the week after due to his surgery or are you that fed up you just want to get on with it. This is a 2 way process not just buyers making demands, like we did, i have to arrange rentals etc so told them i want 4 weeks between exchange and completion. Its not fair that we have been waiting for them for weeks and then they say oh we are ready now... out. No way other people have a lives as well, its all a comprimise .

@LivingLounge solicitor did know, he was just stalling because he didnt want anyone saying why they hadnt organised thejr deposit sooner. This is why its all hush hush because people are buggering about and not playing ball, solicitors included. Thing is stuff does go awry, so be honest, but i guess people get so stressed moving they explode at the smallest thing. Understandable, ive had to hold my tongue.

@KrankyKumquat literally this blows my mind, your onward doesnt even live there so whats she moaning about, how many days does it take to cancel utilities, unfortunately her holiday prep is not important, pack your bag earlier. I had a hysterectomy 4 weeks ago and had to pack 80% of the house before i went into the op because i knew id not be able to lift after and id need to recover. Sorry but her prep is tough shit, your buyers i bet are stressed and justified they are about to become homeless. I would also put my foot down, at the end of the day everyone just needs a date they can work around.

@Sadteacher we are thinking about a new build, how has the process been for you, we went last week to see show home, they did say the type of home we want will not be built til january. Its a smaller regional builder, however the price they gave us was 25k over what I had seen previously advertised with estate agent for the first phase, so as we are going into rental I thought we would wait it out and wait for the estate agents ad. Plus they said the kitchen is out sourced to howdens but you only get a basic model extras have to paid for directly to them, it comes with no flooring, only basic tiling in bathrooms, floor to ceiling tiling is extra, gardens are small patio 6x6 and grass. With extras its works out another 25k on top of their price so we are a little hesistant, plus obviously its not an estatblished site so no one knows if it will end up rough. Went to see another new build site omg it was like the wild west, not what we are looking for.

As for exchange today, I dont belive it was ever in the pipeline, its been made up by the estate agents in order to for 1 of us to push solicitors or in estate agency speak to create urgency, they know im pro active with paperwork etc so targeted me. Only cos im off work tho.They dress it up like they are doing the work, like we will push from our end. My responses to them are now very short, so said ok. They want their money. My attitude towards them is tough, they have done zero work in this shitshow, zero help. They can wait for their money. Even tho i would like a date to get organised, we are not in a rush to move ive still got a double garage to empty 🤣🤣🤣. So if we exchange in nov all good, gives us extra time to pack and look round for a onward.

2longinthetooth · 11/09/2026 11:23

@LivingLounge dont panic about getting rid of stuff, here we dont have 1 wardrobe, all clothes are in massive bags, ive seperated capsule of clothing and the rest are packed away for the move, i thought it would be a nightmare but its actually freeing, im only throwing away what id not miss, my husband is like what if they pull out we would have to buy new but at this point its not about that its about minimising stress and timing. Ive given away loads to others on fb for free, my husband is doing his nut. Saying we could have got money for that but i simply dont have the time to hang around selling stuff, im relying on him on the weekends to lift stuff down the skip so need to get it organised in my head, once its done we know what we have to move. Because we are downsizing it has to go. Just do what makes you feel less stressed now, you can deal with future problems later.

HouseMoveRound2 · 11/09/2026 11:38

I despair. Called the solicitors again today, receptionist was very apologetic, explained they have a really high volume of work and have had to get a locum in. The vendors estate agent tells me that actually they’ve had a load of staff leave. Either way, apparently someone will be calling me back today to definitely give me and answer to the question I have been asking since August 16th….. but apparently the locum who is handling my case can’t be reached by phone as she works remotely, so all they can do is email her. She was supposed to ring me on Tuesday and hasn’t replied to my emails since then so I’m not holding my breath 🙃🙃🙃

2longinthetooth · 11/09/2026 15:44

@HouseMoveRound2 omg what a bs excuse that she works remotely and cannot be reached by phone. Hope you said its 2026, really. They do it because they dont want to speak to irrate clients.
Do they think its an acceptable time frame to respond to a client, nearly 1 month for 1 question. I mean wtf. Sounds like the firm is a shitshow if everyone is leaving.
Hope you get something next week because its like ur life is on hold. you have my sympathy.

HouseMoveRound2 · 11/09/2026 16:43

Thanks 2longinthetooth

Not only did the fuckers not ring me, but I when I called at 3.30 to check they were still planning to call, the bloody office was closed! So even though their answer phone message says Mon-Fri 9-5, they obviously close early on a Friday. Have just sent a rage filled email to make myself feel better, but resigned to the fact I’ll just have to restart the farce on Monday 😭😭

2longinthetooth · 11/09/2026 17:29

Omg thats pants. The stress they cause is awful, their attitude is its friday bye it can wait til monday, bit like my estate agent they msg me 7.30am monday saying exchange will take place this week are we ok with this, they will push their end i said ok, i contacted my solicitor weds they havent heard from buyers solicitor since middle of august. Have i received a msg from EA today to saywhat they have been doing all week to push this along, have i shit. They are all the same. Government should step in and regulate this process, making people more accountable. We are paying for a service we are not receiving, any other business where big money is involved there is redress. I mean im paying about 2k for my solicitor but he is good, communicates a d is always at the end of the phone, just luck i picked him. My estate agent is 6k and they have done f all really. Shocking communication.

WWBWBapparently · 11/09/2026 17:54

Is anyone else nervous of a last minute price reduction from their buyer? Looking at prices since we all agreed on offers in may and they look like they’ve dropped in our area. There is a BTL investor in our chain and I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if they are looking at prices and thinking 😏

KrankyKumquat · 11/09/2026 18:25

@WWBWBapparently
Yes it's crossed my mind, but honestly, I'm so close to the edge that if they tried that now they'd really find out.

Have to say, I now really love Friday evenings as no one can dump another load of stress on me at 5pm. Peace until Monday morning...

Sadteacher · 11/09/2026 18:31

@2longinthetooth agree with estate agents. We sold with them as they were amazing when we bought our house. This time, they are again better for our buyers than us. I feel our buyer should be paying their fees!

I would previously have turned my nose up at a new build, but my mum bought one a few years ago and it has been amazing, including the aftercare. Ours is a smaller regional builder too but they include normal things as standard so we haven’t paid extra for outside taps and lights etc. It is a sprawling estate around existing property, semi rural feel so not like a sea of houses that look the same. We looked at 6 developments in a 10 mile radius and all very different in how they feel.

Sadteacher · 11/09/2026 18:33

@WWBWBapparently I meant to reply to you too, yes the current climate scares me. We had a buyer pull out 15 years ago now due to a scare mongering front page of a newspaper! I just have to try to not stress over things I can’t control. Easier said than done!

2longinthetooth · 11/09/2026 19:48

@WWBWBapparently I think the way solicitors are, most people are stressed by the conveyancing process. Even an investor, unless prices had dramtically reduced would they think of dropping out. Wish prices would drop round here.

@Sadteacher yes I think new builds had a bad rep well certain major builders did alot of damage to their rep. When we went to see the show house it was lovely, better than what is on the market. Looking at the site currently built it looked sound, well spaced, quality build, quiet and a mixture of house shapes. The size of the rooms are fair. Just what we want and we dont mind replacing bathrooms or kitchens but major work is a no no so it ticked that box as well. This site is rural as well.

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