So, I’m absolutely gutted to say that, despite my announcement on Monday, we were not able to move today (Friday). I know there will be disappointment as you are waiting on me to share more of the new house but alas, the buying and selling system in this country is so incredibly flawed that things like this can happen. Unfortunately, we received some incorrect information from our solicitor and was told that everyone would be ready to go come Friday but we then found out that this was not the case and the owners of the property we are buying were still missing information and weren’t as far along as what we’d been told.
At this point, we’re just waiting to see how much more time it will be before we can move in. Wayne has a job that he’s going to be starting in early March and so we are really pushing for everything to happen as quickly as possible.
Despite my disappointment (and a million other emotions), I’m trying to look at the positives. We thought we were rushing into a move unexpectedly and we had so much packing to do that we were going to enlist the help of some movers for the packing part but now, we may be able to get it all done ourselves and save the costs of that. It also means I have some more time to actually organise the packing a little better (and clear a few drawers/cabinets I hadn’t got to) so that’s a plus!
I know for my readers in the US and beyond, it may seem a bit strange that a move date can suddenly appear and then change within a few days. The truth is, the whole way the process is structured – in my opinion – is deeply flawed and there are so many things that can potentially go wrong for everyone involved in the ‘chain’ of homes throughout the entire process. It’s incredibly stress-inducing but well, it’s just what we have to deal with. As an ex-pat, you know how much I love living here in England and there are so many positives but the house buying and selling system is a nightmare!
My not-so-pretty-at-the-moment living room!
Of course, I thought I’d be taking this week off the blog and returning next week when we were in the house but my schedule has kind of been thrown out the window! Ha! So I’ll just have to apologise now and say my posting may be a bit sporadic over the next couple of weeks as we try to work out the details of the move dates and I’m going to continue to pack up the house! Our home has been torn to bits as you can imagine and we’ve got boxes in nearly every single room so I don’t have any pretty pictures to share – sob!
Massive thanks to everyone who commented on my post, though – I’m so happy you are as enthusiastic as I am for us to get stuck into a whole new project! The support and excitement have been amazing and I’m so grateful you guys are along for the ride!
Happily, I’ve been able to squeeze in a little DIY that I’d been planning for a while that I’m super excited about which I’ll be sharing on Monday. I also want to chat soon about some gorgeous Spring colour trends that are inspiring me at the moment so do stay tuned for that! In the meantime, I hope you can just be patient as we transition into our next adventure – I promise it’ll be worth the wait!
Oh no! I thought you’d exchanged, and completion was set for today. So have you still not exchanged yet? I agree the English system is a bit mad, especially the fact that until exchange has taken place, you’ve got no legal comeback if someone pulls out, potentially costing you hundreds of £.
Oh well, as you’ve said, you have more time to pack. I’ve had to pack a family house with only 4 days notice and it wasn’t fun!
I hope there are no other hitches and you get moved soon.
We were meant to exchange last Tuesday with completion on Friday but on Tuesday morning, I was told it wasn’t going to happen! So it just threw everything out the window! But thank you, hopefully things will move quickly anyway! xxx
Ah. It really is a case of “Don’t count you chickens before they hatch” until those contracts have been exchanged.
Keeping my fingers crossed. x
Accck! How frustrating for you. Good for you for not dwelling too long in the negative and making this latest setback it part of the adventure. I have done my seatbelt up a bit tighter, it’s gonna be quite the ride. Take care of yourself! Hugs
Aww thank you Jacqui! We are hopeful things should move pretty quickly now after meeting with our solicitors so fingers crossed we can get in there soon! It’s definitely an adventure lol xxx
How frustrating! It took us a year and 3 failed purchases (the sellers pulled out) when we had already spent 3 months and plenty of money on each before we finally managed to buy out house. And I was pregnant, which if the bank found out about would scupper our mortgage! We got our keys the day after my maternity leave started, I swear Max was exposed to so much stress in the womb I’m not surprised he now needs regular “quiet time”. But it worked out, and I’m sure yours will too. I am a look excited to see inside!!!!
Oh my goodness, that’s horrendous! You invest so much emotionally and financially into the house you decide to buy and when it falls through, it’s just heartbreaking. Glad things worked out for you and thank you so much – I can’t wait to share! xxx
This “chain” you speak of intrigues and confuses me. Does that mean that basically you need buyers confirmed for your place and the sellers of your future home need a place of their own locked down and everyone needs their paperwork all in order and everything pretty much has to happen on the same day and it’s like playing Jenga, but with your life?? Maybe a post explaining the system in the UK a little bit, for those of us who don’t live there but like me are curious about it?
Ahh sorry for the confusion and perhaps I should explain in a future post but… You’ve got it exactly Reehana! Everything is meant to happen on the same day so all the moving pieces (no pun intended) have to coordinate in one big chain. It’s crazy because if anything goes wrong for any of the parties involved in a single chain, it can all fall apart. And it does happen often. And the other issue is that nothing is actually guaranteed until everyone signs contracts (again, all on the same day) which literally happens days before your expected to move. So for months, everything is sort of up in the air as everything is coordinated and anyone within the chain can just decide they don’t want to sell or move and there’s nothing you can do about it. Totally terrible system! lol xxx
Wow that is crazy! What an inconvenient system. I wonder what the logic is behind making it so complicated? I’m glad that doesn’t happen in Texas. You can definitely sell your home without having a new one lined up or buy a new one before selling your current one. Because it’s a seller’s market where I live, plenty of friends have moved in with family or temporary rentals because their homes sold within days and they were still looking for something new. We will be buying/selling sometime at the end of this year so I’m excited and slightly nervous about the whole process! It’s always fascinating to see how these things happen in other countries though.
It is a crazy system but there just isn’t the temporary accommodation (or relatives with large enough houses!) to make this feasible. We have rented for 6 months – the shortest lease in the U.K. unless you do Airbnb – while searching for another home. It can certainly get very complicated and expensive!
Ya know, Mindo, I hadn’t actually thought of that! We moved a few times when in the US and I’ve purchased a house too when living there but the few times our new house wasn’t ready, we would move into temporary accommodation. I’ve never dealt with chains there. But you are probably right – if there aren’t enough temporary homes available or big enough homes to ‘share’, then where do you go? Thanks for some additional insight! xx
I’ve bought and sold houses in both the U.K. and USA and appreciate your frustration! Good luck with your move when it happens.
That extra time is a godsend when it comes to really culling your possessions. Eight months into our current rental (while we wait for that perfect house in our chosen historical area of Houston) and I’m still finding things we just don’t use. We packed everything ourselves, so much easier than last time we moved overseas and the kettle was in the last (unlabeled by the ‘professional’ packers) box to be opened!
I think that very similar situations can occur in the US as well… I have heard of transactions being held up by a third or fourth house in the ‘chain’…
Maybe this is what Fleetwood Mac was referring to? Never break the chain… ;)
I’ve not personally come across chains in the US, perhaps because when a seller is movtivated its much easier to move into temporary accommodation or do a short term rental of the house they have just sold? However I’m not the expert by any means, and have great sympathy for anyone who gets caught in this situation!
Yeah, Fleetwood Mac maybe had that thought?!
Hon things will turn out okay. My husband was in the military for 34 years. We moved so many times I lost count. I designed our home so you can imagine how that is like. It is a spanish stucco home with three large arches along the walkway. Good thing we checked everyday as apparently those big arches turned out to be small skinny arches about a foot away from the house so we could barely walk to the door. We immediately called the builder and explained big arches with wide walkway! Got that taken care of. It got built but boy is that a process. Now it is years later and I want some changes – can’t wait to see what happens. Life throws your curve balls but you would be surprised what is around that curve – new adventures! Good luck!
Hang on in there Kimberley we went through the same thing last August when we bought our first home…it’s painful to say the least an exhausting process, it will all work out and when you’ve moved and settled the nightmare of solicitors back and forth will be over😁. All your blog readers will understand you’re going to need time off so don’t worry! Hopefully in the next few weeks the last knotts of the move can be tied. X
We moved house when I was a kid and I remember my Dad explaining to me how a chain works and thinking at the time that it seemed really time-consuming. I hope it all goes well!
Mel ✨
http://meleaglestone.co.uk
@meleaglestone
We’ve bought and sold so many times here in the UK that we now take out insurance against the purchase/sale falling through. That way, if it does, we can get the cost of survey, solicitors fees etc reimbursed. Not cheap but it’s been worth it for us over the years. I think our worst time was in the late 1980s when hardly any property was shifting due to the economy. We had three potential purchases fall through, the insurance paid for itself then! The 6 month rental is a nightmare though. In the 80s we finally sold our house and had nowhere to go so took out a 6 month rent. Two months in we’d found our dream home, which was empty so we could buy straightaway. The rental agency said they’d stop the contract if they could find another buyer but then told us they couldn’t find one. I drove past the rental house and it was obvious someone was living there but I never did manage to get the contract cancelled! We should have the Scottish system, sealed bids, deposit on initial bid which is non refundable if you pull out. So much better.