To those selling in these difficult times Part Deux. AKA sellers support network!

not_loaded

tootsmyboots wrote: »

How is everyone doing? Anyone still getting viewings given the time of year?
Our sale is still going through (fingers crossed). Survey this week and they want us out before end of year to avoid stamp duty, so all very up in the air and stressful for us. We cant book removals as we dont have a date and they are officially closed between xmas and ny! We have a rental property lined up luckily, but very up in the air till we exchange and can sign up for it! Happy days!

Crikey! I don’t envy you being in that position! We are just discovering how disorganised the ‘professionals’ really are. Some of them still haven’t told us their Christmas & New Year closing plans.

Concerning viewings, we are still getting them. If anything they’ve picked up since Oct/Nov. Saturday a week ago, we had three viewings booked but one was a no show. (he was the one who really had to see it urgently – with only 10 miles to travel here…)

Another good viewing a week ago, but would score it 6/10 as they haven’t sold yet.

But… today’s viewing was veeerrry promising! (if we’re being told genuine things)

I’m long past getting excited. It’ll sell in the end, as it’s a spacious house in good nick near brilliant schools. Just gotta wait for the right, serious buyer.

tootsmyboots

I think the idea is now that it will have to complete between xmas and new year - and leave it to the solicitors to agree to sort it even though they are, again, officially closed. Everyone knws the score and it was the buyers bank's delay by the sounds of it. We dont mind moving in Jan, but they buyers want to save on stamp duty so the onus is on them. Does leave us in limbo though, and we have two young littlies.

not_loaded I hope you get good news from today's viewing. Maybe the news about house prices is gee-ing the buyers up.

tootsmyboots

also, spirit - good luck with your viewings and also feedback from the ones you have had.

I,_Geek

not_loaded wrote: »

We are just discovering how disorganised the ‘professionals’ really are.

I had the same experience, and it's continuing right up to the very end. We were supposed to be moving today, and found out at 5pm yesterday that it couldn't happen. Our solicitor is trying to get our vendor's bank to send her a fax, and this seems like too much for them. She said that if it hadn't arrived by yesterday afternoon there would be shouting involved. Because the removal companies are so busy, we've had to re-schedule for next Tuesday. On the plus side, this gives our solicitor more time to chase the fax. I couldn't put up with moving it back a day each day - partly because for each removal date we book, we have to pay a cancellation waiver in case we have to change the date. I just don't want the bank to get complacent and say "oh we've got ages, it's not urgent" and then we'll find ourselves in exactly the same position next Monday, not knowing whether it's our last day or not.

Had to ring around the utilities companies we'd contacted at the weekend. Man at BT said we had to tell them before 12pm the day before re-activation. My OH tersely pointed out that if we had known before 12pm we would have told them. I was in the room while he was on the phone and could tell he was getting some sympathy from Northumbrian Water, though. Hadn't done any other cancellations or change-of-addresses, fortunately, since I suspected things would go wrong at the last minute.

Really didn't want to move in days rather than a week before Christmas, simply because if you need to get stuff from the shops the traffic and crowds are awful, and any unexpected things cropping up once we've moved in may not get dealt with for a week or two because tradespeople are away. An emergency plumber/electrician would cost a fortune.

If it doesn't happen next Tuesday you may hear two loud bangs coming from the north-east as my husband and I explode.

I,_Geek

Our buyer has more-or-less pulled out. We're trying to get a fax sent - although it's to do with our vendors, not us, so the most we can do is stress how urgent this is - but if we can't get that, exchange, and confirm next Tue to our buyer before the end of the week, then he'll pull out. He wants to be in rented accom by Christmas.

Even if our buyer could wait until Jan we'd still be pressing to get moved next Tue, and his threats just make the whole situation even more stressful. If he thinks threats are helping things along, they're bloody well not and the only result is my husband and I are starting to look like :mad: . If he pulls out, I'll have to make the house look like a home again for new viewers (it's currently Box City and you have to shuffle sideways through them). We've also possibly entered into a 12 month contract with BT so we might be paying £30 a month for phone and broadband in a house we don't live in.

pawpurrs

Oh I geek you have my sympathies, I have so been there. Your post doesnt make sense, but I guess thats the stress! Your buyer, who is in rented wants to be in yours by xmas is that right?
I suspect he is just trying to get the chain moving, unless theres another reason, for example if your house is just under stamp duty, and moving in January would mean he cant afford to complete?
Try not to worry, I am hopefull it will go through.

pawpurrs

P.s is there a reason why you have to exchange and complete on the same day, it really adds to the stress?
At the moment I am having fun and games with the listing and conservation officer (

I,_Geek

pawpurrs wrote: »

Your buyer, who is in rented wants to be in yours by xmas is that right?

He's staying with his parents at the moment, who I think live in the same area as we do. As potentially awkward as that must be, he's not facing having nowhere to live. Our EA said it would take at least a week to arrange rented accom, so even if he has somewhere lined up it's not going to be guaranteed that he gets in before Christmas.

Stamp duty isn't an issue - no-one in our chain of 3 is affected by the change in Jan.

Tue 22nd is our new moving day because that's the next available slot our removal company has. We have no choice but to use professionals as there is so much stuff, I'm weak as a kitten, and my husband isn't that much stronger. We're not exchanging and completing on the same day. I wouldn't want to have a loaded van, find out it's not happening, and then have to move back into our flat. And then pay the removal company for the pleasure. All we're waiting on is this fax, and no amount of phonecalls from our vendor or solicitor is making the bank send it.

Good luck with listing and conservation issues. My husband deals with planning departments every day and doesn't have much good to say about them, I'm afraid. It depends if you get a good officer or not.

not_loaded

Well, with all credit to Greg Lake:

They sold me a dream of Christmas,
They sold me a Silent Night
And they told me a fairy story…

Oh how true for so many people on here! I’m just grateful that our problem is just waiting through to next year to eventually get sold and move on.

The bit Mr Lake got terribly wrong was:

The Christmas you get you deserve.

I feel a big problem with the UK is everybody gets into ‘switch off mode’ way too easily in December. The excessively long break is ridiculous, especially when you work in a critical area like solicitors and removals.

I suppose we should feel grateful the emergency services can still be bothered…

kymie

I agree not-loaded! You would think with the exceptional year or two the country has had they would work between Christmas and New Year like most people have to!! We still dont know if we are moving next week or not! And I have 6 kids to pack around! If we dont move next week then it goes into Jan, after the 4th....and if we dont move by the 12th then my 3yr old will likely miss out on applying for a place at the school we will have the others at and will have to go on a waiting list etc....and it will cost us the joys of stamp duty and vat increases!