"Isn't it nice to think that tomorrow is a new day with no mistakes in it."

Alchemilla

Fingers crossed for finding a great new place.

greenbee

I've been ignoring this for a while... 

My buyers have FINALLY sorted out their mortgage and are apparently ready to exchange in early Jan.

I saw somewhere on Friday that has potential but will need money spending on it, so it depends on whether the vendors (who have had two sales fall through already, and are struggling to manage a second home that is too big for them - particularly the garden which used to be fabulous and has deteriorated badly in the 18 months they have been there) are prepared to accept a realistic offer. My search agent is going to speak to the selling agent on Tuesday - he has a couple of questions he wants answering anyway.

I've stopped all but token mortgage OPs for now, as I have a feeling I need cash most - I've been putting off replacing my car for 2 years and think I probably need to bite the bullet and get it done. I'll need a more robust car anyway when I move, and this one had a tantrum in the fast lane of the M3 yesterday - I can't call the garage until Tuesday, but I suspect it isn't worth spending money on. Then again however new/well-maintained a car is, there is no guarantee when you start the journey that it will get to the end of it without incident. But I need to be able to drive from here to Norfolk regularly over the next few months, so I'd like to know I'm unlikely to end up stuck by the side of the road waiting for a recovery vehicle. I want to go back and look at this house again with an architect friend, and I'd like to ship stuff back to my mum's each time. It probably won't make much of a dent in the removal/storage costs, but it will help. At the same time, I don't want this place to look like I'm moving out while I'm still living here, as the whole selling/moving thing has been stressful enough as it is, and I don't want to prolong the feeling of being in a holding pattern. 

Pensions and S&S ISAs are doing their own thing and I'm ignoring them. I suspect the S&S ISA will need to be liquidated as part of the move anyway. 

So I need to get moving/storage quotes, and look at options for if I complete here before I find somewhere. It may actually save me some money, but I have to be careful that I don't lose my current mortgage deal. If I do, it reduces my budget significantly. What I need to work out is whether I should recover the OPs to help pay for renovations given that my interest rate is now relatively low!

Happy new year all... hopefully I'll be moved soon!

redofromstart

Happy new year here too

greent

Happynew year - fingers  crossed for a relatively swift conclusion to your sale!

kazwookie

Happy New Year, sounds like you are getting closer, best wishes for 2023.

savingholmes

Hope the selling and finding a new place to live goes smoother in 2023 and that you keep your deal.

Moneyfordreams

I hope the move goes smoothly for you - and of course you find somewhere to live  

maggiem

Happy New Year. Hope you find somewhere you love quickly. 

greenbee

My buyers are still moving at a snail's pace. They're asking for updated info on questions they asked months ago which is irritating given they've caused the delays. I have been tempted on so many occasions to tell them to get lost, but I'm going to get my solicitor to try to get them to exchange this week - I may say something along the lines that I'm prepared to provide updated information once they have demonstrated their commitment by exchanging, but until then I'm not prepared to redo work that only needs to be done because they have delayed the process.

In the meantime I've managed to get a friend who is short of work at the moment to organise a van (from a friend who is also quiet at the moment, so cheaper for me, better for the van owner who would otherwise not be making money from it) to move the first load of stuff. This will be mostly garden furniture/planters/tools etc that can be stored in my mum's shed/garage/garden. Once that's gone, the garage will be clear to start packing up anything else that needs storing at my mum's rather than going into commercial storage.

Friends came over today - we took the rocking horse apart and put it in one friend's car, and she also took toddler steps, a potty and some non-slip bath mats, a box of kids' books and puzzles and a few other bits, so that's some stuff gone. The spare room looks very big without the rocking horse in it! We also moved the last of the garden furniture into the garage to dry out (or make the rest of the garage damper), as well as some stuff from the greenhouse which means there is now other stuff drying out in the greenhouse. I reckon we have a van full ready to go. And it'll be easy to do more packing once there is more space in the garage. 

I need to speak to the bank (no idea how, that's a job for the morning) about what the implications are of completing here before I have something to move to. I was planning on porting my mortgage - it looks like I'll have 6 months to complete on a new property but I need to make sure. I'd like to complete at the end of March (that avoids feeling I should do the gardening, but should give me enough time to pack up properly and make sure I have myself organised at the other end) but am a little nervous about whether I'll find somewhere and complete before my current mortgage deal expires. But I need to start putting deadlines on things soon. 

The endless rain isn't going to help with getting stuff sorted out, but I'm aiming for an hour or so a day of packing. And some conscious using up of things (I'm currently using candles and need to remember to do this regularly). And maybe I should organise a pre-moving party... 

Karmacat

I like that gradual drying out of things, and moving it bit by bit, and concerted decluttering.  And the using up!  All very sensible, and lessens commercial moving needs.