Relocation stress and everything going wrong

amandacat

I exchanged on my house sale last week and I’m completing on Friday. 

We are relocating quite a distance so decided to move into rental for 6-12 months as viewing properties to buy would be too difficult given the distance and current Covid situation. 

We had done the credit checks and referencing for a rental ready to move into and were just about to sign the tenancy agreement when the landlord pulled out as he’d decided to sell the property. 

That left us with a week to find a new rental which was impossible. 

My sister and husband live in the area and have agreed to let us move in with them until we get sorted and we’re putting our furniture into storage. 

My sister has a dog and cat and we have two cats and a dog. The dogs will be fine but the cats on both sides will be very stressed as anyone who has cats know they don’t take well to other cats. 

We are really struggling to find another rental as everything we apply for has so many applicants. 

We now have two choices, we keep persevering with trying to find a rental or we look to buy a property not in a chain or maybe a new built that is nearly ready and hope that a short chain might move things more quickly. 

I’ve become quite mentally unstable about it all which is very unlike me e.g panic attacks, crying. Relocation is hard enough when you’re leaving your familiar home and area but knowing we will be effectively homeless and being wracked with guilt about the stress I will inflict on my pets has taken its toll. 

I know I’m not thinking straight and I guess I’m just after some advice really? Thank you. 

Doozergirl

You will find a rental.  You want to move immediately and so you should be top of any landlord's list.   

Once you get there things will be easier and the stay with family will be short.  The cats will get over it.  If they can't, then you should maybe look at them staying with someone else for the short term.  You probably have friends (or friends of friends) that wouldn't mind a temporary lockdown pet or two.  

You're committed to this sale and there's no way you can buy a house in a week, so concentrate on one thing at a time.  

SameOldRoundabout

It does sound stressful. Maybe have a plan to keep your cats in one room to minimise stress all round. I wouldn’t rush into buying a house purely based on chain but I’d try and find a fairly proceedable one. Are you registered with every local agent to be told when suitable stuff comes up? Are you phoning every week? I’m sorry you’re feeling so down about it, I think I would be a bit of a mess too in your shoes. Fingers crossed you find something ASAP, but I think you need to be as proactive as possible. It’d be better to compromise on the rental you go for than the house you buy. 

youth_leader

I've just bought a huge dog crate for my cat for my move, it's big enough for her basket, cat litter tray and food.  There are larger sizes available and it could be a temporary solution whilst you are searching for a rental.   If you buy a Feliway plug in for the room as well they would be safe and comfortable. 

Splatfoot

We moved recently, and like you, have pets. We weren't moving straight into another property, we were going to be staying with friends, relatives before we moved into our camper. We knew the dogs would be ok but I was worried about the cats (We have three). They've never been in a cattery either. I decided to put them into a cat  hotel which is basically a posh cattery! They had a temperature controlled bedroom, wrought iron bed and were all in together. As far as I can tell they had a lovely time, it was relaxed, they got plenty of attention, one of them developed a likeness for being brushed. They were in there for 3 weeks which gave us time to get ourselves sorted and they still loved us when they returned. Would this be an option for you? I know it's money but for us, it was well worth it.  

amandacat

Thanks, I looked at the cattery idea but unfortunately my cats vaccines aren’t up to date because my vets stopped doing routine vaccinations last March due to lock down and still won’t do them. 

Maybe once I’ve moved I can find a vet that will do them and get them into a cattery if they’re getting too stressed at my sisters house. 

I’ve registered with every letting agent in the area and apply for rentals as soon as they come up but unfortunately so do several other people. My sister viewed a house for me over the weekend the day after it was advertised, I applied straight away but they told me 4 other people had applied so the landlord would decide who to pick. 

I don’t think it’s helping that I’ve just sold a house as they think I won’t stay long term although I keep assuring them I’m happy to sign a 12 month contract and I don’t have a local accent so they’re picking local people over me which I get. 

MovingForwards

Move in with family, keep the cats in your bedroom, find a rental when the stress of relocating is done. That way you will be local and can pounce on a home.

skm1981

Can't really comment on the rental side, but we've just relocated 2.5 hours away from where we used to live.  We had to pull out of our purchase 12 weeks into the process.  My buyers (first time buyers) had been patient enough so we decided to move in with my mum until our new purchase went through.  Luckily, we only ended up being technically homeless for a week, but it actually wasn't that bad.  I have 2 cats, my mum has a cat.  We kept the cats separate and it wasn't anywhere near as stressful as I thought.  Sure, it was a bit cramped because we have 2 young kids as well, and we ended up sleeping in the living room while the kids had the spare bedroom, but I'd quite happily do it again if I had to. 

I also felt it kind of took the pressure off us a bit because moving into my mum's, we did gradually over the week before completion of our sale (just the essential stuff), we put the bulk of our stuff in storage and it meant that on completion of purchase date, we weren't in a real major rush.  I don't know, I just felt that we had more control over the situation.  I'm sure it will work out for you.

Splatfoot

amandacat said:

Thanks, I looked at the cattery idea but unfortunately my cats vaccines aren’t up to date because my vets stopped doing routine vaccinations last March due to lock down and still won’t do them. 

Maybe once I’ve moved I can find a vet that will do them and get them into a cattery if they’re getting too stressed at my sisters house. 

I’ve registered with every letting agent in the area and apply for rentals as soon as they come up but unfortunately so do several other people. My sister viewed a house for me over the weekend the day after it was advertised, I applied straight away but they told me 4 other people had applied so the landlord would decide who to pick. 

I don’t think it’s helping that I’ve just sold a house as they think I won’t stay long term although I keep assuring them I’m happy to sign a 12 month contract and I don’t have a local accent so they’re picking local people over me which I get. 

Ah yes, we had the vaccination issue too. I'm sure a vet somewhere would do them. I hope you manage to sort things out. We're in a converted horsebox right now, with the dogs and the cats who have been amazing with the small bit of travelling about we've done. 

MFWannabe

I think you need to break it down into more manageable parts rather than thinking about and trying to sort everything 🤔
Move in with your sister and put your items in storage; deal with the cats when you’re there and see what happens; I.e if you need to keep them separate. Try to find a vet that will do vaccinations, does your sisters vet do them? 

Once you’ve moved you can then look at rentals and properties for sale. Definitely don’t rush into buying somewhere though just to get a place; buy because you love the house 
Good Luck; hope everything goes okay for you x 

Slithery

Have you looked on Openrent?

It may be possible to still get a rental by Friday.