Is anyone moving now?
Discussion
BurtonLazars said:
The owner interview seems to be occurring more and more in the £500K+ segment. It enables (for example) the current lady of the house to psychologically sell the lifestyle to the prospective lady of the house - eg. “Waking up in this house is a dream, because my two dogs love it when the rising sun warms them, and I never tire of that beautiful way to start the day watching the sunrise and enjoying the closeness with my pets”
(I don’t mean to appear misogynistic, that’s just one example)
Appear away! that's exactly what they want.... but they wanted to feature some of the design & features we've done (eg 2 of our fireplaces for an upcoming fire feature and a turret)(I don’t mean to appear misogynistic, that’s just one example)
I think these articles are awful, there was one posted on here in recent months that was utterly cringeworthy. I would NEVER have my face in anything so that's pretty much ruled it out. Also I think it is too personal would solicit as much negative interest as the positive. Also 'one of us' might be a complete liability to be interviewed - is prone to extreme lying for a joke and being extremely provocative 'just for a laugh' which could seriously backfire (believe it or not, it's not actually ME
).... However our house is slightly more of a challenge to sell (size/value/location) so we need to consider other avenues.
The way I look at is that someone is either looking for a house like yours in your area for a similar budget, or they’re not. A magazine article isn’t likely to sway them is it?
Houses are all over the Internet sites now, I really don’t understand how it can be missed so what would an article bring that the already over exposed and post-processed photos don’t?
Houses are all over the Internet sites now, I really don’t understand how it can be missed so what would an article bring that the already over exposed and post-processed photos don’t?
Yeah I'm in agreement with that, we've not sold a house like this before so it's a learning curve. Fewer potential buyers so it will be a slower process.
We keep getting unsolicited mail from other agents, promising incredible results and we agree that when the right person finds it online that will be that. However they argue that people stick to areas they already know so they need to get it in front of people who may be persuaded to consider a new/different area.
We keep getting unsolicited mail from other agents, promising incredible results and we agree that when the right person finds it online that will be that. However they argue that people stick to areas they already know so they need to get it in front of people who may be persuaded to consider a new/different area.
Tony Angelino said:
blueg33 said:
Tony Angelino said:
I have the contract to sign and return, hopefully tomorrow for exchange and Monday to complete. 4 in the chain (I am the bottom), fairly straight forward but has still taken since early November.
Our contracts were all signed by our solicitor acting under an authorisation from us. blueg33 said:
Completed yesterday. Seller confirmed that he as an arse by taking things he shouldn’t and lying about functionality of the heating. Spent the day in a house that was 6 degrees C inside
The place I just purchased had been vacant for over a year and had an old boiler. During the process the sellers couldn't provide any certs or maintenance records for it and wouldn't service it ahead of exchange. I paid £85 for a service and while it's functional it could go in the near future. I used that to get £2k off the price which will go towards a replacement boiler at some point in the future. 
parakitaMol. said:
AlmostUseful said:
what would an article bring that the already over exposed and post-processed photos don’t?
I have to say (my previous life was Marketing), the images of our house are fabulous. And I take no prisoners.
SweptVolume said:
Grandma's house went on the market last September and an offer was accepted in October. We are top of a chain of three, so not too complicated. My dad is handling the sale...
Last time I spoke to him, his buyers were having to sort something out for their buyers (something to do with the drains), but he couldn't get any update from the EA or conveyancers. They asked for confirmation on various details, which he sent over (twice), without any acknowledgment. Searches and surveys are all done, so we're quite far down the conveyor belt now...
if the stamp duty window passes, they may not be able to afford the house and the chain may collapse, which would mess up the timeline that I have rather foolishly set out for myself.
I really think we (technically "they", as I'm, not involved in any meaningful way) need to be suggesting exchange of contracts soon. I'm not even sure if the contacts are written up yet..?
And this is all before we get onto the actual sale of our house and purchase of a new one. Yay...
Looks like I tempted fate by writing this. Just at the moment the contracts were ready to be signed, the bottom of the chain pulled out. Our buyers are very upset (they'd already consulted architects etc and were really keen on the house), and we are now back to square 1, but with the asking price £20k lower than it was last summer.Last time I spoke to him, his buyers were having to sort something out for their buyers (something to do with the drains), but he couldn't get any update from the EA or conveyancers. They asked for confirmation on various details, which he sent over (twice), without any acknowledgment. Searches and surveys are all done, so we're quite far down the conveyor belt now...
if the stamp duty window passes, they may not be able to afford the house and the chain may collapse, which would mess up the timeline that I have rather foolishly set out for myself.
I really think we (technically "they", as I'm, not involved in any meaningful way) need to be suggesting exchange of contracts soon. I'm not even sure if the contacts are written up yet..?
And this is all before we get onto the actual sale of our house and purchase of a new one. Yay...
Looks like we won't be able to think about moving before the end of the summer, and that then puts the earliest possible completion date well into next year, which is too close to the wedding for my liking.
Still, we have our health, our jobs, and a roof over our heads, so no big drama in the grand scheme of things. Onwards and upwards...
Today’s (non) update; no contact from the bottom of chain solicitors, not a peep. Their client can’t get hold of them, our buyers solicitor can’t get hold of them and contacting the senior partner at the firm hasn’t helped either. This is over a week since we were pretty much given an ultimatum about completion date by them, we agreed to that and now they’ve gone all quiet. Couldn’t make it up!
AlmostUseful said:
Today’s (non) update; no contact from the bottom of chain solicitors, not a peep. Their client can’t get hold of them, our buyers solicitor can’t get hold of them and contacting the senior partner at the firm hasn’t helped either. This is over a week since we were pretty much given an ultimatum about completion date by them, we agreed to that and now they’ve gone all quiet. Couldn’t make it up!
They should have a partner identified as the complaints partnerblueg33 said:
They should have a partner identified as the complaints partner
I would assume they do, as I’ve explained to the estate agent who keeps telling me bad news but doesn’t appear to understand how to escalate things. He was talking earlier about complaints to the ombudsmen and how it takes months and all solicitors are bad for it and my wife had to jump in to explain we don’t want to complain to the industry, we just want someone in their business to answer the b
d phone or respond to an email! Our buyers solicitor is allegedly on the case but I’ve got no faith in any of this idiots now. It’s a nice property but I’m wondering whether it’s worth all the stress, saying that even if we pull out we’ll only go through it again with another bunch of self serving shysters next time we decide to move.
I don’t even mind waiting, I just want to know WHY I’m waiting, and for how long.
AlmostUseful said:
I would assume they do, as I’ve explained to the estate agent who keeps telling me bad news but doesn’t appear to understand how to escalate things.
The problem is that the EA doesn't lend money, do searches or do the conveyancing. They may be able to get some information but they can't insist anyone does anything, only the respective clients can.C Lee Farquar said:
The problem is that the EA doesn't lend money, do searches or do the conveyancing. They may be able to get some information but they can't insist anyone does anything, only the respective clients can.
Clients “allegedly” also can’t get hold of them. We found out earlier they’ve gone with a cheap online firm of conveyancers. Lovely. 
Well I complete tomorrow, unfortunately a chain of 5 and I'm at the end . I'm only moving 8 mins walk away and the seller originally said that access to the oversize double garage was no problem 24 hours in advance of completion.
Earlier this week he changed his mind so I asked if it would be ok to start moving my gear into the garage on the morning of completion, considering I've said to my buyers get here in the morning and crack on .
So I've hired and packed 2 vans ready for tomorrow and I'm storing the overspill in my now neighbours garage for a few hours .
He's turned round and said today that he'll drop off all keys to the agent on Thursday , he'll stay in the house overnight and keep the driveway gates locked until his solicitor confirms completion then he'll lock the door on the latch only , as he won't have keys , and close the gates on his spare remote and forward it on .
This is just to make life as difficult as possible for me as I'll have to go into town to collect the keys , only 30 mins round trip but if it's late completion I'll be unloading in the dark .
He's doing this to avoid seeing me as he leaves , well he'll get a surprise as I'll be outside waiting with said vans and my cars too !
" just leave my gates open and leave my property immediately " although I may not say it that politely.
I just don't understand this attitude , mind , he's a powerfully built director and does actually have two limited companies!
Earlier this week he changed his mind so I asked if it would be ok to start moving my gear into the garage on the morning of completion, considering I've said to my buyers get here in the morning and crack on .
So I've hired and packed 2 vans ready for tomorrow and I'm storing the overspill in my now neighbours garage for a few hours .
He's turned round and said today that he'll drop off all keys to the agent on Thursday , he'll stay in the house overnight and keep the driveway gates locked until his solicitor confirms completion then he'll lock the door on the latch only , as he won't have keys , and close the gates on his spare remote and forward it on .
This is just to make life as difficult as possible for me as I'll have to go into town to collect the keys , only 30 mins round trip but if it's late completion I'll be unloading in the dark .
He's doing this to avoid seeing me as he leaves , well he'll get a surprise as I'll be outside waiting with said vans and my cars too !
" just leave my gates open and leave my property immediately " although I may not say it that politely.
I just don't understand this attitude , mind , he's a powerfully built director and does actually have two limited companies!
SweptVolume said:
Looks like I tempted fate by writing this.....
It's interesting to hear everyone's stories but I didn't dare write about the sale progress of late Father-in-Law's place last year, until it completed. Looking back it was a breeze but seemed nerve-wracking at the time even though it didn't matter much what happened as the dosh was being split lots of ways. It somehow seemed to fall to me to be responsible for the sale.True, especially in a big chain.
Having said that, common sense can prevail if folk are honest and decent with each other.
We exchanged last week and the seller kindly let us access the property to carry out damp repairs straight away.
We completed today which is great. God help the owner if she hadn’t. I don’t mean that in a bad way I just mean the house is in a fair old state now, had she wanted it back.
I knew she wouldn’t pull out though and vice versa.
Moving in on the 11th March. Had an email from decorating company tonight trying to move job back a week. Trouble is the flooring is all booked for that week and we move in the week after.
I’ve a feeling we may be about to fall out.
It’s small fry though. Nothing to stress over.
Sorry to hear of the tales of woe. A nightmare ending for some chains. Good luck those who’ve had a crap time of it.
Having said that, common sense can prevail if folk are honest and decent with each other.
We exchanged last week and the seller kindly let us access the property to carry out damp repairs straight away.
We completed today which is great. God help the owner if she hadn’t. I don’t mean that in a bad way I just mean the house is in a fair old state now, had she wanted it back.
I knew she wouldn’t pull out though and vice versa.
Moving in on the 11th March. Had an email from decorating company tonight trying to move job back a week. Trouble is the flooring is all booked for that week and we move in the week after.
I’ve a feeling we may be about to fall out.
It’s small fry though. Nothing to stress over.
Sorry to hear of the tales of woe. A nightmare ending for some chains. Good luck those who’ve had a crap time of it.
blueg33 said:
Tony Angelino said:
blueg33 said:
Tony Angelino said:
I have the contract to sign and return, hopefully tomorrow for exchange and Monday to complete. 4 in the chain (I am the bottom), fairly straight forward but has still taken since early November.
Our contracts were all signed by our solicitor acting under an authorisation from us. Gassing Station | Homes, Gardens and DIY | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff