OK finally we have exchanged, and we move in 2 weeks.
Yes, Andrews & Arnold Ltd is not moving - it is staying based in Bracknell. Do not panic.
Yes, I am not actually retiring to Wales. The whole lockdown thing has taught me how little I actually need to be in the office, and how much can be done using video conference like jitsi. I'm not retiring, I am continuing R&D work and running the business along with my management team as always. Do not worry... (yes people have asked).
Yes, actual glass fibre is available in the depths of wales, and now we have exchanged we can progress the fibre blow.
Friday was stressful as nothing happened, and still unclear why we had to wait until Friday anyway. Basically the sellers solicitors are (in my personal opinion) dicks. Even the agent said it was odd they would not talk to them. They don't answer the phone (says switched off) and if you get an assistant they just say he'll call back and nothing happens. This is what my solicitor has had to suffer for two whole days.
Once again my solicitors (Kite Griffin) are brilliant even for something as simple as conveyancing.
Monday was just as stressful as the hours ticked by. And sorry for pestering my solicitor so much. It got to the point that I just told the agent to sort it - get the sellers to talk to their solicitor and explain that if not sorted today the offer is reduced £5k. Bear in mind we made the offer on basis of a quick exchange and all parties agreed to try and exchange by Christmas. From what I can see there has been no good faith attempt to do that from the seller's solicitor at all. Magically, 5 minutes later, he called my solicitor and half an hour after that it is all done.
The weight off my mind when it finally happened was great. I know I should not stress, but I do. I have mountains of plans in my head waiting to execute - like changing locks from my electronic locks to something simpler (but secure), organising mail redirection, everything, all stacked in my head waiting. It created actual higher blood pressure even!
We move end of the month. Yay. Now to remember from over 25 years ago what you do when you move and who you have to tell!
And then the fun of selling, but the whole purchase exercise has taught me a lot. I'll blog how that goes in due course. As a seller I want to make it as quick and smooth as possible. Managing to buy before selling was, as you can imagine, fun, and means using mortgage reserve and the like which my bank tried very hard to cock up. But that is another story. But I think if I had to wait for a buyer it would have been so much more stressful. Now the work to make this place appealing :-)
P.S. I know people are very security conscious and so am I - finding my soon to be empty house is not hard, but it has alarms, and cameras with remote monitoring, and good locks, and people watching over it, and nothing worth stealing in it.
Congrats on finally getting it sorted! Hopefully the actual day of the move goes without issue, as you already found out some people are just awkward just because they can be :)
ReplyDeleteFrom experience, I think you're right - solicitors don't bother doing things fast because they've never had to.
DeleteReading Adrian's comment about the offer being based on a fast sale made me shout at the screen - FFS, the offer should have gone down by that £5K on January 1st. But then I remember what happened when I bought this house - offered full asking on the condition that they took it off the market then and there, the offer was accepted, but then I found out they were still having viewers around. I should have dropped the offer, but I didn't. We're our own worst enemies and the solicitors know that we'll put up with their shit because we want the house...
Oh, in hind sight the offer should have gone down 25th December :-)
DeleteI totally agree, make it crystal clear at the start, on the basis that if everyone is actually acting in good faith to try and do this, it won't be a problem, but if not, it is their problem.
You just have to remember that the new house lasts a lot longer than the process of buying it. Buying our house was a nightmare for various reasons (most of them involving moronic legal departments) but the memories fade, and moving to Wales was the best move we ever made!
ReplyDeleteJust sold my Aunt's house. Using a process of open tender with the agent marketing he house and doing viewings up to the deadline for offers. Come that day I chose the winning tender, based on offer and the situation of the buyer. The transaction was meant to exchange in 28 days, which came and went. As things dragged on I put my foot down and I am sure I heard the sound of an estate agent contemplating the loss of a lucrative commission.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a property that will sell itself then the open tenders process is quite stress free and allows the market to determine the value.