Saturday, January 03, 2004
It's all over...for now
Well, I finally moved on November 28th, over 4 months after first putting my house in Hull on the market in mid-July. And, by all accounts, I've had it easy, 4+ months being a mere bagatelle, a mere trifle, compared to the real trials and tribulations of house-moving. There's a lot to be said for motor homes... ;-(
Anyway, the moving day itself went ok, despite the Briefs not pulling their legal fingers out on transferring the money to and from various accounts, which only went ahead at 3pm. Luckily, my sellers, whom I'm on good terms with, had moved most of their gear out already and were happy for me to move my gear in without the money having gone over, which was also a relief to the guys driving the removal van. It was all done and dusted by 3pm, leaving me with a house full of unopened boxes, but at least I'd had the foresight to put a box aside with tea- and coffee-making stuff. Having moved well over 20 times in my adult life (although only once having taken part in a property transaction before) you learn these things from experience.
Now for the fun part - adding up how much it's all cost me financially (never mind any physical and mental stress, which is unquantifiable). The costs are divided into two categories: those integral to the moving and property-dealing process, and those incurred incidentally whilst working in Nottingham but living in Hull. NB: figures marked with * are conservative guesstimates.
Briefs:1006
Estate Agents: 1052
Surveyors: 365
Removals: 649
Total: 3072
On top of this I'd anticipated 800 stamp duty (1% of the sale price) but, to my pleasant surprise, it turns out that Bilborough is exempted by Nottingham Council from stamp duty on account of it being "disadvantaged". Of course the dark lining to that silver cloud is that the Council reckon Bilborough to be a dump, and I'm finding out the hard way that they're not wrong.
B&B; accommodation: 696
Travel: 240*
Food: 120*
Total: 1056
The incidental costs are far less than they could have been due mainly to my employers allowing me to 'work at home' for part of a week, so I was on average on a 3-day week during my 'interim' period. Had they, with justification, insisted on my being at work all 5 days, which I am after all paid for, then the incidental costs would have been at least 40% higher, probably more. Not to mention my staying one week at a campsite for peanuts, another week house-sitting my partner's sister for free whilst she and her man were on hols, and another week in Cambridge on work business - those 3 weeks must have saved me a few hundred quid.
So that's a total of £4128, at a conservative estimate, a good chunk of which had to be stumped up before the house sale. I racked up a credit card bill of over 3.5k, had an overdraft of 1500 with my main bank, and had to borrow 1500 from my building society. Had I not been able to get credit then I simply wouldn't have been able to move house - full stop. It's even debatable if I'd have been able to afford to sell the Hull house and just move into rented digs in Nottingham. I'm claiming back my integral expenses from mynew employer and hope to recoup a couple of grand, perhaps, although the downside of that is that if I leave the job in the next two years I'll have to pay all or some of my relocation ex's back.
This isn't even counting the costs I'm now racking up having moved into the house and found it to a bit, erm, deficient in some respects. So far I've had to:
Not to mention having to buy various odds & sods in terms of furniture, curtains (>£300), lighting, and the rest.
My partner objects to the last on the grounds that during those six months, in a 'rising market', house prices will have risen whilst you sit it out in rented, and she has a point from a purely financial viewpoint. On my recent experience, though, I'd have saved all my incidental costs, have flogged my Hull house quicker (being in vacant possession), have been able to work full-time, have been able to explore Nottingham and surroundings properly, would have saved the stress of weekly 'commuting' to Hull and back, and most importantly would have been able to find a nice place in a nice area having acquired some local knowledge. Instead, I'm in a so-so house in a grotty area with a screaming Mum and kids next door and packs of Darrens prowling the streets, and all because I knew next to nothing about Nottingham before coming here - had I had 6 months breathing space to figure the place out then I'd certainly have ended up with something better. And that would have saved me money in the long run, because I'm going to have to move again before the year's out before this place drives me bananas.
Anyway, the moving day itself went ok, despite the Briefs not pulling their legal fingers out on transferring the money to and from various accounts, which only went ahead at 3pm. Luckily, my sellers, whom I'm on good terms with, had moved most of their gear out already and were happy for me to move my gear in without the money having gone over, which was also a relief to the guys driving the removal van. It was all done and dusted by 3pm, leaving me with a house full of unopened boxes, but at least I'd had the foresight to put a box aside with tea- and coffee-making stuff. Having moved well over 20 times in my adult life (although only once having taken part in a property transaction before) you learn these things from experience.
Adding it all up
Now for the fun part - adding up how much it's all cost me financially (never mind any physical and mental stress, which is unquantifiable). The costs are divided into two categories: those integral to the moving and property-dealing process, and those incurred incidentally whilst working in Nottingham but living in Hull. NB: figures marked with * are conservative guesstimates.
Integral
Briefs:1006
Estate Agents: 1052
Surveyors: 365
Removals: 649
Total: 3072
On top of this I'd anticipated 800 stamp duty (1% of the sale price) but, to my pleasant surprise, it turns out that Bilborough is exempted by Nottingham Council from stamp duty on account of it being "disadvantaged". Of course the dark lining to that silver cloud is that the Council reckon Bilborough to be a dump, and I'm finding out the hard way that they're not wrong.
Incidental
B&B; accommodation: 696
Travel: 240*
Food: 120*
Total: 1056
The incidental costs are far less than they could have been due mainly to my employers allowing me to 'work at home' for part of a week, so I was on average on a 3-day week during my 'interim' period. Had they, with justification, insisted on my being at work all 5 days, which I am after all paid for, then the incidental costs would have been at least 40% higher, probably more. Not to mention my staying one week at a campsite for peanuts, another week house-sitting my partner's sister for free whilst she and her man were on hols, and another week in Cambridge on work business - those 3 weeks must have saved me a few hundred quid.
What's the bill, Bill?
So that's a total of £4128, at a conservative estimate, a good chunk of which had to be stumped up before the house sale. I racked up a credit card bill of over 3.5k, had an overdraft of 1500 with my main bank, and had to borrow 1500 from my building society. Had I not been able to get credit then I simply wouldn't have been able to move house - full stop. It's even debatable if I'd have been able to afford to sell the Hull house and just move into rented digs in Nottingham. I'm claiming back my integral expenses from mynew employer and hope to recoup a couple of grand, perhaps, although the downside of that is that if I leave the job in the next two years I'll have to pay all or some of my relocation ex's back.
This isn't even counting the costs I'm now racking up having moved into the house and found it to a bit, erm, deficient in some respects. So far I've had to:
- have a central heating radiator added to the front room (I'd foolishly not noticed the lack of one when viewing the house) (£300)
- have the central heating pump replaced before it went tits-up (£150)
- have a new TV aerial installed because the old set-up was, to use a technical term, fucked (£200)
Not to mention having to buy various odds & sods in terms of furniture, curtains (>£300), lighting, and the rest.
What's the SP, Aesop?
And the morals of the story are:
- Have deep pockets
- Have a good credit rating
- Be sure to leave yourself with a few grand to spend after you move in, because sure as dogs piss on lamp-posts you're going to find shedloads wrong with the house that needs spending on to fix
- Have a friend/partner/lover who's experienced in house selling and buying as their advice is invaluable
- If you're moving to a new job in a new town/city, put yourself in rented accommodation for the first 6 months so that you can a) avoid all the aggro of B&B; and travel, and more importantly b) you can suss out areas and houses.
My partner objects to the last on the grounds that during those six months, in a 'rising market', house prices will have risen whilst you sit it out in rented, and she has a point from a purely financial viewpoint. On my recent experience, though, I'd have saved all my incidental costs, have flogged my Hull house quicker (being in vacant possession), have been able to work full-time, have been able to explore Nottingham and surroundings properly, would have saved the stress of weekly 'commuting' to Hull and back, and most importantly would have been able to find a nice place in a nice area having acquired some local knowledge. Instead, I'm in a so-so house in a grotty area with a screaming Mum and kids next door and packs of Darrens prowling the streets, and all because I knew next to nothing about Nottingham before coming here - had I had 6 months breathing space to figure the place out then I'd certainly have ended up with something better. And that would have saved me money in the long run, because I'm going to have to move again before the year's out before this place drives me bananas.
