A new study of 2,000 adults who have gone through the arduous task of moving found 60% found the experience 'stressful', while 40% were frustrated as many aspects were out of their control.
Among the top 20 bugbears were having to deal with estate agents and solicitors and being unable to squeeze furniture into the new property. A further three in 10 even hated having the nightmare of cleaning up after the previous owners. It also emerged that almost half experienced unexpected costs when they moved, and of these, nearly one in four were taken aback by estate agent fees.
Homeowners forked out for an estimated £2,800 for estate agent fees – with more than a tenth claiming they spent less on furnishing their new home.
The 20 biggest causes of stress when moving home:
Solicitors not getting back to you
Extortionate fees throughout the process
Delays from the sellers
Having to deal with solicitors
Waiting on a move-in date
Organising services e.g. electricity, subscriptions etc
Unexpected fees throughout the process
Raining on moving day
Having to wait for Wi-Fi to be installed
The new home being dirty
Having to deal with estate agents
Having to spend lots of time packing boxes/bags
Noisy new neighbours
Having to redirect post
Unable to fit furniture through the front door
Last-minute changes to moving day
Negotiating with the sellers
Finding holes/scratches which were hidden when I viewed the place
Sorting all the relevant new insurances
Having to clean my old home
Sam Mitchell, CEO of Strike, said: "Moving house can be an expensive and stressful process, and unfortunately far too many sellers feel ripped off. They should be able to put their hard-earned cash into their new home, rather than wasting them on high fees.
“Being able to remove the estate agent fees from the process gives the power back to the customer to put their money towards the things which really matter – and we’re here for anyone selling who wants a stress-free experience that puts them in control.”
Homeowners encountered an average of £2,322 worth of additional costs they had not budgeted for when moving home. And 38% felt these fees were unjustified, with a third happy to cut the estate agent out of the process altogether if possible.
In fact, estate agent fees ranked highly on a list of life’s biggest rip-offs – just behind the likes of hospital parking and snacks at the cinema.
Instead, 76% would have preferred to have spent this cash on doing their property up – with a new kitchen being the dream for homeowners if they could have freed up the money. While 58% were annoyed specifically with the estate agent fees as they had no idea what they covered.
The research conducted via OnePoll found those who sold a property in the last five years visited six properties before ending up in their current home.
Sam concludes: “Moving into a new property should be a memorable milestone – but it seems far too many people have a negative experience, with wasted fees often the cause of their stress and unhappiness.
“That’s why we pride ourselves on offering a fast and free service. It is often the small things that put sellers minds at ease – something as simple as allowing buyers and sellers to communicate efficiently can make all the difference.”
