Credit crunch cost us our dream move and pounds 20,000; EXCLUSIVE One woman's nightmare diary of a house sale hit by property market crash CREDIT CRUNCH CRISIS.Byline: BY ROS ROS, n.pr See reactive oxygen species. WYNNE-JONES IT IS a snapshot (1) A saved copy of memory including the contents of all memory bytes, hardware registers and status indicators. It is periodically taken in order to restore the system in the event of failure. (2) A saved copy of a file before it is updated. of the housing market crash. Last November, newlyweds Paula and Graham Butcher put their house on the market ready to start a new life. Graham, 26, had been offered a dream job with the Australian government and they were looking forward to moving 9,000 miles to Perth from Leeds. Instead, the Butchers have found themselves on the wrong side of the slump, stuck in a family spare room and tens of thousands of pounds out of pocket. Yesterday, as it was revealed house prices dropped faster than any time since records began in 1991, Paula opened her diary of the last 10 months. November 1, 2007 My fiance Graham has accepted the job inWestern Australia and we can't wait to start a new life together. I've never been to Australia but Graham loves Perth and I know it will be a wonderful place to bring up children. It will all be very hectic hec·tic adj. 1. Characterized by intense activity, confusion, or haste: "There was nothing feverish or hectic about his vigor" Erik Erikson. 2. as we're getting married in four months' time, and now we'll have even more to organise, but it will be really exciting. December 10 We put our house on the market today at pounds 175,000. It's a three-bedroom semi with a nice big garden and its own garage that we bought two years ago. It's only a few miles outside Leeds and there are great connections to the city centre. December 17 After five viewings, we've accepted an offer of pounds 175,000 from a really nice couple. They are downsizing (1) Converting mainframe and mini-based systems to client/server LANs. (2) To reduce equipment and associated costs by switching to a less-expensive system. (jargon) downsizing now their kids have gone to university and the chain is only small as the couple buying from them are first-time buyers. February 2, 2008 Fingers crossed, we should complete on April 28, two days after our honeymoon. We're planning to sell pretty much everything we own rather than ship it all to Australia. We'll move in with Graham's parents for the last few weeks. There are signs the housing market is slowing so we're glad we're already on track. March 22 We said goodbye to our house today. The last piece of furniture has been sold and we are ready to go to Graham's parents nearby. It will be a bit cramped but it won't be for long. March 28 We're getting married tomorrow in Leeds, then a big reception at a hotel outside the city. It does seem a shame not to be at home but it will be worth it in the end. March 31 The wedding went perfectly and we are off on our honeymoon today - to Perth. Graham has been before as his uncle lives there but it's my first time to Australia. I can't wait to see where we will be living. April 6 I can't believe how wonderful Perth is. The weather is amazing a·maze v. a·mazed, a·maz·ing, a·maz·es v.tr. 1. To affect with great wonder; astonish. See Synonyms at surprise. 2. Obsolete To bewilder; perplex. v.intr. and it is very family-orientated. I know we are going to be so happy here. April 26 We arrived home from our honeymoon today to bad news. The estate agent says there is a problem with our chain. Because of the credit crunch Credit Crunch An economic condition whereby investment capital is difficult to obtain. Banks and investors become weary of lending funds to corporations thereby driving up the price of debt products for borrowers. , it's getting much harder for first-time buyers to get banks to give them mortgages, and that's what's happened to the couple at the bottom of our chain. We are so disappointed. We can't even move back into our old home as we've no furniture now - not even a bed or a kettle kettle, oval depression found in glacial moraines, which are landforms made up of rock debris. When a glacier melts and draws away from an area, a block of ice may break off and be covered by earth and rock. . Our new completion date is July 1. June 25 As if to add insult to injury, our buyers have asked for pounds 2,000 off the asking price because of the housing market slump. We are in a really difficult position and have had to agree. We really want to be able to book our flights for Australia and just go. They can't keep Graham's job open indefinitely. June 30 We complete tomorrow on the house sale and this nightmare will be over. So excited I can hardly sleep. July 1 Today is supposed to be the day. But we got a call at 10am that has left both Graham and I devastated dev·as·tate tr.v. dev·as·tat·ed, dev·as·tat·ing, dev·as·tates 1. To lay waste; destroy. 2. To overwhelm; confound; stun: was devastated by the rude remark. . Our buyers are now having trouble with the sale of their house and don't know if it's going to go through. All our excitement has turned to disappointment again. It's starting to get me down and I'm wondering if we'll ever get to Australia at this rate. July 2 We've decided to offer the buyers pounds 5,000 cash towards getting a bridging loan. We can't really afford it but it seems the only way. We are desperate to move and this might help them to buy ours while they sort out the problems with their own property. July 8 The buyers have declined our offer. We don't know what to do. We've already been paying the mortgage for four months while we're not even living there. July 11 Our house is back on the market today with the same estate agent. The housing climate has completely changed since last December. No one wants to buy a house at the moment. It's really taken its toll on both of us. The most important thing is that we're together but it's not been the start we'd hoped for. We thought we might have been in Australia by now. Graham starts his new job on November 5, so we've had to book our flights for October 5 and just hope against hope the house sells by then. July 18 Our house has been on the market for a week but it's a completely different story from seven months ago when we first put it up for sale. Even though we've dropped the price to pounds 165,000, there have been no viewings, no calls and no interest. July 29 Today, with a heavy heart, we've dropped the price to pounds 154,995. We might just have to rent the house out until the housing market settles down. It will mean we can't buy anywhere in Australia but we need to move on and start our new life. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , we can't get excited about emigrating. It's just huge amounts of stress and worry. August 28 Someone has made an offer, but neither of us will believe the sale will go through until the moment we hand over the keys. It is fingers crossed all the way. Graham and I are trying hard not to think about the pounds 20,000 we've lost since we started this process. And we're not getting our hopes up. After all, we've been here before... Nov 2007 House price: pounds 175,000 Five viewings, firm offer after one week on market Aug 2008 House price: pounds 154,995 No viewings for several weeks but now they have an offer HOW TO SELL IN A DIFFICULT MARKET Problem: Too many sellers not enough buyers Cause: Banks and building societies tightening up on lending. Buyers holding out for "bottom market". Sellers refusing to lower expectations and leaving homes languishing lan·guish intr.v. lan·guished, lan·guish·ing, lan·guish·es 1. To be or become weak or feeble; lose strength or vigor. 2. on the market. Solution: Consider lowering your asking price. Offer to pay deposit or stamp duty Stamp Duty An ad-valorem or flat rate charged upon certain documents. Notes: This is an extra charge placed on documents. See also: Ad Valorem Tax Stamp duty Applies mainly to international equities. . Investigate prices of comparable properties in the area. Problem: Not enough offers/viewings Cause: Low confidence in market means buyers are holding out for the "must have" property or looking for a great deal. Solution: Listen to honest advice from agents on how to present your home for sale. Declutter and freshen up paint and finish DIY DIY abbr. do-it-yourself DIY or d.i.y. Brit, Austral & NZ do-it-yourself DIY abbr DIY do it yourself a DIY shop/job. repairs. Problem: Surplus of similar properties for sale in the same area Cause: Sellers anxious to cash in before further decline. Developers and buy-to-Let landlords selling to release equity. Solution: Make your property stand out by investing in premium advertisements. Ask agents to take new photos/re-draft particulars Tips by rightmove.co.uk CAPTION(S): SO HAPPY Couple marry but they soon received bad news on sale; HONEYMOON Feeding the roos in Perth |
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