|
|
| TUESDAY 13TH SEPTEMBER 2005 |
 HOW
TO MAKE YOUR HOUSE MOVE LESS STRESSFULL
Although the housing market may well be showing signs of picking
up, a new report has found one in eight people (12%) have vowed never to
move house again because they found it so stressful.
Yorkshire Bank, which produced the report as part of its continued development
of its mortgage products, has conducted research that reveals the top
ten sources of stress for Britons on the move.
The bank also consulted leading stress psychologist Dr David Lewis to
find out why two out of three (67%) of people find moving highly stressful.
Top ten moving miseries:
1. Finding a property that suits your requirements
2. Packing away your life contents into a cardboard box
3. Waiting for the estate agent to call with the magic words "Offer accepted!"
4. Selling your house
5. Having to stop spending to save for a deposit
6. The frustration of waiting to exchange contracts
7. Unpacking everything into your new home
8. Waiting for the surveyor's report
9. Finding the best mortgage deal
10.Finding a good solicitor
Gary Lumby, head of retail at Yorkshire Bank, said: "We all know
moving house is stressful. However, we wanted to get to the bottom of
what actually appears to be making people ill with worry during the moving
process."
"It's no surprise really that finding the right property came top,
although you would expect selling your home to be a little higher in
the top 10 - especially when the market is slower than it has been."
An in-depth look at the leading five moving stresses by Yorkshire Bank
revealed exactly why people find moving house such a stressful experience.
* Finding a property that meets your requirements
More than one in three (38%) have struggled to find a property that
suits their requirements. To try to ensure the property they wish to
buy is the right one, one in four (27%) would now visit a potential home
several times before making an offer.
A further one in three (36%) house buyers will avoid buying a house
involved in a chain.
* Packing up all your belongings
Although Britons found packing their life contents into a cardboard
box the second most stressful part about moving house, more than four
out of 10 movers (43%) would choose to accept help from family and friends,
rather than seek professional help.
* Waiting for your offer to be accepted
Waiting for the estate agent to call saying you've had your offer accepted
is third in the overall stress list. However, even after having an offer
accepted, one in five (18%) would still be worried another buyer would
come in at the last minute with a higher offer.
* Trying to sell your home
One in three (32%) sellers found it a stressful experience keeping their
home like a show house to impress prospective buyers.
A further one in eight (13%) also admit they couldn't face the effort
and ignored the advice of TV property experts about 'decluttering' and
'depersonalising', when selling their house.
Even after accepting an offer, more than one in three sellers (36%)
would be paranoid about the buyer pulling out.
* Saving for a deposit
More than one in four (28%) house buyers admitted saving for a deposit
is extremely difficult when paying off other loan repayments and outgoings.
Method behind the madness?
According to leading stress psychologist Dr David Lewis, who Yorkshire
Bank consulted to explain just why moving house is so stressful, there
are three contributing factors to moving misery.
Dr David Lewis said: "Firstly, a lot of what happens when moving
house is outside of our control, and a lack of control is almost always
associated with raised stress levels."
"Secondly, it is often physically exhausting, which means even
the fittest of us tires quickly, and fatigue makes it far harder to stay
on top of stress."
"Finally there is the emotional upheaval of leaving familiar and
comfortable surroundings to start a new life somewhere unfamiliar and,
at least initially, a lot less comfortable."
The bank's research also found moving house with children is a far more
stressful experience with about one in 20 (6%) movers experiencing tantrums
from their children, who wanted to voice their disapproval at moving
away from friends.
Dr David Lewis agrees: "While moving is stressful for adults, it's
often far worse for young children whose whole familiar world is being
turned upside down. To ease this, parents should encourage them to help
with the packing and allow them to take a few personal belongings, such
as a much-loved doll or favourite toy, with them on the day."
The stress doesn't end with moving
Moving day may well be stressful. However, the research found one in
four (23%) people start worrying about paying the mortgage straight away.
One in two (50%) would also like to pay off their mortgage as soon as
possible, just to have one less thing to worry about.
Gary Lumby said: "As our research shows, many people want to pay
off their mortgage as soon as possible so that they have more disposable
income to live life to the full. That's why more and more people are
applying for flexible mortgages."
A typical home owner with a 25-year standard repayment mortgage of £183,486,
an average of £1,000 in their current account and £10,000
in their savings account could save themselves £28,526 in interest
payments and knock two years and one month off their repayment term -
just by switching to Yorkshire Bank's offset mortgage account, says Gary
Lumby.
Gary’s top tip to making moving home smoother
According to Gary Lumby, home movers should choose their moving day
wisely to try reduce the stress levels.
Gary said: "Many people move house on a Friday. However, if there
are any hold-ups of money being transferred in the chain, the earliest
this can be resolved is the following Monday.
"Therefore, homeowners could face the prospect of being left homeless
for the weekend. The earlier in the week you move, the more peace of
mind you will have that everything will go through before the weekend." To
give customers peace of mind when moving home, Yorkshire Bank is offering
'SmoothMove' to customers who take out a Legal & General mortgage
protection product.
Gary Lumby added: "There is nothing worse than something going
wrong on moving day when you're already worked up in the first place."
"Should the removal van not turn up, SmoothMove cover will arrange
a new one. And if you're left homeless because the seller can't move
on time, then it will reimburse payment for up to three nights' hotel
accommodation."
"It will even reimburse payment for your pets' kennelling if you
are unable to move in beyond completion date."
|
|
|
