Finding solicitors in Harrogate
It all started back in May! The day of my biggest event at work was the day I accepted the offer on my Westcliffe apartment – yippee! I was so excited at the thought of selling and moving on to pastures new that I didn’t clock I was jumping from one bubble of excitement (the event) to another (house move). There was no time to step back and re-charge as it was full steam ahead. Luckily, I didn’t lose sleep over the selling process.
Having chosen Berwins Solicitors way ahead of accepting an offer, we were in the best position possible, all documents were in order, these include:
- a Contract, based on the information on the title deeds,
- copies of the deeds, so the buyers’ Solicitors can see I own the property, and see what rights or obligations are attached to the property,
- a Property Information form, already completed,
- a Fittings & Contents form, already completed,
- any guarantees, permissions, or similar documents that should be handed to the new owner.
The value of a good solicitors
Michelle from Berwins kept us up to date so when the date for exchange was dragging, we found out the buyer had got the address wrong on their mortgage application. Within days it was rectified and a date for exchange was given. I have worked with other Solicitors in the past but I have to say Berwins really do live up to their service values of Passion, Care, Ownership, Teamwork and Accessibility.
Both Niki and I are busy people – aren’t we all – we work full time and run two businesses from home. I knew the move had to be swift and organised, plus during the selling process a family member became ill and we took on the care duties as well. This meant we were away from Westcliffe much more than we were there. We decided the best option for us was to look into a removal firm to pack up and move us to the next place. Thus, allowing us to concentrate on looking after family, work and finding somewhere to live. We used Ross Lee Removals based in Tockwith.
Our next move
Selling in a chain is a tricky process to manoeuvre well, so to not slow down the selling of Westcliffe, we decided to move into rented accommodation. In all honesty, we are considering a new build; taking advantage of the Help to Buy scheme on offer by the Government. The advice from our Solicitor was to not sign on a rental apartment until after we’d exchanged on Westcliffe – just in case it went belly up – and this has been the crux of my lack of sleep.
Without a place to move to or visualise living in and not having to pack up my place, as we are getting a removal firm to do it for us, has left me in somewhat of denial that the move is actually happening. I wasn’t mentally preparing myself for a move, yet I knew it was coming. A wave of emotion hit me as I laid on the bed, troubled and not sleeping. I needed to get myself into the mindset that my life was changing permanently.
The day of the exchange
Exchange was swift and simple, thanks to our awesome Solicitors, Berwins. They confirmed my buyer had signed the papers and the money had been transferred from his account into my solicitors. We’d purposely set our competition date a week later – the hunt for a place to live was on! Sometimes a completion date can be the very same day as exchange, I’ve done this before and it does create an added stress of getting out of the house as it is no longer yours.
From here on in my House Move Checklist came in so handy! Ticking off as I went with a few days to go we still hadn’t found anything suitable to rent. Harrogate is just so expensive!
Without a place to move to or visualise living in and not having to pack up my place, as we are getting a removal firm to do it for us, has left me in somewhat of denial that the move is actually happening. I wasn’t mentally preparing myself for a move, yet I knew it was coming. A wave of emotion hit me as I laid on the bed, troubled and not sleeping. I needed to get myself into the mindset that my life was changing permanently.
The day of the exchange & completion
Exchange was swift and simple, thanks to our awesome Solicitors, Berwins. They confirmed my buyer had signed the papers and the money had been transferred from his account into my solicitors. We’d purposely set our competition date a week later – the hunt for a place to live was on! Sometimes a completion date can be the very same day as exchange, I’ve done this before and it does create an added stress of getting out of the house as it is no longer yours.
From here on in my House Move Checklist came in so handy! Ticking off as I went with a few days to go we still hadn’t found anything suitable to rent. Harrogate is just so expensive!
All in all, we planned it quite well. We rented our new flat two days before our completion date and asked the removal firm to move us with a day to spare too. This was a Godsend! Three people arrived at 9am and by 11am most of the rooms were packed, it was just the bed to dismantle and the lorry to load. As they finished a room, they closed the door; this enabled me to go in and clean it so by the time we were packed up, the majority of cleaning was done. At 1pm we were heading to the new place. As the removal people were unloading boxes, I was unpacking them. By the time Niki had got home from work, the kitchen was fully functioning and I was onto the bedroom. A removal firm is the best thing I’ve ever done!
The following day, all I had to do was to vacuum the flat and hand the keys to my Estate Agent, Hopkinsons. Shutting the door for the last time, I came across all emotional, buying Westcliffe four years ago symbolised my independence as a 30 year old, single woman living in Harrogate and at that moment it had changed forever. My life is moving on, I’m starting a new chapter of my life…
P.S. This was a sponsored collaboration with Berwins Solicitors. I’ve previously worked with Hopkinsons and Homes 4 Harrogate.
