The longest week

We were due to exchange on our new home purchase 5 days ago but we didn’t; completion is due in 2 working days. We have been on the phone several times a day to the solicitor, seller, estate agent and nobody seems to know what is wrong – except…. the sellers solicitor isn’t responding to anyone, and is clearly the block. Its one of the big, very well known firms, that estate agent’s often recommend and they have a terrible reputation, they aren’t responding to anyone, nothing, not a dicky-bird. 

It’s really frustrating, we can’t stay on a campsite forever (many close for the winter), places are going into lockdown each week and we are stuck. We’ve been told everything is OK but it clearly isn’t! 

We go shopping for food and come home with more snacks and beer than meal components  (never go food shopping when anxious) and talk about what our options might be. We can push hard, pull out of the purchase and start looking again, or pull out and not bother. Living in Agy has been great, easy, relaxed and not at all stressful, so maybe we just stay in her – somewhere warmer than the UK in winter – and start looking again in the spring. House prices may drop, can we risk starting now and in 4 months time potentially end up ready to move but lockdown and in limbo again?   

We talk a lot, research long-term UK winter pitches; where can we go that is warmer and not on the Foreign Office list of no go areas? We had hoped for Spain, we have a booking for the Tunnel and campsite that was postponed from the summer we could use, but that’s on the ‘essential travel only’ list, so not an option. 

In the end, we decide we need to be honest and say we can’t keep waiting; we need to know so we can make an informed decision and manage our blood pressure. The unknown is always more stressful than the known, however bad, so we take a deep breath, make a call and follow up by email. If we haven’t exchanged by the end of today we will have to pull out of the purchase. Maybe this will make the sellers solicitor actually respond to their client or our solicitor. We need to know, our stress levels are through the roof. We go for a walk on the beach to try and calm our minds and wait.