Mid July

It was mid July (2007), my buyer's surveyor had completed the survey on my house. He wasn't allowed to give me any detailed results of the survey but quietly told me I shouldn't need to lose any sleep. My main concern at this point was that my buyer may use a poor survey as an excuse to start re-negotiating the price. As my budget was tight, I would have had to attempt to re-negotiate the price on the bungalow I was hoping to buy - something I was fairly certain the seller wouldn't be willing to do.

Meanwhile, piles of paperwork started to arrive through the post. Legal stuff from my solicitors which needed signing. Results of searches that my solicitors had requested and "questionnaires" passed on verbatim by my solicitors from my buyer's solicitor. It was at this point that I'd wished I'd chosen a more local firm of solicitors. What was badly lacking now was some plain English "translations" of the legalese.

By this time, I'd started to receive increasingly "alarmist" phonecalls from the Estate Agent's for the bungalow I was buying. Their client was informing their solicitor that they were going to pull out if I didn't get a move on. I was doing everything I could - which wasn't very much. All I could do was make sympathetic noises and ask my Agent to pass on to my buyer's solicitor how urgent things were getting.

There were three "sets" of solicitors (my buyer's, mine and my Seller's) and letters and faxes were passing between them mainly tryng to impress on my buyer's solicitor to get a move on because, from my perspective and from that of my solicitors, she seemed hell-bent on destroying the sale.

At this critical time, the Royal Mail went on strike.

August

In early August, I received another set of questions from my buyer's solicitor. One was asking for a Building Regulations Certificate without a clue what it was referring to. The solicitor refused to discuss it with my Estate Agent so day after day after day was wasted while paperwork passed from solicitor to solicitor and back. And my seller's were getting more and more impatient.

Chancel Repairs Indemnity Insurance

Finally, my solicitor phoned to say that my buyer's solicitor had said she was ready to exchange contracts on 24th August for Completion on 7th September. I contacted my removals firm and confirmed they were available on 7th September and I began packing more of my belongings away. I'd already started sorting out the garage and packing a lot of my electrical/electronic stuff into boxes. In between the most appalling weather we'd seen for decades, I had to retrieve my "garden cams" and its associated wiring. There was a lot to do. And, due to English law, there was still a possibility that it could all fall through.

Out of the blue, another letter arrived, via my solicitor, from my buyer's solicitor. She wanted confirmation that I would purchase Chancel Repairs Indemnity Insurance. In short, the Church Of England had on one single occasion invoked some long- forgotten law which meant that, under certain conditions, a house owner could be liable for repairs to the local church - or, at least, it's Chancel. I contacted my solicitors who said they could arrange it for about £100. Money I didn't feel that I should pay but thought it better to give the go-ahead in the interests of not upsetting my buyer's solicitor and have the sale fall through!

24th August - Exchange of Contracts

My solicitor phoned around 2pm. "This is it", I thought. But no. My buyer's solicitor was no longer ready to exchange contracts. She had decided that the Chancel Indemnity Insurance wasn't up to her expectations, It was now the weekend and the following Monday was a Bank Holiday. There was no way now that I could Complete on the 7th September and still have 14 days to "prepare". I told my solicitors that I would really like the 14 days so they'd have to roll the Completion date along to suit.

28th August

Both my Estate Agents and my solicitors were unable to get in touch with my buyer's solicitor. Her "computer was down" most of the morning so she was too busy seeing clients in the afternoon.

At 2pm my seller's Estate Agent phoned again. If we don't exchange contracts this week, their client is taking the bungalow off the market. 3pm: my buyer's solicitor seems to have gone home for the day.

29th August

No progress. My solicitor is unable to get in touch with my buyer's solicitor. My Eastate Agent is unable to get in touch with them either. By mid-day, I have to phone the local council to cancel their bulk-disposal service which I'd ordered for the 31st to get rid of a large unwanted 3-piece suite.

31st August

I spend most of today trying to get an up-to-date figure for how much money I need to transfer at the Bank. My solicitors seem unable to give me a figure despite their glossy booklet saying one would be available at any time. My buyer's solicitor has taken the day off.

1st September

My removals comapny phone me and ask what the position is. I have to tell them that the 7th September is really not on the cards any longer. But they agree to hold the booking open for as long as they possibly can. I'm guessing that they're used to all this messing about.

I do a bit more packing but there is only so much you can do without making living intolerable! I phone my solicitors again to try to get a figure. It's a Saturday but they do have a skeleton staff. I'm told that I should have already paid a deposit which I haven't done!

3rd, 4th, 5th Sepetember

My buyer's solicitor still isn't happy with the Chancel Indemnity Insurance my solicitors had arranged but nobody can get her to say why she's not happy.

6th September

11:30 am: My removals company phones and asks what's what. I have to tell them that I hadn't heard anything and we hadn't even exchanged contracts yet so completion on the 7th was definitely OFF.

11:50 am: My solicitor phones and says the buyer's solicitor is finally ready to exchange contracts. At last! The only snag is they want to exchange NOW and complete tomorrow the 7th. After a minute's thought, I leave the solicitor holding while I get in touch with the removals company - the one I'd told 20 minutes ago that they wouldn't be required. They were still available so I told the solicitor to go ahead. I finally got a final figure from him and made my way to the Bank to arrange the electronic transfer.

12:30 pm: I manage to contact my brother who has been on "standby" - he drives over and helps me finish the packing while I start on my list of "people who must be told".

7th September - Moving Day

Up early to finish the packing and sort out the cat (is she in for a shock!). My brother has hired a van to get rid of the stuff that I had to cancel the council's service for so I'm waiting for him to arrive while I continue to phone the companies on my list. The removals company say they will arrive at about 11am.

The phone will be disconnected at 12:00 so I phone the seller's Estate Agents to ask about the keys. I'm casually informed that completion day wasn't until the 14th !! My own solicitor confirmed that it is today. The Estate Agent phones back shortly afterwards to apologize for her mistake!

Suddenly, the removals man says "See you at the other end." I look round and the house is empty!

4pm

I don't really remember much about the unpacking. True to their word BT had connected the phone so I was able to take meter readings and contact the relevant service companies. My ISP's "Simultaneous Provide" (phone and ADSL at the same time) was a non-starter because of the lack of time between exchange of contracts and completion but that was a small price to pay.

With all the doors and windows shut, I make my way through the packing cases. I open the cat's carry box and let her out. I find the setee and slump in a heap. The cat jumps on my knee. "Well, Sooty", I say with a smile - the first smile since I don't know when, "we actually made it!"