Just to share in everybody elses misery of house buying in the UK
We have exchanged on a rural property purchase, but the whole process has been absolutely horrible and still feels unsettled.
I’m posting partly to sanity-check whether this level of chaos is normal in a complicated rural purchase, and partly because we feel completely worn down by it.
Background
We are buying a rural property in England.
It includes a main residence plus two converted cottages/annexes intended for short-term holiday-let use.
Because of the holiday-let element, the mortgage was not straightforward and had to go through a more specialist lender route.
We have now exchanged, with completion set for the end of next month or earlier by agreement.
Selling our own house
The stress did not just start with the purchase.
We also had to sell our own home as part of this move.
That process was stressful in itself, and at times we felt pushed/bullied to get out as quickly as possible.
We ended up leaving our home and have been temporarily living with family for months while the purchase dragged on.
That has meant:
living out of bags;
not having our own space;
trying to work normally in someone else’s house;
not being properly settled anywhere;
feeling like our whole life has been on pause.
We also have belongings in storage, with the storage unit miles away near the new property, so even simple practical things have become a hassle and an extra monthly cost.
Working/living situation
Because we are not in our own home, I’ve been working at a computer from a kitchen table rather than a proper desk setup.
Over time, the stress, bad posture and sitting setup have contributed to a lower-back flare-up.
I’m now seeing a physiotherapist because my back has become a real issue during the move.
So the process has not just been financially stressful. It has affected sleep, health, work, mood and day-to-day life.
Purchase timeline / issues so far
We agreed the purchase after negotiation, believing we were buying a main residence plus two usable holiday-let cottages.
The mortgage process became more complicated because the property was not a standard residential house.
A normal residential lender route was not suitable, so we had to use a more specialist lender.
The property survey raised multiple concerns and the purchase price had to be renegotiated.
A private drainage/septic tank issue was then discovered.
The seller’s replies initially suggested the drainage position was acceptable.
A specialist drainage report later found the system was not compliant with current requirements.
The drainage appeared to discharge via land drainage towards a watercourse/stream.
We had to obtain specialist drainage advice and quotes.
The preferred fix is a new sewage treatment plant, costing around £10,000+.
There were also questions about shared/private drainage rights and whether any legal/title issues could arise.
The lender then had to consider the drainage issue and whether it affected the security/valuation.
The lender ultimately agreed to proceed on the basis that the remedial works would be carried out after completion.
Electrical issues were also identified, including urgent remedial works.
These works were another factor in the price being renegotiated.
Insurance was also complicated because the property is not a simple standard home. It includes the main residence, annexes/holiday-let use, older rural buildings, stone construction, outbuildings and private drainage.
Seller-side delays
After many buyer-side issues were resolved, a further seller-side issue emerged very late in the process.
The sellers had their own mortgage to clear on sale.
Their lender apparently required a hard copy memorandum of sale by post, rather than email.
This created further delay while the document was posted, logged and linked to the property.
The sellers also did not appear to have onward accommodation fully resolved.
Their solicitor required them to sign something confirming they would vacate by the agreed completion date whether or not they had found somewhere to rent.
This pushed pressure onto us to accept a later completion date than we originally wanted.
We eventually accepted completion at the end of next month, or earlier by agreement, to avoid the transaction collapsing.
EPC issue
The EPC position has been the most worrying part.
The official register showed the main property as EPC rating F.
A separate EPC showing rating D was relied upon, but it was lodged under a different property name.
We queried this before exchange.
The explanation given before exchange appeared to be that the D-rated EPC did relate to the property we were buying, but had simply been lodged under the wrong name/address.
Our solicitor raised this with the lender.
We were told the lender was satisfied and had agreed to release funds on the basis that the EPC provider confirmed the EPC related to the property being purchased.
On that basis, exchange proceeded.
After exchange, further information from the EPC provider appears to make the position less clear.
The provider now says the EPC was lodged under the other property name because that was the name used/recognised at the time.
They say the time limit for amending it has passed.
They say a completely new EPC assessment would now be needed if we want the correct address/name shown.
The official register still appears to show the property we are buying as F.
The two cottages/annexes appear to have expired EPCs.
Our concern is that the lender may have accepted the position based on an explanation that may not actually be correct.
Current position
We have exchanged.
The deposit has been sent.
The lender had confirmed it was prepared to release funds.
Completion is due next month.
But the EPC issue now feels like it has resurfaced after exchange.
We are not saying we did anything wrong. We queried it before exchange and relied on the estate agent, EPC provider, solicitor and lender process.
But new information now appears to contradict what everyone thought before exchange.
How it feels
This has been incredibly stressful.
The issues have included:
selling our own home under pressure;
feeling pushed to move out quickly;
living temporarily with family for months;
belongings being in storage miles away;
storage costs adding up;
trying to work from a poor temporary setup;
lower-back injury/flare-up during the process;
needing physiotherapy;
specialist mortgage complications;
drainage/septic non-compliance;
electrical remedial works;
valuation/price renegotiation;
insurance complications;
seller-side mortgage delays;
seller move-out uncertainty;
unclear communication;
EPC confusion;
possibly incorrect EPC information;
expired EPCs for the cottages/annexes;
repeated late-stage problems even after we thought each issue was resolved.
We should feel relieved after exchange, but instead we feel exhausted, exposed and still worried.
It has affected our health, sleep, finances, work and relationship stress levels. The whole thing has felt like project-managing a legal, mortgage, building-survey, drainage, EPC and insurance mess while also being displaced from our own home.
Has anyone else had a rural/complex purchase like this where issues kept appearing even after exchange?
How did you handle it, especially where the lender had already accepted something but new information later made the position less clear?
And more generally, is it normal to feel completely flat and overwhelmed after exchange rather than excited?