Hidden costs, noisy neighbours and slow wifi, Brits reveal their advice for a happy home move
4th September 2020
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39% of Brits were stung by hidden costs when they last moved home, with 30% of respondents stating these costs were more than £1,000
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Not checking in with the neighbours and broadband strength are home buyers’ biggest regrets
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62% of Brits found moving more stressful than they had anticipated
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Home staging is the order of the day, with 84% of Brits wishing they’d styled their property before selling it
As the property market booms once more, fuelled by the Stamp Duty holiday and pent up demand following lockdown, a new survey of over 2,600 active buyers and sellers by Zoopla, the UK’s most comprehensive property destination, reveals what Brits wish they knew before moving home.
An emotional rollercoaster
With the average property transaction taking 14 weeks to complete*, moving home is an emotional rollercoaster for nearly two-thirds of Brits, with 62% saying that they found their previous moves more stressful than they had anticipated. This stress was compounded by the dreaded property chain, with just 11% of respondents saying that their experience went smoothly and a further 18% saying that they lost or nearly lost their property purchase as a result.
Purchasing a home isn’t just a financial transaction but a uniquely emotional experience with over a third (34%) of buyers building a personal connection with the seller of the home, hoping that a personal connection will help safeguard the sale and mitigate against it falling through.
Financial foresight
When it came to the financial implications of moving, nearly 40% of respondents said that their move cost more than they had budgeted. For 29% of respondents, these additional costs were attributed to standard transactional services such as surveyors and conveyancers.
Unexpected costs vary with every home move but 44% of respondents said these costs were more than £500, and 30% more than £1,000 – while 15% of home movers were stung by more than £1,500.
Smaller details make a difference
In terms of specific details to check before buying a property, 46% of respondents wished they had been more rigorous with their research before purchasing. With harmonious living high on everyone’s wish list 16% wish they had spoken to the neighbours before purchasing the property, while 15% say they wish they checked broadband speeds and strength of the mobile phone signal in the area (11%), factors that have become even more important with more people than ever working from home.
The aesthetic advantage
In addition, the majority of home movers wished they had invested in staging their property before selling it. 53% even went as far as saying that they would have sold their home for more money if they had taken the time and effort to stage it, although 31% said they didn’t have the additional budget to do so. With 84% of respondents agreeing that home staging is worthwhile, it's a real consideration for sellers in a market where Instagram and programmes like Selling Sunset provide buyers with a steady-stream of dream homes.
Decluttering is evidently the order of the day, with 52% of respondents wishing they had done more before moving, and a further 28% confessing that they were too nostalgic when packing. One in five (20%) admitted that the process took far longer than expected, showing many underestimate the work involved with moving home.
Tom Parker, Consumer Spokesperson at Zoopla comments: “Moving home is one of the biggest investments many of us will ever make so it’s only natural the process inspires a wide range of emotions. Finding that balance between head and heart can often be the most difficult, such as deciding whether to throw out certain possessions you may no longer use but have had for years, or being emotionally invested in the price your property sells for. We hope the responses to this study highlight that these are emotions all home movers feel, while we have also launched our Homemovers Zooploma to guide home movers through the process in the most seamless way possible and help them avoid the most common pitfalls.”
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For further information, please contact PR Team on pr@zoopla.co.uk or +44 (0)20 3873 8770.
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We know you're not just looking for a place to live. You're looking for a home.
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It'll be the feeling of starting out on your own.
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And that bungalow won't just be a way to release some equity, it will be a chance to spend more time with the grandkids.
We know that searching for a home is about more than just checking its price, location and features (important as all those things are).
What really matters is how it makes you feel.
We know what a home is really worth.
So let us help you find yours.
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