As a nation, we are not known for our dynamic personalities and snappy decision-making. If overthinking were an event in the Olympic Games, we’d be in the top ten for sure. Think about the last time you made any kind of purchase – a short holiday maybe, a washing machine, perhaps even a kettle. How many hours did you spend reading online reviews and comparing prices before deciding it was probably best to leave it for now?
We thought so.
If you take the kettle example and scale up, it’s a wonder that anyone in the UK ever moves house. So why does it take us so long and what can we do to speed up the process?
The National Hobby of Browsing Property Listings
To put it simply, we’re nosy. We love taking a look into other people’s homes, judging their carpets and telling our family how much better use we’d have made of the kitchen-diner. It scratches an itch. It makes us appreciate that perhaps our out-of-date bathroom isn’t as bad as that avocado suite. (Unless you’re Gen Z.)
It can also be a way to ease yourself into a genuine house move. Exploring options creates a sense of opportunity, the idea that when the time is right, there will be plenty to choose from. Browsing homes for sale online can get us excited about the prospect of a move and help us work out what’s realistic and affordable.
Why Decisions Take so Long
Let’s be honest here. Moving house is a big deal, one of the biggest life events going, along with births, deaths, marriages and queuing online for Taylor Swift tickets. It can be very stressful and complex and the thought of making the wrong decision can feel crippling. We worry about the sale falling through, we can’t face someone coming round to take photos, and so there we are.
The longer you stay in a house, the more emotionally attached you get, and it can feel hard to let go. Maybe your children were born there and grew up there, or you had pets there. You accumulate memories that feel connected to the bricks and mortar.
Slow House Sale Processes
Selling a home in the UK can take a long time too and the length of the process can feel off-putting for many people. Along with the unpredictability of the UK property market, speed is one of the things that can slow down a house sale – meaning it’s not even all in your hands!
Long chains and slow processes to completion has even led to alternative selling pathways to address concerns around selling a home. For example, companies that buy houses for cash for example offer to speed up processes. It also takes out the worry of a sale falling through, giving you a guaranteed sale at a time that suits you instead.
If you take a route like this, the biggest hurdle is committing to the decision. And until then? We’ll carry on browsing, imagining where we’d put the sofa in that country mansion and maybe treat ourselves to a new kettle.
