Living far away from an elderly parent or family member can be very difficult, especially if the parent has care needs or can’t get out and about easily. The loneliness and isolation often felt by those living alone, especially the elderly, is making many families up and down the country re-assess the geography between households and their inability to just ‘pop in’.

Moving closer to help

Nick had toyed with the idea to move from Leicester to be nearer his mum Patricia on the South Coast for a couple of years, but the decision to move closer was finally cemented after a flood at his mum’s property. “Mum’s house was badly damaged by a flood and had to move into a nursing home whilst it was repaired. Living so far away, it was hard for me to help, and I hated the thought of mum trying to muddle through on her own,” explained Nick. “I offered to look after her Springer Spaniel Tilly, who mum adores, as she couldn’t take her into the home. I knew then that moving closer to help was the best thing for mum and for me.” 

Nick looked at various options to sell his home and after reading positive reviews, decided to investigate the homebuying route and contacted Spring to discuss his requirements. “When I decided to make the mover nearer mum, I wanted to do it asap, so I contacted several home-buying companies including Spring to get an offer. Springs offer was the best out of all the companies I spoke to, but I didn’t proceed things any further as decided to try and sell via an estate agent instead,” explained Nick. 

Taking the next step 

Nick marketed his home with a local agent and as the property market was so buoyant, he received an offer on his 2 bed Leicestershire terrace very quickly. 

“I didn’t have to wait long for an offer and after I accepted, it meant I could start looking for a new house near mum,” said Nick. “It was perfect timing as I found an amazing house on the coast in Littlehampton, it was ideal and meant I would be living only 8 miles from mum”, explained Nick. 

A Change of plans

Sadly, Nick’s plans came to an abrupt halt when his buyer pulled out, leaving him disappointed and unable to proceed on the Littlehampton property.  

“I felt very let down and frustrated that my buyer had pulled out through no fault of my own,” said Nick, “I just wanted to get on with the move and now had to face the reality of losing the house I’d found so close to mum.” 

Having previously spoken to Valerie at Spring, Nick knew that Spring offered a chain repair service and may be able to help him. “I contacted Spring again and explained my situation. I asked Valerie to re-visit the initial offer made as my home had gone up in value,” explained Nick. “True to her word, Valerie came back to me and even with Spring’s initial offer being the highest out of all the other companies, they still increased the offer and I was happy to accept.” 

A Spring sale is guaranteed and won’t fall through, meaning Nick was able to proceed with the Littlehampton house, and in the meantime continue to work from home without disruption whilst the sale went through. 

“Knowing I wouldn’t lose my new house was such a relief and meant I wasn’t adding more stress to my mum’s situation with her house still getting repaired,” said Nick. “As my sale progressed Valerie, and Rebecca from the Spring underwriting team, kept me updated throughout with open, honest, and very professional communication. Even the solicitors Spring used where very efficient and got the exchange and completion dates spot on. On the day of completion, I travelled down on the train, stayed in a nice B&B for a night and picked up the keys up the next day. After that, it was a short cab ride over to the house where the removal van was waiting for me - it went like a dream and was totally stress-free”. 

Settled and happy  

Now settled into life on the South coast and with renovation plans in the pipeline, Nick is very happy in his new home. “Mum is doing great and now back home with Tilly. It’s brilliant being able to pop in and see her whenever I want, it’s a massive relief to know she’s only down the road. Moving nearer to mum was the best decision all round for both us and I’m grateful to everyone at Spring for making the move happen so smoothly, plus I’ve just received my additional payment from the Spring Price Promise, so I’m very happy.” 

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