Spring fixes Lisa’s chain break misery

Moving home can be stressful at the best of times and in today’s frantic market, even though properties are selling quickly, our own Spring research shows that over 34% of sellers have experienced a sale falling through. Sadly, for Lisa Howliston this was the situation she found herself in when three consecutive buyers pulled out of her home sale, and she risked losing the new build property she had fallen in love with. 

A change of lifestyle

Lisa had lived in her Morpeth family home for over 21 years and had not only raised her two daughters Francesca and Verity there but had also run a successful holiday let business thanks to the 5* holiday cottage within the grounds of the property. 

Following her daughters moving out and taking their own steps onto the local property market, Lisa wanted a fresh start and decided to put the detached property, complete with swimming pool, on the market to move to a smaller more manageable property. 

“I fell in love with a property on the same Permission estate that my eldest daughter Francesca had moved to a few months earlier, but to move into the new build, I needed to have sold my own home, so I started to make plans to get my house on the market”, explained Lisa 

Chain break misery

Choosing to sell her property privately, Lisa’s home generated lots of interest with local buyers and after several viewings, received an offer shortly afterwards. Unfortunately, the sale fell through after a few weeks, but Lisa was approached by another private buyer who made her an offer and she accepted, but sadly, this offer fell through also. Disheartened by the negative experience of selling privately, Lisa listed her property with Yopa in the hope of finding a new buyer online. However, history repeated itself and after a few weeks, when the new buyer pulled out of the sale leaving Lisa in limbo, and now facing the reality of losing the new build home she had her heart set on. 

“I was so upset when the sale fell through for a second time. I’d lost 2 buyers through no fault of my own and it was all getting too stressful, so I decided to take the chance as relist with Yopa”, said Lisa. 

“I received an offer from a couple who loved the house and excited by the prospect of running the holiday cottage themselves, so I was delighted and accepted their offer. All was well for a few weeks, but they had to pull out due to a change in their own circumstances. I was so disappointed and was fed up with being let down, plus I was on the verge of losing the new build I wanted buy”, said Lisa.  

Finding the solution

Lisa used to work as a housing local manager for a retirement provider that offered Spring Part-Exchange and Home-Buying Services for their developments, so she was familiar with the alternative options available to homeowners outside the traditional estate agency route of sale.  Knowing the solid reputation Spring had within the industry, Lisa contacted Spring directly to buy her home, removing any future uncertainty of her sale falling through again. 

“Once I decided to go with Spring, the whole process was stress free and it was so nice to deal with same person throughout. Rebecca was my contact and is lovely to deal with, a true professional. My solicitor is a professional and I’ve worked with her for many years however Springs legal team are too, no messing about like some solicitors do”, complimented Lisa. 

A stress-free move

As Lisa’s home sale was now guaranteed with Spring, she was finally able to agree the purchase of her dream new build property. And, thanks to the speed of completion, Lisa was able to agree the price on her new home before the developer increased the asking price. 

“I got my new house at the price I originally wanted to pay thanks to how quickly Spring completed. I could have completed on my sale within 2 weeks, but as I had the holiday cottage in the grounds of my property, I wanted to wait until the last of my guests had vacated. I had such loyal guests who returned year after year, so having the flexible choice of completion dates with Spring let me honour all the bookings I had”, explained Lisa. 

To help make the move even easier, Lisa was able to access her property for up to 14 days post completion, resulting in a far less stressful transition. 

“I was given an extra 14 days to leave my property once I had completed on the sale and this helped me tremendously as I was moving into rented accommodation as my new build wasn’t quite ready. Emptying and leaving 2 properties was a lot to deal with and having this flexibility and extra time was invaluable for me - it made the move so much easier”, said Lisa. 

Settled and happy

Lisa is loving her new life and really enjoying being so close to her daughter Verity who lives nearby. With new areas to discover, Lisa is enjoying long daily walks with her 2 beautiful dogs, and with news that daughter Verity is now looking to buy a property on the same estate as her mum, Lisa couldn’t be happier. 

“Anyone considering Spring, do not hesitate, just do it. Thank you Rebecca and all the team at Spring for all your help. I can’t fault the service and would highly recommend to my friends and family”. 

Pictured: Lisa's beautiful dogs

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