How Coronavirus Has Affected Our House Move And Renovations
I’ve talked about it a lot but on Wednesday 25th March we were lucky enough to get the keys to our first proper house. We first saw the house at the start of December and feel very thankful that despite what’s going on in the world we have the keys and that this is one less stress. We’re planning on doing 3-4 months worth of renovations before moving in and the list is pretty long. I’ll be doing a month 1 update post in a few weeks so you can take a look at what we’ve been up to. But of course, the Coronavirus has had an impact on the process. Here are some of the ways the coronavirus has affected our house move and renovations. Now I do want to call out I know me and Luke are in a very privileged position, to begin with. And the ways coronavirus has affected us doesn’t compare to what some people are going through.
How Coronavirus Has Affected Our House Move 1: Collecting the keys
Lockdown officially started on Monday 23rd March so we weren’t even sure if we’d be able to complete our house buy. If it had happened even a few days later then we wouldn’t have been able to. We were meant to complete on Tuesday but the seller’s movers pulled out which is understandable. As they already had an empty property to go to (and were probably worried it would fall through) they found alternatives for the Wed.
But that led us to our first main problem, how to collect the keys. Estate agents were all shut as they’re not essential. And of course, we wanted to stay away from people outside our household where possible. We ended up collecting the keys from the estate agent managers house. When we turned up (and stood back from the door) he placed the package with the keys outside for us to pick up. Coronavirus has affected our house move from the very first day but we weren’t going to let it stop us (while still being safe!)
We had to wait until the sellers had totally moved out before going in
The main reason that house moves are a bit of a no-no now is about coming in contact with too many people. We ended up sitting in our car for about 3 hours between collecting the keys and actually being able to go into the house. Even though Coronavirus has affected our house move I’m not complaining about this. The sellers had been let down by movers and needed time. And for everyone’s safety, we didn’t want to come into contact with them so we waited. I was still working at the time so was hot spotting my work laptop to my phone in the car. This was an interesting way to work, but it worked for us.
How coronavirus has affected our house move 3: Wait times for materials
Our plan is a 3-4 month renovation time before we physically move into the house. There’s a lot to do as we’re doing as much as we can before we move in. I think the only thing that won’t be completely redone is the main bathroom. But the issue we’re facing is it’s becoming really tough to get the materials we need for the renovations. Again not a complaint as I know delivery drivers are under loads of pressure. And some stores have been shut etc but it’s been tough.
We’ve needed building materials and managed to do one contactless click and collect order from B&Q. But that seems to have stopped now. Too many people seemed to have the same idea to do work at home. Cornavirus has affected our house move in terms of us being able to do and finish renovations. Hopefully, it won’t affect the overall time it takes, but it just means things may be done in different orders.
Luke being out of work
So Luke is self-employed and most of his work has dried up. Much like a lot of other people who are self-employed. Being without his income is a big hit but we’re going to be okay. Through savings, the grant in June etc we’ll cope. But the silver lining of how coronavirus has affected our house move is that Luke has been able to do more. The plan was that he would be at the house some evenings and all weekend around work. But now he’s not at work he’s been able to go a lot more and ultimately get more done. Realistically if he’d been working he’d have either pushed himself too hard and burnt out. Or it would have realistically taken us a bit longer to finish.
The only issue now is my dad has suspected Cornavirus so we’re self-isolating from 11th April. This means for 2 weeks we won’t be visiting the house so we’re pushing pause. But everyone’s health has to come first.
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18 responses to “How Coronavirus Has Affected Our House Move And Renovations”
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All About Me
Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
Nothing currently planned
I really do hope we come out of this soon. Good luck on the house and I hope you get to do some more of it.
I hope your dad gets better. All the best
So glad that you did manage to get the key before complete shut down and also having the extra time means you both can get some work on the house done in time for when the ban is lifted.
Thanks, we’re both raring to go when we can, just counting down the days x
It’s been so difficult for you moving during this time. it’s especially hard when you are self-employed as I know. I hope your dad gets better soon too Rhian, how worrying for you.
Thank you, it is tough but I feel thankful for everything we have as I know there are lots of people worse off than us x
What a stressful situation, I’m glad you managed to get in though. I hope your dad gets better soon x
Hope your Dad is feeling much better soon. I have moved as well recently and know how difficult it was during this situation. Fingers crossed you can carry on renovating soon.
Thanks, he’s on the mend now which is good. It’s tough isn’t it moving around this time x
It’s strange as some people have just moved out of a house on our road and new tenants moved in despite the lockdown. It’s horrible how the pandemic is affecting so much right now.
I would not like to have been in your position with all this going on, it would drive me mental! I have ordered some paint to decorate and am getting agitated because it is already 2 weeks late and still hasn’t showed up plus other things I want are out of stock because everyone seems to have the same idea. I am also self employed so it is rather worrying but we will hang in there. Look after yourselves.
Yeah it’s taking so much longer to get anything for the house as everyone seems to think now is the time to renovate or decorate x
I can imagine how stressed you’ll be right now. So sorry to hear about your plans and dad, it’s just awful the way everything is now, my uncle and aunt have the virus too.
Hope this all ends soon.
It’s been terrible for some people just moving house. There was a couple who were supposed to be moving into the house opposite us, Unsure if it’s even happening now.
I can’t imagine being in a position sitting outside in a car trying to work before moving in! I think a lot of people put a lot of false hope on the idea of a really romantic moving date when you move with someone – I know I did, when in actual fact it was very adminy for me! It sounds like you’re getting there though and luckily got in just in the nick of time x
It was quite adminy after, I think the hardest thing for us is we’re not actually moving in for a few months x
I am so pleased for you guys that you found ways around things to get the keys and get to move in! Sorry to hear about your dad, I hope he is feeling better soon! Stay safe and good luck with the renovations! x
Aw I really feel for you with this, as I know how long you have been planning and worked so hard. Keep you chin up xx
Firstly, congratulations on your new house! I can just imagine how frustrating it was for all of this to happen during the Coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. I think you handled it very well, and hope to see you enjoying your new home soon! x