HOMEOWNERS’ biggest grumbles when moving house include having to wait for the WiFi to be installed, waiting on a move-in date – and dealing with bad weather.

A study of 2,000 adults who have gone through the arduous task of moving found 60 per cent found the experience 'stressful', while 40 per cent were frustrated as many aspects were out of their control.

Among the top 20 bugbears were having to deal with estate agents and solicitors and being unable to squeeze furniture into the new property.

A further three in 10 even had the nightmare of cleaning up after the previous owners.

It also emerged that almost half experienced unexpected costs when they moved, and of these, nearly one in four were taken aback by estate agent fees.

Homeowners forked out for an estimated £2,800 for estate agent fees – with more than a tenth claiming they spent less on actually furnishing their new home.

Sam Mitchell, CEO of fee-free estate agent Strike, which commissioned the research to mark the nationwide launch of its moving hub platform, said: "Moving house can be an expensive and stressful process, and unfortunately far too many sellers feel ripped off.

“They should be able to put their hard-earned cash into their new home, rather than wasting them on high fees.                

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“Being able to remove the estate agent fees from the process gives the power back to the customer to put their money towards the things which really matter – and we’re here for anyone selling who wants a stress-free experience that puts them in control.”

Homeowners also encountered an average of £2,322 worth of additional costs they had not budgeted for when moving home.

And almost four in 10 (38 per cent) felt these fees were unjustified, with a third happy to cut the estate agent out of the process altogether if possible.

In fact, estate agent fees ranked highly on a list of life’s biggest rip-offs – just behind the likes of hospital parking and snacks at the cinema.

Instead, 76 per cent would have preferred to have spent this cash on doing their property up – with a new kitchen being the dream for homeowners if they could have freed up the money.

TOP 20 MOVING BUGBEARS

1.            Solicitors not getting back to you

2.            Extortionate fees

3.            Delays from the sellers

4.            Having to deal with solicitors

5.            Waiting on a move-in date

6.            Organising services e.g. electricity, subscriptions etc

7.            Unexpected fees

8.            Rain on moving day

9.            Having to wait for Wi-Fi to be installed

10.          The new home being dirty

11.          Having to deal with estate agents

12.          Having to spend packing boxes

13.          Noisy new neighbours

14.          Having to redirect post

15.          Not being able to fit furniture through the front door

16.          Last minute changes to moving day

17.          Negotiating with the sellers

18.          Finding holes/scratches which were hidden when you viewed the place

19.          Sorting all the relevant new insurances

20.          Having to clean your old home

While six in 10 (58 per cent) were annoyed specifically with the estate agent fees as they had no idea what they covered.

The research also found of those who sold a property in the last five years, they visited six properties before ending up in their current home.

Sam Mitchell, from Strike, added: “Moving into a new property should be a memorable milestone – but it seems far too many people have a negative experience, with wasted fees often the cause of their stress and unhappiness.     

"Our moving hub eliminates all the usual stress that comes with buying and selling a house and ensures a more efficient and effective experience for all parties involved.”

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