Buying a house 'more stressful than having a child'

Buying or selling a home is more stressful than having a child, changing jobs or getting married, a survey has found.

About seven in 10 who have bought or sold a house had found it stressful, according to the research from Which? Mortgage Advisers.

A divorce was the only major life event in the survey which people considered to be more distressing than buying or selling a property, with nearly eight in 10 (78%) people surveyed who had been divorced saying they found the process stressful.

Nearly 2,000 people took part in the survey who had either bought or sold a house in the previous five years.

The survey also asked people if they had experienced other life events and, if they had, it asked them if they had found these events stressful.

Some 70% of people who had sold a house had found it stressful, while 69% of people who had bought a house felt this way.

%VIRTUAL-ArticleSidebar-property-guide%Arranging care for an elderly relative came closely behind in terms of the burden of stress, with 68% of people who had done this saying they found it stressful.

Meanwhile, just over half (53%) of people who had had a child said this had caused them stress, while 49% of people who had changed jobs said this, as did 40% who had got married.

More than one in three (36%) people said finding a school for their child had been stressful, while one in five (22%) retired people said that leaving work had been stressful.

Less than one in five (17%) people said buying a new car was stressful.

Here are some tips from Which? Mortgage Advisers to make the process of buying or selling a home less stressful:

:: Know the process. Buying and selling may involve being part of a chain of buyers and sellers, so be realistic about time frames and when you can expect to move.

:: Consider service as well as cost. When choosing a lender, consider their reliability, range of products and the overall costs, rather than just the initial cost alone and invest in a good quality conveyancer or property solicitor.

:: Make sure you stay in the loop. Building good relationships with the professionals involved in the process could help to ease your worries.

Which? Mortgage Advisers is a service which was launched by Which? in 2010.

Here are the percentages of people who said they found a particular life event stressful according to the research for Which? Mortgage Advisers. The numbers in brackets are the numbers of people surveyed who said they had experienced a particular life event.

:: Going through a divorce (951), 78%

:: Selling a house (1,691), 70%

:: Buying a house (1952), 69%

:: Arranging care for an elderly relative (1,182), 68%

:: Having a child (1,398), 53%

:: Changing jobs (1,839), 49%

:: Getting married (1,652), 40%

:: Finding a school for your child (1,262), 36%

:: Retiring from work (1,160), 22%

:: Buying a new car (1,820), 17%