At the end of November 1981, Hilda Ogden returned to Coronation Street after a short visit to her brother Archie Crabtree and to see his brand new house. Struck by the difference between Archie's home and No.13, she decided that she wanted to move up in the world and buy a new house. After viewing one on the River Park Estate she decided to sell No.13 and was told by the salesman that their house would fetch £7,000 which they could use as a deposit for their new home, for which the asking price was £17,000. Stan was against the idea of moving but Hilda badgered him into it and agreed that lodger Eddie Yeats could move with them, his rent helping towards the mortgage.
No.13 went on the market in December and Mr Ron Bell and his wife showed more than an interest in purchasing the property. Mr Bell was a former steelworker from Consett who moved down to Weatherfield to take a job with Thompson Engineering and he and his wife were offering cash with his redundancy money. The Ogdens hit a roadblock though when the building society refused them a £10,000 mortgage due to Stan's low earnings. Elsie Tanner at No.11 was desperate to see the back of the Ogdens, letting them use her phone to push forward the process of selling and advising the Bells to up their offer. The money went up to £7,500 and finally £8,000 with a cheque for £800 deposit. The Ogdens were sorely tempted with such riches and tried for a council house to live in instead. After seeing the rough area in which the offered house on Lime Kiln Road was situated, the Ogdens gave up their dreams and handed the annoyed Bells' back their cheque.