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Advice please! Buying a house process help

Auswifey
Auswifey Posts: 1 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all,

Hubby and I are currently living in Australia. I’m an Aussie and he’s a Brit. We have two children, one being a newborn and we have decided to move back to England.

We have found a house we would like to put an offer on however both didn’t realise the process is so different to
Buying in Australia where either seller or buyer can pull out prior to exchange.
The issue is, I need to apply for a spouse visa and also enter in a date of arrival on the visa application. So we really need the house purchase to go through and not have the potential seller pull out.

What can we do to ensure nothing falls through between the offer being accepted to exchange/completion?
Can we ask to speed things up and exchange/complete quicker? Obviously I know it depends if they are in a chain, we are waiting to find this out. Is it usually 2-3months from offer to exchange?
We are cash buyers so don’t have to wait for mortgages to be approved.

Any advice you can give would be great. I’m stressing out already and we haven’t even bought a house yet. I just hope there’s some sort of guarantee we could get that the house sale can’t fall through.

Thanks all.

Comments

  • csgohan4
    csgohan4 Posts: 10,587 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper Photogenic
    buying a house in UK is slow usually and 3 months is average but can take longer and you may not have any control over some things.


    As cash buyers it should be quick, but you need a good solicitor which usually helps. Get one locally to where you will buying, that might be useful. Have you got a building survey company in mind?
    "It is prudent when shopping for something important, not to limit yourself to Pound land/Estate Agents"

    G_M/ Bowlhead99 RIP
  • jimbog
    jimbog Posts: 2,113 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    Auswifey wrote: »
    Hi all,

    I need to apply for a spouse visa and also enter in a date of arrival on the visa application. So we really need the house purchase to go through and not have the potential seller pull out.

    Does your application insist that you own your own home in the UK before you can be issued with a visa? Far better to rent for six months, be able to look around properties yourselves rather than than have the extra stress of a house purchase
    Gather ye rosebuds while ye may
  • Pixie5740
    Pixie5740 Posts: 14,515 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Post Photogenic First Anniversary
    Corrected that for you...
    csgohan4 wrote: »
    buying a house in [STRIKE]UK[/STRIKE] England, Wales and Northern Ireland is slow usually and 3 months is average but can take longer and you may not have any control over some things.
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344 Forumite
    First Post Combo Breaker
    As jimbog says, rent first. Buying a house while you are on the other side of the world so unable to view it and unsure when you will arrive seems like a completely mad idea.
  • steampowered
    steampowered Posts: 6,176 Forumite
    First Anniversary Name Dropper First Post
    You only have a guarantee that the purchase won't fall through once you've exchanged contracts. The seller can pull out at any time before then.

    The usual delay between exchange and completion would be about two weeks. You could ask for a longer delay though.

    Wouldn't it be more sensible to move into rented accommodation for a few months? This will give you time to get to know the area a little and view different properties.
  • eddddy
    eddddy Posts: 16,391 Forumite
    First Anniversary First Post Name Dropper
    ... or even easier if you have family or friends in the UK that could put you up initially.

    It's difficult to find short tenancies in the UK, due to legislation and the higher relative overhead costs.

    Plus the extra complexities of referencing (no established employment references from the UK, no credit history in the UK etc).
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596 Forumite
    Name Dropper First Anniversary First Post
    steampowered wrote: »
    You only have a guarantee that the purchase won't fall through once you've exchanged contracts.
    Even that isn't a guarantee that it will complete, just that you'll have remedies if the other party breaches the contract. It does make it much less likely but I'm not sure I'd be booking my tickets from Australia on the strength of having exchanged (and as pointed out, you don't typically get a great deal of notice anyway).
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