How does exchange actually happen ??

Dukes_of_hazard

I Am just wondering how the process of exchanging contracts actually happens.

Our EA rang Friday and said that exchange would be imminent , Hooray we said as the offer was accepted on our house in early Jan !!.

So today we have heard nothing and I am wondering if the EA,Solicitors or conveyancers will call me to tell me that exchange has taken place or will they ring and ask when we would like moving day to be ( we have already stated a couple of days we can do )

Sooner this is over the better , how come on all these property programs on the telly they are always completing and moving in in a couple of months tops !!

Heth_2

I'm not sure how it actually happens, but our solicitor told us as soon as exchange had happened. For us the estate agent was useless, they did nothing about the sale at all (on friday when we completed they didn't even know we were supposed to be getting the keys from them).
When we went in to sign our contract we agreed on the completion date, the solicitor then checked this was ok with the seller. So when we exchanged we knew when we would be completing.
Good luck! Its worth it.

lush_walrus

Generally you would agree on a completion date prior to exchange of contracts, as part of the contract will state that monies will be released on such and such date under the conditions of....

Exchange is literally a time and date when all of the chains solicitors are present and in the office where by all contracts in the chain are literally exchanged and the deposit money transfered at the same time from each solicitor representing the buyer to each solicitor representing the seller.

The contract exists to ensure that you all complete on each sale on the agreed date, that will be the same throughout the chain and that the outstanding money, along with the deposit which the solicitor will have received after exchange will be passed to each individual seller. The deposit is there to ensure that should anyone default and not complete or try to pull out compensation will be available in the form of the deposit immediately.

The fact that a date has not been set will mean that you will not have exchanged yet, probably as is normally the case there are problems in getting all of the chain to agree on a date. As you have said ASAP, your EA probably will come to you last once the others have set a date that is as close as possible. After that it will just be a matter of making sure that each solicitor is also around to exchange contracts.

clairehi

you need to phone your solicitor to find out whats going on. nothing will happen unless you keep chasing them, and chase the estate agent to chase them and the other sides solicitor too!

you cannot exchange contracts without a confirmed moving date. if they have not been in touch with you to confirm the completion date, you will not have exchanged yet.

I asked my lawyers secretary today how it actually worked...

assuming everyone has lodged signed contracts deposits etc with their solicitor and there is a completion date agreed already.

it starts at the solicitor at the bottom of the chain. they ring/fax the next one up to confirm all is in place to exchange that day. and so on in turn all the way up the chain til everyone has confirmed they are ready to go. then (I think) they go back down the chain actually exchanging the contracts.

if this is wrong Im sure someone will tell me!

hoping its going to happen tomorrow for us. similar to waiting to go into labour! although harder to induce exchange of contracts apparently!

lush_walrus

Heth wrote:

I'm not sure how it actually happens, but our solicitor told us as soon as exchange had happened. For us the estate agent was useless, they did nothing about the sale at all (on friday when we completed they didn't even know we were supposed to be getting the keys from them).
When we went in to sign our contract we agreed on the completion date, the solicitor then checked this was ok with the seller. So when we exchanged we knew when we would be completing.
Good luck! Its worth it.

Yep your EA has been pretty poor, generally you do sign the contracts prior to the date of exchange though as all of the deposit monies need to have cleared, but still you should have already firmed up a date with the solicitor only needing to confirm before setting it in stone.

Bossyboots

Claire you are spot on. They will then all send the contracts on to each other as appropriate with a letter confirming exchange took place on x date and at x time.

robwend

lush_walrus wrote:

Yep your EA has been pretty poor, generally you do sign the contracts prior to the date of exchange QUOTE]



i have to correct you there you can sign contracts as soon as searches and all documents are in place, ,there is no correct way of completing apart from that you will have agreed a moving date with your buyer before exchange and you will recieve a call from your solicitors askin you if you will still like to go ahead with exchange and all exchange is is they telephone each other and agree that you guys are buying

robwend

robwend wrote:

lush_walrus wrote:

Yep your EA has been pretty poor, generally you do sign the contracts prior to the date of exchange QUOTE]



i have to correct you there you can sign contracts as soon as searches and all documents are in place, ,there is no correct way of completing apart from that you will have agreed a moving date with your buyer before exchange and you will recieve a call from your solicitors askin you if you will still like to go ahead with exchange and all exchange is is they telephone each other and agree that you guys are buying

IGNORE AL OF ABOVE!! LOL THOUGHT YOU STATED YOU DONT NOT DO!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME IM EXCHANGING IN THE MORNING!!<STRESSED> LOL