Average length of time between exchange and completion

fshlady

I realise there are unlikely to be any averages here but having worked hard to get all the paperwork sorted quickly to ensure a quick sale (as wanted by the sellers), we are now ready to exchange and my conveyancer has received a letter from their solicitors saying they will require 3 months from exchange to completion. There seem to be quite a few threads about exchange and completion on the same day here but what is to be expected normally?

JennyW_2

do you mean 3 months from acceptance of offer to completion?

Exchange to completion is "usually" 4 weeks or less. I've never heard of it being 3 months?

Jorgan_2

THe average seems to be 2-4 weeks between exchange & completion. IS there a new build involved in the chain as this does seem a long time between exchange & completion.

hobo28

It is quite common for things to take 3 months from start to finish. As JennyW said, from acceptence of offer to completion.

If its 3 months from exchange to completion then somethings going on. Maybe the sellers aren't ready yet.

fshlady

Yes - it is exchange! I had the offer accepted on 19 May the sellers want 3 months between exchange and completion. I thought it was rather a long time myself.

fshlady

The sellers said they would be looking for a new place to buy or would move in with relatives. So presumably they aren't ready but I assumed once they accepted the offer that they would start to get ready.

sportbeth

we're due to exchange on Monday - complete on the 1st August if it all goes to plan

huglebear

A friend of mine recently asked his buyers for a similar timescale - he is moving to Brighton where the housing market is so crazy the EAs were unwilling to have him make offers on places unless his own place was already under offer. He had therefore only just had an offer accepted on a place, with a long chain, when his buyer's searches were completed. However he wasn't too surprised when the buyer said that a three month delay was no good for them and they have compromised on six weeks between exchange and completion. He faces being homeless if his chain doesn't come off by then but his attitude was that his buyers also need somewhere to live and at least this approach might chivvy his chain along. If you want to move before the three months is up it is worth negotiating and seeing if the vendors can be reasonable. It is also worth checking with your mortgage lender if there is one how they'd feel as some mortgage deals are only valid for 3-6 months. Similarly some of the reports/searches you might have had done (not the standard ones, but some specialist ones) have a limited validity legally. Might be useful if you need to negotiate.

dfarry

My solicitor the other day said they thought exchange might be in about two weeks and completion one week later.... personally i think we'd rather complete a week later

CheeseOnToast

I exchanged this monday and completed today !! lol

linlin_3

fshlady wrote:

The sellers said they would be looking for a new place to buy or would move in with relatives. So presumably they aren't ready but I assumed once they accepted the offer that they would start to get ready.

Wrong!! Never assume! If you now accept the three months, there may be further delays after that. You have options: accept their conditions but state completion date - disadvantage of this is that the sellers may just refuse to complete; or, withdraw your offer (which I suspect you can do without penalty as they have imposed conditions after exchange of contracts), then put another offer in of the same amount, conditional on them moving out. Make sure you speak to them direct, not via an agent.

The sellers have basically got all the advantages in this situation. If they end up not completing, what have they got to lose? I appreciate they may be in the wrong legally, but the law is an !!! and there's very little that can be done.

Suggest you start looking for an alternative property.

Good luck