Waiting for a completion date

littlelady88

my partner and i have had a offer accepted, our mortgage has been agreed and we have it in writing, our solicitor has said that he is waiting for the vendors to get back to their solicitor about a completion date, as they can't get hold of them. our solicitor has also said that they can't carry out all the searches until we have a completion date set!!!

Is this the vendors stalling for time, and has anyone come across this and how long did it take to get a completion date??

hazybubbles

absolute rubbish! completion is the very LAST thing that happens. You usually agree to a completion date when you exchange contracts, but exchange doesn't happen until you have all the paperwork on searches, surveys etc.
Do not exchange until you are 100% happy with the house and had all the relevant checks done because it is a legally binding contract.

Hailstorm

Your solicitor is talking codswallop. You do not need to agree a completion date before you can carry out the searches. Searches may uncover something that requires furhter investigation or takes time to sort out. Before you carry out the searches you will not know if the completion date is achievable.

Hazybubbles is correct. Agreeing a completion date is the last thing to be done before exchange of contracts.

se999

If the sellers are uncontactable, the solicitor may be worried that they aren't serious and committed to the sale, in which case the searches would be a waste of your money.

Uncontactable sellers can be a major problem.

Although the completion date isn't finalised until exchange, it is normal to have discussions and approximate timings quite early on. e.g. The last property we sold we knew we couldn't move out until the start of the New Year. So we gave that as the earliest date we could complete when viewers of the property asked.