Should I be concerned?

colli

Hi,

It's been nearly 4 weeks since we've had our offer accepted and we were lead to believe the vendors were keen to move as quickly as possible (they're moving into rented so no chain). We're FTBs and want to get out of our rented accommodation asap. We've bust a gut to get everything we can sorted, taking time off work to go to mortgages appointments etc. We've got our mortgage approved, pending the survey valuation which was booked in for yesterday.

We found out yesterday despite promises of "it will be with you in the next few days" going on for a couple of weeks our solicitor still hasn't recieved anything at all from the sellers' solicitor. Apparently the vendors have been taking their time getting the info back to their solicitors. We were assured documents were sent out last night but today our solicitor has recieved nothing....

I really feel messed around here as we've made every effort to move things along but it seems that the sellers are dragging their feet. Could they be deliberately stalling or do I just have unrealistic expectations about how long these things take?

thanks for any opinions!

Silverbull

colli wrote: »

Hi,

It's been nearly 4 weeks since we've had our offer accepted and we were lead to believe the vendors were keen to move as quickly as possible (they're moving into rented so no chain). We're FTBs and want to get out of our rented accommodation asap. We've bust a gut to get everything we can sorted, taking time off work to go to mortgages appointments etc. We've got our mortgage approved, pending the survey valuation which was booked in for yesterday.

We found out yesterday despite promises of "it will be with you in the next few days" going on for a couple of weeks our solicitor still hasn't recieved anything at all from the sellers' solicitor. Apparently the vendors have been taking their time getting the info back to their solicitors. We were assured documents were sent out last night but today our solicitor has recieved nothing....

I really feel messed around here as we've made every effort to move things along but it seems that the sellers are dragging their feet. Could they be deliberately stalling or do I just have unrealistic expectations about how long these things take?

thanks for any opinions!

If it all falls through dont worry. Time is on your side, house prices are going down.

SmlSave

It could just be that your sellers are useless with paperwork and they don't feel the need to rush like you do.

4 weeks is a long time but some people are just not organised! Ask your estate agent to chase them, you could say that you're going to start looking at other properties if the paperwork isn't sorted soon

sonastin

Some people's idea of "as quickly as possible" is "you do everything as quickly as possible so that you are ready to go by the time we get round to doing our share of it and we don't have to wait for you at all":rotfl:

It might be that they didn't realise what was involved from their side and they weren't prepared, so it is taking them longer than they expected.

Or they might just be inefficient.

I don't think 4 weeks is time to start worrying, but it is time to start making noises and pushing them to get a wriggle on

Evilm

Talk to the estate agents and explain what you said above. They should be able to tell the vendors that you are unhappy and to get info to their solicitors immediately.

To be honest after the offer is accepted and the estate agent sent out the Memo of Sale with everyones details are on it it should be no more than a week before the solicitors get in contact with each other. If they've received nothing at all i would be suspicious at this point myself.

colli

Thanks for the replies.

The estate agent has spoken to the vendor's solicitor who promises the draft contracts have been sent.

I'd have thought that a FTB with no chain, ready to go with finance in place would be something to be grateful for in this market but hey ho.

We'll see what Monday brings but there is a house down the road that's £10k cheaper and starting to look very attractive!;)

babyharry5

firstly 4 weeks isn't very long at all
the ftb in our chain is not ready to exchange after their offer was accepted in march.

if however, you are seriously considering the house down the road, then dont waste anyone elses time with this sale. It may well be the solicitors that are delaying things and not your seller.

colli

babyharry5 wrote: »

firstly 4 weeks isn't very long at all
the ftb in our chain is not ready to exchange after their offer was accepted in march.

if however, you are seriously considering the house down the road, then dont waste anyone elses time with this sale. It may well be the solicitors that are delaying things and not your seller.

Not seriously considering the other house at this stage. We saw it before we offered on the current one and MUCH prefer the one we're trying to buy. However, it's frustrating at the moment as it seems the only time being wasted is ours! I just feel a bit of honesty and clear communication wouldn't go amiss.

RB-Arc

I can appreciate what you are going through; Buying a house is stressful at the best of times. What everyone has said so far is right though. 4 weeks is not a very long time, it's quite possible to do a
simultaneous exchange and completion, and a normal conveyancing procedure can take between 6-8 weeks. And part of the Estate Agent's job is to do the running around for you.
I would recommend finding out why it has taken so long for them to get the documents out to your Solicitor, just to rule out any underlying potential issues.

dubsey

Our normal process is, offer accepted, sales memos get sent to both solicitors - this is usually within a few days of offer being accepted, subject to weekends/bank holidays/secretarial cover as our secretary is part-time.

Solicitors receive these and send out the initial forms for their client to fill in and return. Client gets these back along with ID and, on most occasions, an initial fee. Some solicitors will send the other sides solicitor an initial 'we've been instructed by x on the purchase/sale of' letter, but not all do this. Some vendors and purchasers will insist on visiting the solicitors office with their ID as, understandably, they don't want to send them in, most solicitors have to personally see the original copies.

Solicitors on sellers side will then apply for HMLR entries and prepare the draft contract pack for sending out to purchasers solicitor. This is normally sent via either DX or post.

This first stage is only pushed through quickly if there were conditions attached to the sale, so in the case of repos where there is a deadline for exchange for example, I will always call the buyers solicitor as soon as I am given the file, to ensure they work more quickly.

Things should start happening for you soon, but definately speak to the agent, as, although they work for the vendor, without a buyer the property is back on the market.

gnimia

dubsey wrote: »

Solicitors on sellers side will then apply for HMLR entries and prepare the draft contract pack for sending out to purchasers solicitor. This is normally sent via either DX or post.

Thisis really helpful - thank you! But just out of interest - what is DX - have noticed it a few times now, and never remembered to ask?