First time buyer

Dan87

Hi,my girlfriend,two friends and I are starting university soon and her parents are looking for a house for the four of us,i was just inquiring how long the process of buying a house and moving in takes on average?thanks for any help

Manchester_Lucy

It's hard to say without knowing if they have found a property and whether it's empty or not.

However I would say that the average time is around 2-3 months or so.

Jim_B_3

What happens when you and your girlfriend break up? Will one of you move out and rent out your room?

Dan87

We found a house last week and are going to look at it today,it is empty aswell.We've been very close friends for a couple of years now,so unless the break up was a bad one it wouldn't pose a problem.Thanks a lot for your help

LucyLocketOutOfPocket

The average time to complete on a house purchase (i.e. the day you actually move in) is 12 weeks. There are mutiple factors that alter timings including:

Length of chain (longer the chain the more complicated the procedure is).

How pro-active and motivated everyone is... including the Estate Agents (EA) and solicitors are...... As the buyer I would recommend that you constantly chase both your EA & sol once you have had an offer accepted on a property, in order to make sure they are all doing their jobs in obtaining all the information they need to get the sale exchanged and completed. NEVER assume your EA and sol are trying to push a purchase through. EAs and sols have many cases going on at once and its true that those who shout the loudest reap the quickest results!

If you can find a house that is empty or that has no onward chain, and YOU are pro-active by calling your EA and sol at least once a week then you may be able to push the purchase through in 6 weeks. When you have found something tell your EA & sol that you would prefer to exchange in 28 days (this is when you exchange contracts before you complete on the deal). It might not happen in 28 days, BUT at least the sol will have a note on file to say you have requested this and should therefore work towards this as much as is possible.

Hope this helps.

GOOD LUCK in finding the right place

Dan87

Thank you very much LucyLocketOutOfPocket! That was very helpful,we all want to move in as soon as possible so we'll be sure to chase everyone to make sure they're doing all they can!Thank you

LucyLocketOutOfPocket

Hey, you're welcome. I might not be able to afford to buy a house myself (yet!) but I am good at giving advice to FTBs!!! By the way EAs love FTBs as they have no chain under 'em. If you get a good one they should be able to give you advice on how the process works. Try and buy through an EA who is a member of the Ombudsman of EAs if you can, as there is comeback if it all goes drastically wrong. And dont be afraid to ask questions - lots of 'em!!