Still no buyer's survey - after 9 weeks!

usagirl_2

We are getting SO frustrated. 9 weeks ago we accepted an offer on our house, but we're still waiting for the buyer to have her survey done. As far as I'm aware, all other legal paperwork etc has been done, so this is all that's holding us up. There are 4 of us in the chain.

We accepted a lower offer simply because we were told by the EA that the buyer's buyers are FTB, which should make things fairly quick! Huh! :mad:

I've been chasing and chasing, but just keep getting told it's out of the EA's hands and is with the lender. As someone said on another thread, I'm feeling frustratingly ineffectual! Why, oh why, is it taking so loooooong?

Has anyone else had a similar experience? We'd love to be in by Christmas, but to be honest, even a date would cheer me up now!

nell53

I was recently in the same position, but from the buyers viewpoint. I had my mortgage all arranged or so I thought, and told my solicitors to get on with the legal work which included seraches etc. But then my lender decided they needed some extra information from my accountant as I'm self employed.

The lender then had a backlog of mortgage applications so then had to wait 3 weeks to get to the top of the pile. In all it took 7 weeks to get the survey done. And the day I received the results of the survey and official mortgage offer my buyer dropped dead.
Not sure if this helps, but if I were you I'd ask your solicitor to find out from their solicitor what is going on.

charles_b_2

That's a sign that they may be having trouble with getting a lender/bank to give them a mortgage...

I would hassle your EA, after all, that's what you pay them for - it's a little annoying that they so easily wash their hands of it:

they are the main vested interest in making the transaction happen as they get their sizeable commission.

sonastin

Are they still in contact with the buyer and getting regular updates. If the buyer is in a similar position to nell53, your EA should be talking to them often to make sure things are moving along. Even if they are taking the most torturous path to get to the end goal you need to know that they are still moving forward.

If your EA isn't in contact with them or isn't being told what is actually happening and what each next step is, you should consider putting your house back on the market. If the buyer still wants it then it is up to them to reassure you they are doing all they can to be in a position to buy. If they don't want to give you that comfort, find another buyer.

usagirl_2

Thanks for the replies.

One of the initial hold-ups was to do with the co-buyer living abroad (which I wasn't made aware of initially), who was investigated more thoroughly than usual. Frustrating though it was, I accepted this. However, I was told that the buyers were given the green light just over 2 weeks ago and that I would hear from the EA regarding a survey within 48 hours - maybe EAs work in a different time-zone, where hours to them are days to us!

Anyway, I've just spoken to my solicitor who said she will contact the buyer's solicitor (again) to ascertain their position.

I'm known for my patience, but this takes the biscuit!

clutton_2

have you asked who is the lender ?

FinAdv

Hi usagirl,

I've seen this situation many times. From my experience, the buyer is definitely having problems getting the mortgage from the lender.

Sometimes, the file is als pulled up for random audit check which may delay the things by weeks. Audit check is where the higher dept or the head office does detailed checks of each and every document of the buyer such as verifying income with the tax office etc.

The other reason could be that the lender has refused them the mortgage and they are trying with different lenders. Remember that having an AIP from a lender doesn't guarantee mortgage. Checks are done later on.

Also. which lender is it? There are some lenders which are very slow with survey as they do all the checks befroe survey and somedo after. But 9 weeks sounds fishy. Ask the EA or their broker about the lender and talk firmly. Tell them that you will not sell anymore if survey is not done within certain deadline.

usagirl_2

The lender is NatWest.

After so many unsatisfactory calls to the EA, I've started dealing with their financial guy, with whom my buyer is arranging her mortgage.

FinAdv, you're right, the file was pulled up for audit.

I've mentioned on a different thread about my dissatisfaction with the EA (not following procedure etc). They told me the lender was Nationwide, but the finance guy said it's NatWest. EA also told me 7 weeks ago that the buyer had paid for her survey; 3 weeks ago, he told me that the survey had been authorised to go ahead and would be imminent. 2 weeks ago, I asked to speak to the finance guy direct - he wasn't happy about it, (client confidentiality etc), but at least he explained the situation better. He also said that it was in his interest for the sale to go ahead, otherwise he wouldn't get paid - and he'd put alot more work into this client than most.

If I follow your suggestion, FinAdv, and tell them I won't sell unless the survey is done by such-and-such a date, what timescale would you suggest? The finance guy said it's in the hands of the lenders and he has no control over it.

I'm getting so wound up by all of this, I've really had enough of getting angry all the time. My 4 year old's not helping much, either....!

sonastin

If your buyers really are doing all they can do and it is in the hands of their lenders, a deadline won't necessarily achieve anything more than losing your buyers. If you work with them, they could possibly use a "deadline" from you to try to chivvy the lender along with a "if you don't make a decision we could lose this house" plea but if the lender doesn't respond, there is nothing your buyer can do about it.

You are better off telling your buyers that you can't wait forever and have to put the house back on the market again (next week, in 2 weeks, next month or immediately - its up to you really). Chances are that they will be in a position to buy before someone else is so you don't want to refuse to sell to them. But in order to protect your own position, you need to go back to marketing your property in case it does all fall through for your buyers.

usagirl_2

Thank you all for your advice/opinions.
My buyer (and hers, for that matter) must also be tearing their hair out - assuming they're doing all they can to move things along. I might ring the EA again tomorrow, see if they can talk to my buyer, too.

All sorts of reasons for a delay have crossed my mind - maybe she's waiting for money to come through from a notice-only account; maybe she wants to leave it right to the last minute and drastically reduce her offer; maybe her buyers have pulled out and no-one's told me! Who knows.......

You're probably right, sonastin, finding another buyer will almost certainly take longer than just waiting for this one!I think that I shall wait to hear back from my solicitor before I make any decision.

(If I do end up having to remarket, I really don't want to stay with the same EA!)

FinAdv

Hi,

I agree with Sonastin. Since they have given you a clearer explanation and you know sort of whats going on an they are working hard to get the whole thing done, you should just wait as it not easy to find buyers in the market today.

My suggestion of giving the deadline was only to scare them a bit and get the truth out as to whats happening. But, they have now told you anything so i might be worth waiting