How long does it usually take?

80schild

I am quite frustrated as the solicitors will not give me any idea of a moving date so I do not know whether to start packing or start notifying relevent people of change of address.
We are at the point where the searches have come back fine and my solicitor is waiting for the sellers solicitor to get back to her with response to the enquiries she made (I do not even know what these enquiries are!). She said she can then send the contract out for me to sign.
The sellers are using Countrywide and it took over 6 weeks for them to send out the contract papers to my solicitor!

hazyjo

Average 12 weeks (so obviously some will be 2, some will be 24, you get the picture). If leasehold, maybe longer.

How long's it been so far?

I wouldn't pack or notify anyone until exchange as things change or can go wrong up 'til that point.

Jx

Jackinbox99

The whole process from start to finish can take from 2 weeks upto anything! On average its around 2 months.

If the searches have all come back fine then thats the biggest delay done. Normally I find council searches take the longest. If the land registry has also come back then thats good as if the property / land isnt registered then that too can cause delays.

Why not ask the solicitor what the "enquiries" are. In my experience I think solicitors feel they have to ask silly questions just to prove they are doing something. In my case they asked stuff like "does the boiler have a warrenty" - baring in mind the boiler was 50 years old - what do they think the answer is going to be? But, they insisted and that took about 2 weeks for the sellers solicitor to ask the vendor, and the reply to work its way back down the communication chain.

Another "enquiry" will be clarification of any convents on the deeds, which usually can be clarified quickly if the vendor did that when they bought the house.

All in all sounds like you are pretty close to completing.

andy208833

I always discuss the completion date with the people i am buying/selling with and then TELL the solicitor the completion date to work to. Obviously its not quite as black and white as that as things change but it helps to focus everyone.

80schild

We have not met the people we are buying from as it is an empty house so the agency is dealing with it. The owner is an elderly person who is in a home so the house is being sold on her behalf by her son and daughter who do not live in the area!
The people buying our house are property investors so I have not met them either as the agency found them for us as we needed a quick sale. Well I say quick sale but it was 17th September when we made an offer on this property and accepted the offer on ours!!!

Jackinbox99

andy208833 wrote: »

I always discuss the completion date with the people i am buying/selling with and then TELL the solicitor the completion date to work to. Obviously its not quite as black and white as that as things change but it helps to focus everyone.

Very good point. Thats what i did last time. Then ring the solicitors up on a daily basis asking for updates. Very often I found that they didnt seem to do anything until I chased them.

timmyt

80schild wrote: »

I am quite frustrated as the solicitors will not give me any idea of a moving date they only get the legal paperwork ready, as by the sound of it they are keeping you in the loop as to when they kught expect to do that, but only you decides on dates, they don't get involved on that score as it is your move so I do not know whether to start packing or start notifying relevent people of change of address. until an exchange do not, as either side can still withdraw
We are at the point where the searches have come back fine and my solicitor is waiting for the sellers solicitor to get back to her with response to the enquiries she made (I do not even know what these enquiries are you can ask, though usually they will be to clarify legal issues for your benefit or your Lender's...unless you can permit the lawyer to waive the need for answers...so ask!). She said she can then send the contract out for me to sign.
The sellers are using Countrywide ah, conveyancing solicitors love this outfit!! and it took over 6 weeks for them to send out the contract papers to my solicitor! really, that doesn't sound like them :rotfl:

Countrywide on the other side. Sorry for your situation.

PasturesNew

I just looked up mine, 67 days from start to finish. They were ready to go, with an offer on their house from a FTB, I was selling to rent.

Count_Of_Cool

I think it sometimes depends on the solicitors on both ends. They can make a huge difference in the time it takes to complete. Obviously, there are other things that may delay the process.

I will not change address or start packing just yet. Remember that until you exchange contracts, the purchase can fall through so be careful. I would suggest you speak to your solicitor and re-iterate the importance of setting a completion date that will suit you.

On average, I believe it should normally take 6-8 weeks.

All the best!

nomoneytoday

It took me 3 weeks to buy and complete on my first home (1 week for offers on a repo, 1 week paperwork and searches, 1 week between exchange and completion)

However, selling my last one took 4 months, AFAIK in part to a solicitor going on holiday..

80schild

thanks for your replies! I have tried to suggest completion dates but as I have not even met the vendors this is very hard. I think the people buying our house are flexible as they are investors and are just waiting for our purchase to go through! The solicitor has said it is too early to suggest completion dates but then everything has been done except the responses to these 'enquiries'. Why have I not even been told what they are? I don't care about if the boiler had a warrenty etc... the house a quite a wreck so I know we will need to spend money on it-we just want to be in it so we can get started on this!!!
Our mortgage broker keeps saying its not going to be long now-even said it could be in the following week-however I don't see how when the solicitors won't give any clear answers!!!