How to survive!

_Andy_

Take ownership and chase all parties every day rather than being passive

VICSH

We had a thank you card from our buyers and we sent one to our vendors sometimes a bit of goodwill and a gesture like this can make all parties feel comfortable and relaxed IMO

HildaM

Really feel for you - I am another one who is not very good when things are out of my control and I am waiting for others to do their thing.

We accepted an offer on our flat on 18 January and put a reserve fee on our house on 19 Jan. My husband said "we won't be like others who get all stressed up and phoning and chasing - we'll take it easy." AND NOTHING HAPPENED!

It was only when we lost patience and started phoning and enquiring and chasing and (politely) pestering that things got going. As a PP said - if your desk is overloaded, which job will you do first? The one who keeps phoning you, it seems.

The thing I had to remind myself was that I wasn't aiming to make lifelong friends of the EA or solicitor and I had to not care if they rolled their eyes when they took yet another call from us - it worked and we completed on 28 March. My blood pressure is just about returning to normal.

NEVER again.

andrea1968_2

It wasn't until we started buying our house that I discovered that I am apparently a control freak.

I can't stand having to chase everyone up and things not being done when they promised they would be.

From beginning to end it took 6 months and were purchasing a house where the vendor was going into sheltered accommodation so we were the chain.

We had the vendors solicitor go into administration, then when he had found another they went on holiday and no-one else would pick their file up.

I thought I was fairly laid back, but a combination of estate agents and solicitors turned me into some sort of psycho warrior.

curedham

The solicitor and the EA that you're dealing with make a big different I believe.

When we first bought this flat, we looked for solicitor from the Internet and chose the one that looks reasonable, proper law firm, located in central London etc.

Big mistake, being a law firm in central London doesn't mean you'll get a competent, conveyancer. In fact the "solicitor" that I dealt with was not even a solicitor, but just a "conveyancer executive". He was really slow, never returned my calls, emails, and I had to push him through. What exactly I'm paying him for???? I was so royally ****** off every time I recall this experience.

This time around for selling & buying, we chose a solicitor recommended by my cousin, who is a solicitor herself. She's probably 2x - 2.5x more expensive than the cheapest quote, but she's a partner of this medium sized law firm in Kent (so a real solicitor) and what a different experience it made. My goodness ... it's so much worth it. She's proactive, responded to every bullet points on my email .. always, always return my call or emails etc. really something that you'd expect from a solicitor.

lessonlearned

VICSH wrote: »

We had a thank you card from our buyers and we sent one to our vendors sometimes a bit of goodwill and a gesture like this can make all parties feel comfortable and relaxed IMO

Definitely agree.

When I sold my house recently I gave my purchaser my contact details and told them to get in touch with me whenever he needed any information or had a question. We phoned each other each week with updates, to ask questions etc.

Both sets of solicitors did a good job but they were quite slow and a bit dilatory at times.

Imagine having a simple question and having to go via the EA, or Solicitor to get an answer - it could take days.

Far better for vendors and purchasers to liase and sort things out quickly themselves.

It makes a huge difference.

geoffky

Your time is short compared to ours...We had a nightmare with the sellers solicitors being handheld by my solicitors for over 7 months..We had to get rid of a right of way through our living room which benefited our next door neighbor.
Luckily they were selling so wanted it all sorted..

phoebe1989seb

When we sold our last house in 2011 we also exchanged contact details with or buyers - their suggestion as they were terribly keen - and we did find that it helped to be in direct contact. For example when their buyer's solicitor's office went up in smoke (literally - and with all their paperwork destroyed!) a couple of days before exchange was due to take place we were able to discuss things with our buyers rather than hearing everything third-hand from our EA It did get a bit much when they'd continually call or text us with petty queries about the position of light fittings though.....

Despite the solicitor's fire, we managed to stick to the target date set right at the beginning and the whole process was relatively painless, taking around 9 weeks from offer to completion. We did also find that calling/popping into our solicitor's office regularly helped us feel as though we were keeping on top of things.

Our buyers did take us out for lunch to celebrate when we exchanged which was a nice gesture

kirsti13_2

Wow thanks for all of the replies, from some of your stories i think i have it relativly easy! It is nice to know i am not the only person who needs to have control over the process though:o

I have been chasing EA and sols every others day and i really dont think there is more they can do that they aren't already.

dj.boz

I too put an offer on a property (which was accepted) on the 17th January.

We have still not exchanged. Still the same issue that is slowly being resolved that is causing the issue (2nd charge and a unilateral charge against the property). Verbally all parties have agreed, but just needs the correct correspondence and 'undertakings' to be sought.

I chase every single day. I chase all parties that I can. I have never been so stressed in my life!

My daughter was also born on the same day we had our offer accepted! Newborn baby? Pffft, easy! House buying? Arggghh!!! :eek:

Boz