FTB Advice Please!

Lauraj1391

Just need some advice as FTB as new to this whole stressful process..

My partner and i put in an offer on a flat which was accepted 5 weeks ago and since then have not really heard much.

Had an email beginning of the week from the mortgage adviser that said our solicitor is waiting for the leasehold pack from the sellers solicitors.

Just wanted a rough idea of how long it took other people from having an offer accepted through competition?

Also there is work on the flat that will be happening in Nov this year that is roughly £4000 which we will have to pay but should the seller have to contribute as they were aware of this work and this has now upped our costs>

Our buyers are as keen to go quickly as we are?

Thank you

nubbins

I think the average is 8-12 weeks but it can take much more. I had an offer accepted on a property 05/10/14 and the seller are wanting to complete 27/2/15....approx 20 weeks
In terms of the £4000 you should have had this in mind when making your original offer, if you were unaware at the time then personally I would be going back with a revised offer.

ViolaLass

5 weeks with nothing having happened would ring alarm bells for me. Has your solicitor been hassling theirs at all?

Did you mean November or another month?

If you want the sellers to pay some of the money for the work, you need to negotiate with them. There are no rules on this.

Lauraj1391

nubbins wrote: »

I think the average is 8-12 weeks but it can take much more. I had an offer accepted on a property 05/10/14 and the seller are wanting to complete 27/2/15....approx 20 weeks
In terms of the £4000 you should have had this in mind when making your original offer, if you were unaware at the time then personally I would be going back with a revised offer.

Yeah we were completely unaware when we made the offer will be speaking to the solicitor with regards to making a revised offer.

Thank you for your help so my 5 weeks seems nothing in comparison with yours. Probably me just being impatient

Lauraj1391

ViolaLass wrote: »

5 weeks with nothing having happened would ring alarm bells for me. Has your solicitor been hassling theirs at all?

Did you mean November or another month?

If you want the sellers to pay some of the money for the work, you need to negotiate with them. There are no rules on this.

The work is going to take place in November this year so that would be what the £4000 is for.

Its my OH that's dealing with it so i think i feel a bit helpless as im usually the one that deals with these types of things?

When we went back for another viewing the buyer said he is desperate to move so he is chasing his solicitor everyday i think my OH needs to be more pro active!

Thanks for you help

nubbins

Lauraj1391 wrote: »

Thank you for your help so my 5 weeks seems nothing in comparison with yours. Probably me just being impatient

No worries. I would definately start to do some pushing though and find out what the hold up is with the leasehold pack, sometimes once you start prodding you realise its something stupid and simple holding it up. With regards to the seller being in such a rush and desperate to move just be on your guard a bit and dont be rushed

good luck

Kynthia

Leasehold purchases can take a lot longer than freehold due to the extra complexities and the reliance on another party, the freeholder or management company, for required information. I had a no chain purchase that took nearly 6 months but that wouldn't happen now as I'm no longer a FTB and know more.

So have you applied for your mortgage, had a survey completed and instructed your solicitor to begin searches. As a seller I'd expect a buyer to have completed those actions within the first six weeks, but not have received the searches back yet.

You are the ones who are going to benefit from the works so the seller might not renegotiate, but if they're desperate then they might.

Lauraj1391

Kynthia wrote: »

Leasehold purchases can take a lot longer than freehold due to the extra complexities and the reliance on another party, the freeholder or management company, for required information. I had a no chain purchase that took nearly 6 months but that wouldn't happen now as I'm no longer a FTB and know more.

So have you applied for your mortgage, had a survey completed and instructed your solicitor to begin searches. As a seller I'd expect a buyer to have completed those actions within the first six weeks, but not have received the searches back yet.

Thank you i didn't take in to account that the leasehold side would take longer which i probably should have!

Yes we have applied for the mortgage which has all been received back and the solicitor has been paid and has been instructed to do the searches apparently our solicitors are waiting for the leasehold pack now is this is a good sign?

I have looked up all i can over various different websites so that i am as educated as possible its just hard because we don't have any timescale at the moment and its nice to speak with people that are going through or have been through this process.

Lauraj1391

nubbins wrote: »

No worries. I would definately start to do some pushing though and find out what the hold up is with the leasehold pack, sometimes once you start prodding you realise its something stupid and simple holding it up. With regards to the seller being in such a rush and desperate to move just be on your guard a bit and dont be rushed

good luck

I think hes eager as hes getting married soon and living with flatmate which i don't think he especially gets along with seems genuine but i will think twice if he tries to push too hard!

May get OH to just ring the solicitors again just in case

Thank you for the advice

Kynthia

Lauraj1391 wrote: »

Thank you i didn't take in to account that the leasehold side would take longer which i probably should have!

Yes we have applied for the mortgage which has all been received back and the solicitor has been paid and has been instructed to do the searches apparently our solicitors are waiting for the leasehold pack now is this is a good sign?

I have looked up all i can over various different websites so that i am as educated as possible its just hard because we don't have any timescale at the moment and its nice to speak with people that are going through or have been through this process.

Sounds like things are progressing then so try to be less anxious. Once the searches come back your solicitor will need to review them and let you know any concerns or anything that needs further investigation. Have you received the fixtures and fittings list from the seller yet as you'll need to review that and ensure you are happy? Your solicitor may also have queries about the sellers responses and need to write to them again. Then once this is all done the solicitor will meet you to go through all theyve found and see if you're happy to still purchase the property, then you'll sign contracts in anticipation of exchanging. However before you can exchange you'll need to agree a completion date.

So as you can see there's still a fair bit going on and it's doubtful at this early stage that the leasehold pack is holding everything up. You don't want to sit back and let things stretch out for months but know that there's still lots to be done.

Lauraj1391

Kynthia wrote: »

Sounds like things are progressing then so try to be less anxious. Once the searches come back your solicitor will need to review them and let you know any concerns or anything that needs further investigation. Have you received the fixtures and fittings list from the seller yet as you'll need to review that and ensure you are happy? Your solicitor may also have queries about the sellers responses and need to write to them again. Then once this is all done the solicitor will meet you to go through all theyve found and see if you're happy to still purchase the property, then you'll sign contracts in anticipation of exchanging. However before you can exchange you'll need to agree a completion date.

So as you can see there's still a fair bit going on and it's doubtful at this early stage that the leasehold pack is holding everything up. You don't want to sit back and let things stretch out for months but know that there's still lots to be done.

Thank you for the reassurance really nice to have some input for someone more experienced this is far more advice than ive found anywhere else!