Up to conveyancing stage - Help me understand the process

alicewilliams

Hello everyone,

DH & myself are currently in the process of selling up and moving home. We are in a chain, all party surveys are done and now We've ALL instructed solicitors to do their stuff.

They sent us a buyer & seller pack which we completed with all the required documents and have handed this in as well as given the solicitor the go-ahead to start searches.

What I'm wondering is other than searches (Which I've been advised will take approx 4-5 working days), what else happens in the meantime and assuming there are no problems, how long can this process take up to the exchange stage?

Thanks again

alchemist.1

12 weeks as an average. Possibly longer if complicated issues/queries.

G_M

Up to conveyancing stage - Help me understand the process

Free from your library:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Buy-House-Kirstie-Allsopp/dp/1444790633

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/buying-a-home/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buying-Selling-Home-Dummies-Melanie/dp/0470994487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459714178&sr=1-1&keywords=house+buying+for+dummies

alicewilliams

Sorry, I wasn't meaning that I want to know how the process works, but just wanted to know in your experience what happens next or whilst the searches are getting done.

Also with all due respect alchemist, why would it take 12 weeks?

G_M

alicewilliams wrote: »

Sorry, I wasn't meaning that I want to know how the process works, but just wanted to know in your experience what happens next or whilst the searches are getting done.

The answer to this is here:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Buy-House-Kirstie-Allsopp/dp/1444790633

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/buying-a-home/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buying-Selling-Home-Dummies-Melanie/dp/0470994487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459714178&sr=1-1&keywords=house+buying+for+dummies

Also with all due respect alchemist, why would it take 12 weeks?

Because... well, if you read one of these books you;ll find out:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Buy-House-Kirstie-Allsopp/dp/1444790633

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/moving-and-improving-your-home/buying-a-home/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Buying-Selling-Home-Dummies-Melanie/dp/0470994487/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1459714178&sr=1-1&keywords=house+buying+for+dummies

If you want to buy a property I suggest you do some research to understand what's involved.........

mildredalien

Do you already have your mortgage offer? If you are literally just waiting for the local searches, that's dependent on the particular council and their turnaround time, and whether any issues arise from the searches that need to be dealt with. Then I suppose it's waiting for the finalised contracts to be agreed and an exchange date.

alicewilliams

Thanks everyone

@ G_M - These links are great, but they don't give me the answers of roughly how long the process would take.

mildredalien wrote: »

Do you already have your mortgage offer? If you are literally just waiting for the local searches, that's dependent on the particular council and their turnaround time, and whether any issues arise from the searches that need to be dealt with. Then I suppose it's waiting for the finalised contracts to be agreed and an exchange date.

Thanks mildredalien for your reply - Yes ALL of us in the chain already have our mortgage offers and ALL of us are now on the stages of searches and other formalities. I know you can't give me a concrete answer, but assuming there are no complications, how long would this process then take?

Cheeky_Monkey

2 weeks - 4 weeks - 2 months ........ you choose which answer you prefer!

As has been said, no-one can give you a more accurate answer, it just doesn't work like that.

It will take as long as an average piece of string

G_M

alicewilliams wrote: »

Thanks everyone

@ G_M - These links are great, but they don't give me the answers of roughly how long the process would take.

Because there IS no answer. It can take a couple of days (do a personal search or skip the search if a cash buyer), a couple of weeks, a coupke of months, or more.

The best way to get an idea is to ..... fullu understand the process, the various activities involved, and the sequence of events.

Hence my advice to do research by reading........

I was not being deliberately unhelpful - it's just that no one can say (for example) "It will be about 3 weeks" (except, perhaps, your conveyancer but even he is dependant on others over whom he has no control).

csgohan4

How long is a piece of string?

pathtofreedom

I put an offer in on a house on the 25th of Jan, I had an offer on my house I'm selling the week before. I had a mortgage offer by the second week of feb. Searches etc came back in feb as well. I sold my house on the 31st March, it looks like I won't complete until next week on my new place.

This is due to my buyer mucking about and dropping the price at the last minute, lots of things needing to be clarified on both sides, as well as indemnity insurances to cover these things. Basically once your searches / mortgage are sorted, the solicitors will have a big list of enquiries, depending how many questions they have, and how tricky they are to sort out, eg boundaries, building regs, right of way, things like that, depends how long it can drag on. If you're buying something with a lease/maintenance company then it takes even longer I believe.