Buyer's solicitor delay - what's reasonable?

newtothis141414

First time seller here, just wondering what your experience is/your thoughts are.

Our solicitor sent draft contracts last Monday. I've just had an email to say the other side hasn't been in touch at all. My first thought was that it's probably normal, given that the mortgage valuation was only this Wednesday. But I'm a master worrier and am starting to overthink matters - or am I?

G_M

Everything always moves about 20 times slower than you expect, or want, it to.

Chill.

Thrugelmir

Until there's a mortgage offer on the table. Expect your vendors to instruct their solicitors to do nothing. Little point in incurring abortive costs should you not be a proceedable buyer.

Moneybug1

Don't worry!

It is likely that your buyers solicitors policy is that they won't raise enquiries until they have the searches back which depending on you area could take a numbe of weeks. Once they have these they will review them along with the draft contracts and raise enquires.

Ask your agent to speak to the buyers solicitor and check this is the case. If it is not they should be chasing for your buyers to pay/ instruct searches or for the solisitor to pull their finger out.

Also ask your solisitor to chase if they are not already, the 'we haven't heard anything from the other side' response is not helpful in putting it into context as to whether they should have heard anything. A proactive solisitor should chase too.

ellie27

We were almost 4 weeks til our solicitors received any paperwork at all from the vendors of the house we were purchasing. However once they got that first bit of paper we moved in just 4 weeks later.

The mortgage valuation was done - alone that is great! Just on wednesday and now 2 days later you are worrying!! Think you need to relax, expect this to take another couple months!