When to have searches done?

SephirothX

I am a first time buyer so I don't have much experience with this kind of thing.

I made an offer on a house a month ago and said that I was proceeding quickly due to being a FTB but to me it looks like I am proceeding too quickly as I have been told the vendor isn't expecting to complete until March. This is a chain of two, IE the vendor is buying a vacant property with no onward chain.

I received my mortgage offer a week ago and I have had a survey done. I received the survey results today and everything looks good. The estate agent is pushing me to get the searches underway and I have been telling them that I will not until after I have received the survey because I didn't want to risk losing money if the survey is bad. I don't know why they are pushing me so hard when there's a two month wait until completion and asking me to pay for searches before I saw the survey was crazy of them.

The vendor seems behind me in the process - I was told on the 11th that the vendor has had an offer accepted and applied for a mortgage and filled in solicitor paperwork. No mention of them having had a survey on the property they are purchasing.

At the same time I was informed March is the most likely time for completion. I was aiming before February 18th as that's when the contract on my flat expires. As such I'm having to extend my contract for a further month so I will now be aiming for completion before March 18th and certainly not before the 10th.

This seems like a long time away. From what I've read searches normally take about two weeks so I am going to be ready for an exchange by the end of January and then wait/hope that the vendor sorts their stuff out without issue? I am uncomfortable with that. I feel like I should hold off on searches for a bit longer, at least until the vendor is at the same point with a mortgage offer and survey complete.

What do the more experienced people here think?

da_rule

You aren't personally doing the searches are you? Surely you have appointed a solicitor.

As long as they know the completion date they will do the searches at a relevant time. Some of the searches only offer a limited period of protection, so if done too early would need to be re-done closer to completion (at extra costs).

SephirothX

Yeah I have a solicitor doing it. I just haven't paid the search fees yet as I was waiting on the survey. Although I do wonder why people don't do conveyancing themselves...

There is no agreed completion or exchange dates yet. I am just trying to work things around my rental period. IE I don't want to complete and have 4 weeks left on my flat. I have to give notice today to move out mid Feb or ask for a one month extension and due to the uncertainty I am going to have to extend until March 18th. So as a result I need to complete a week before that date or push to April. It just seems like it is all taking a long time for a small chain. Is it reasonable to demand a completion before March 18th? That would be three months from offer.

davidmcn

SephirothX wrote: »

Although I do wonder why people don't do conveyancing themselves...

You can do your own conveyancing if you like. But your lender needs a solicitor to act for them. Which you'll pay for. So that solicitor may as well do your conveyancing too.

SephirothX

Should I be concerned that my homebuyer's report says this:

"There are sub floor ventilation vents located to the front, side and rear elevations. The vents to the front are bridged in places due to the raised ground level and this could lead to defects in relation to condensation dampness and rot to internal areas. The ground levels should be reduced accordingly where practical to do so"

My colleague at work said it is nothing to worry about and that is common in reports. The house is only 4 years old and presumably this aspect hasn't been touched since it was built. It is listed as an orange issue, which is mid. Pretty much the only thing in the report that wasn't green.

Elfbert

The thing is with searches is you can't accurately predict how long they will take - the council area I'm buying in say they will be done within ten days. Took them 20 to do mine. My solicitor said he's seen everything from 1 week to ten weeks for simple searches to come back from local authorities - with a whole range of excuses. So if you're certain you know yours will be back quickly (if your solicitor is local, for instance, they should have a good idea of how long it usually takes) then wait.

But house buying rarely runs to schedule - my exchange date has just been shunted from today to next Wednesday, owing to a single signature not being where it needed to be! No one predicted that.

AlexMac

Survey; not a problem. Even if needed, "unbridging" the vents (also known as "air bricks") would be easy. assuming earth has just piled up against 'em. But even if slabs have been laid at a higher level than ideal, it would take a competent builder or DIY -er half an hour to sort.

Re timing; I've rarely managed to complete in less than 3 months, so presumably your vendor is factoring that into their timescaales to move on. So while you're wise not to let the agent stampede you (after all, they only get paid on completion, so they are genetically programmed to chase buyers) it might be worth reconciling yourself to a bit more delay. Sorry.

kinger101

The searches aren't expensive. I'd be annoyed as a vendor is you hadn't commenced them as soon as chain was complete.

SephirothX

Alright, I will pay for my searches tomorrow. Thanks for the reassurance on the survey AlexMac.

@kinger101: Considering they squeezed £5k more out of me through a gazumper I wasn't going to take risks with more cash by starting surveys before I was confident with the survey.

Turns out I have bigger problems now anyway! I just spoke with my landlord and she is unwilling to allow me to extend my contract for a month beyond Feb 18th when my 12 month contract expires. She has a person ready to rent the flat and fears losing him if she makes him wait another month.

I'm assuming completion won't be before Feb 18th so what are the implications of me having to move back to my parents during a house purchase? I mean as in change of addresses. Will this affect my mortgage offer? Hopefully one of you guys will know so I don't have to make a new thread.

kinger101

Fair enough....if you've been squeezed on the price, always good to see what lender's valuation is too.

Have you actually been served notice on your current tenancy? If not, it will automatically become a rolling contract.

Also - you don't have to leave because your notice has expired. Only the courts can evict you, and that could take months. I think there could be financial penalities for staying beyond you're notice though - I'm sure someone better informed than me can explain.

Your solicitor (or mortgage broker if you use one) should be able to advise you of the implications changing address, but I doubt it will be a problem.

SephirothX

I haven't been given official notice on my flat yet. Just the landlord telling me on the phone that she doesn't want to extend my tenancy as she may lose the guy she has wanting to rent it. I guess that could be considered notice? In my contract it says the landlord has to give 2 months notice and for me 1, but I guess that contract becomes invalid once its 12 months are up.

According to the council web page they are part of a new government scheme called NLIS which is an electronic search service that can give results within 2 working days.