Exchange on sale before exchange on purchase

MumofRhys

Our solicitor isnt local - was recommended to us by our EA's but are a national firm with no local offices. Spoke to our solicitor today by phone who advised waiting for buyers solicitors to confirm they are satisfied with the answers to the enquiries they have raised then we can proceed with exchange.
for the purchase they are waiting for the contract to go through the technical team and not yet an the enquiries stage so i expect this to drag out for a few more weeks?

I must apologise - i am naive when it comes to house sales + purchases as this is my first time!

nicmyles

I did this - we were in a long chain and worried that we were going to lose our buyer. Our flat had been on the market for quite a while, as well, so we weren't confident we could easily sell it quickly if the buyer withdrew.

We ended up staying with family and having our stuff in storage for four months.

I don't regret it, because it allowed us to buy the house we wanted and keep the chain together, but it was a last resort. And you absolutely need a plan for what you will do if you need to vacate your home before your new place completes - or potentially even if the purchase collapses.

I don't agree it's a complete no-no, you just need to be aware of the risks, have a fall-back plan and be clear it's the best option for your circumstances.

eddddy

MumofRhys wrote: »

for the purchase they are waiting for the contract to go through the technical team and not yet an the enquiries stage so i expect this to drag out for a few more weeks?

Are you buying with a mortgage?

Do you trust the family members you are buying from (and do you know the house well)?

If you trust them, perhaps you don't need to ask them questions (make enquiries) via solicitors.

e.g. You can ask them face-to-face when they last had their boiler serviced, and whether they have had disputes with their neighbours.

In general, the benefit of asking via solicitors is that you could sue them if they lie. Do you want that protection?

If you had a 'traditional' solicitor, it may have been possible to agree what you do/don't need done, to speed things up. But I suspect a large conveyancer would want to plod through the standard process.

hazyjo

I did it last time I bought/sold.


Exchanged on my house, and thankfully exchanged several days later on my purchase (on the Wed, and completed the sale and purchase the following Monday).


Did have somewhere to stay, but would have been a nightmare with my cats and having to pay for the contents of my house to be stored for however long - plus that was very pricey.


Just bear in mind it could all fall through still.


Jx

saajan_12

The risk is your purchase gets delayed or falls through and as a result you end up homeless.

1) Will you need a mortgage for the purchase? If yes, then you will need to follow all the queries before you exchange else the lender may not release the funds. If not, and you are sure you want to purchase this property, knowing / happy to take the risk of any issues, you can always skip some searches etc and exchange with your family member whenever the buyer is ready, so NO DELAYS / FALLING THROUGH.

2) If there are delays / purchase falls through, is there somewhere you can stay short term? Note short term may become 6-12 months if it falls through and you have to start from scratch finding a new place to buy.
- storage for the bulk of your belongings
- family you can stay with?
- availability and affordability of short term rental
- can you continue your daily life (jobs / school / keep pets) staying somewhere else?

G_M

MumofRhys wrote: »

Our solicitor isnt local - was recommended to us by our EA's but are a national firm with no local offices.
Toolate now but that's your mistake. My advice for next time:
1) never use the EA's recommended firm, find your own
2) go local so you can have a face-to-face relatioship

Spoke to our solicitor today by phone who advised waiting for buyers solicitors to confirm they are satisfied with the answers to the enquiries they have raised then we can proceed with exchange.
for the purchase they are waiting for the contract to go through the technical team and not yet an the enquiries stage so i expect this to drag out for a few more weeks?

I must apologise - i am naive when it comes to house sales + purchases as this is my first time!

If you're buying off family, I asume
3) you are familiar with the property
4) you trust the sellers to tell you of its idiosyncracies, any issues, local problems etc.

So you can skip the enquiries and searches (and solicitor!) unless you have a mortgage lender to satisfy.

POPPYOSCAR

Our son has done this.

He did not want to lose his buyer so him and his girlfriend moved in with her parents and we stored a lot of their furniture for them.

They have just moved into their lovely new house and are very happy.

Thrugelmir

MumofRhys wrote: »

My sil instructed her sol's on the sale on 1st april, so 6 weeks ish.

So the delay is in part down to a lack of activity on your part. Given that the buyers made their offer over 8 weeks prior to this.

MumofRhys

Yes that's true Thrugelmir but my sister in law did not want to instruct prior to us having a mortgage AIP due to her own financial circumstances