The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

uralmaid

@natbag so sorry to hear this.  I hope it will work out for you.  We too have had bad news today.  Our buyers solicitors told our solicitors that their buyers have no mortgage offer, have not yet had a valuation and the solicitor has not applied for searches (which in their area take at least 23 days).  On top of this our buyers estate agents finally responded to ours and told them that our buyers buyer have health issues and have requested a meeting with them on Friday to discuss the way forward. Not sure how to take that but I suspect that after Friday our buyers will not have a sale on their property.  I am devastated as our sale saga has been going on since September. The first buyers actually took everyone for a ride and had never signed the contract for their solicitors to act. The second buyers had problems with the land they were selling and were looking at a very lengthy time to resolve - and now this.

Natbag

Thank you @birdmadgirl8, I appreciate the kind words.
@uralmaid - oh no, I'm so sorry. It's not a good day for us is it. Hope you can get another buyer, or your buyer does, quickly.
Urgh, house buying chains suck.

Sam2030

Natbag said:

I'm going to drop out of here for a while guys. Spoke to my solicitor this morning and it's not good news. Our purchase is hanging by a thread because this outstanding enquiry on my ex's purchase is actually a major issue that it may not be possible to resolve (or certainly not easily or quickly) and his sale may fall through. If that happens, my ex won't move out and allow our sale to complete and won't try to buy another property, so my purchase can't go ahead and I would need to start a lengthy legal battle to force him to sell.
So it's really not looking good and I'm just too devastated and exhausted and miserable to be here for now while I wait for updates/the worst to happen. Hope you understand.

Agree that the whole process needs reform, and also these estate management companies (which is where the issue lies) need some regulating too - it's such a petty thing they won't budge on, they are literally making this and every other house on that estate unsalable as no lender will touch it in it's current state.

Oh no so sorry to hear this I hope it all works its self out and it doesn't come to a legal battle xx

bigkenny1975

@natbag that's harsh. I hope it all works out for you

bigkenny1975

Argh. I just called my solicitor. Apparently there is a problem further up the chain. We were asked to give a date by the seller. They had agreed the date with their purchase. Turns out the final sale in the chain knew nothing about it so were not ready to exchange. She is fuming. I am fuming. The estate agent has left for the day so no chance of resolving it today. No idea what is happening. 

I knew it was going too well.

amyr

We are now ready to exchange! But, we can't...

We have no chain, just us and our buyer. Said buyer has been abroad following a family bereavement. They've been there 22 days, and in that time the country they are visiting has now gone on the 'red' travel list. Our Estate Agent is refusing to ask them when they plan to return given the 'sensitivity of the situation'.

Are we utterly callous for wanting an update on when they plan to come back?! Should we really just be sat here, waiting, for them to choose when to get in touch? 

We are DESPERATE to move. The prospect of having this open-ended situation is pure yuck. 

FTB_Help

amyr said:

We are now ready to exchange! But, we can't...

We have no chain, just us and our buyer. Said buyer has been abroad following a family bereavement. They've been there 22 days, and in that time the country they are visiting has now gone on the 'red' travel list. Our Estate Agent is refusing to ask them when they plan to return given the 'sensitivity of the situation'.

Are we utterly callous for wanting an update on when they plan to come back?! Should we really just be sat here, waiting, for them to choose when to get in touch? 

We are DESPERATE to move. The prospect of having this open-ended situation is pure yuck. 

As frustrating the wait is, unfortunately im with the EA on this, i think it is wise to show more compassion to your buyers.

Maybe drop them an email to share condolences and let them know you'll catch up with them in a week or so and for now just ask them to take some time out with family.

I know the wait is horrible but at the same time death is hard to deal with, if the EA nags them they may act out, out of heightened emotions.

climbthatwallseegar

Hello all. I’ve been reading through this thread for past fortnight and have finally caught up. It’s been both helpful and terrifying to read the ups and downs so many have been through. I’m so sorry to read updates for those of you that have hit stumbling blocks in the last few days.

My story in brief:

Put my property up for sale mid March and had an offer above asking price 2 days later which I accepted. Buyer is a FTB, very organized with a mortgage sorted out quickly and wants to complete by mid June.

Small drama when we discovered my partner could not get a mortgage with me as he is on another mortgage (long story, it’s all in another thread I started weeks ago).

Fortunately, I was able to get a mortgage on my own and had an offer accepted on a property a couple of weeks ago. It’s in need of complete renovation (1930s semi detached that hasn’t been decorated in yonks) but is at least priced accordingly. I like a lot of the original features and the location is perfect so prepared to put in the work to bring it up to scratch

All seemed to be going well but today lender (Natwest) informed me their surveyor has inspected the property and reported serious rot and damp to the rear of the property. They have said they will not issue the mortgage until this is addressed. Apart from that they agree with the valuation so it is just this one area that needs to be addressed.

My solicitor has said I need to go via the Estate Agent to let the Seller know that he needs to fix this. However, the EA has been completely unresponsive to all e-mails over the last couple of weeks. I’ve only ever had 2 e-mails from them, the last was the Memo of Sale a couple of weeks ago. Calls are not returned. Oddly enough they have a really good reputation locally. I’m not really sure where to go from here. I have no idea if the vendor will be willing to pay to fix this issue but Lender said realistically he will have to because the surveyor who reported the issue is from a company used by most lenders so any other would be purchaser will face the same issue.

Short term rentals are thin on the ground and extremely expensive where I live and I have 2 DC so may end up renting for a year after we sell while we either wait for this rot/damp issue to be resolved or find another house.

Sending strength to everyone caught up in this house selling/buying quagmire.

SlowlyLosingIt

Hi we completed last week but I have heard nothing from our lender ...our L&C dashboard still says pending and I just downloaded the title register and it says the old owner on it!! Please can someone put my mind at ease and convince me I own it?!

Tiglet2

SlowlyLosingIt said:

Hi we completed last week but I have heard nothing from our lender ...our L&C dashboard still says pending and I just downloaded the title register and it says the old owner on it!! Please can someone put my mind at ease and convince me I own it?!

Yes, you own it and the application to register your ownership will be protected.  Your solicitor has to make an application to the Land Registry to change the register to show you as the new owner, but they need the seller's solicitor to send them the signed Transfer document (TR1).  Solicitors do not always apply for registration straight away.  Sometimes it will be a couple of weeks before they even submit the application.  Bear in mind too that Land Registry have a backlog of applications so don't be surprised if it takes a few months to receive the updated title.