The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

BountyBlink

harsxx said:

Hi sorry to interrupt.  Thought I would ask if anyone knows. We are currently in the process of buying a house and the solicitor has said there is no gas and electric certificates and we need to get these checked before exchange of contracts also we need to get a asbestos report done before exchange of contracts.  If we was to opt out for these reports would our mortgage offer be affected? Do we have to have these done? We are ftb and not to sure how everything works . Just seem to be paying for report after report and would rather have these done when I have the keys in my hand then I know what's what. Just dont know what to say to the solicitor as to why I'm not having them done . Thanks if anyone can help.

Have a look at your mortgage offer (it will say on there if the mortgage offer is subject to anything) though solicitors do have to ensure relevant planning and building regs are in place for lenders, if they aren’t then you can easily get your solicitor to still proceed but by getting indemnity Insurance for missing regs. 

If your vendor refuses to pay for the indemnity insurances you will need to. They are normally less than £150 each, annoying high gets the job done. 

The best thing to do is send your solicitor an email and ask if these items are “conditions of the mortgage” if you don’t have your mortgage offer to hand to check yourselves. 

Caz_Mnaz

Just a note of caution.... Our seller refused to provide gas certificate, we were naive and went ahead anyway as the lender wasn't arsed.... Boiler was almost immediately condemned 🤦‍♀️😂

slipthru

harsxx said:

Hi sorry to interrupt.  Thought I would ask if anyone knows. We are currently in the process of buying a house and the solicitor has said there is no gas and electric certificates and we need to get these checked before exchange of contracts also we need to get a asbestos report done before exchange of contracts.  If we was to opt out for these reports would our mortgage offer be affected? Do we have to have these done? We are ftb and not to sure how everything works . Just seem to be paying for report after report and would rather have these done when I have the keys in my hand then I know what's what. Just dont know what to say to the solicitor as to why I'm not having them done . Thanks if anyone can help.

How old is the property and what did the survey say?
If the electrics have recently been done they require a certificate if not it's up to you to get it checked. 
Boiler if its been recently installed in the last few years a gas certificate is required. Has the boiler got a service history? If not get it serviced when you move in and it seems they say to check for asbestos to everyone. 

harsxx

The property was built in 1897 so very old and the boiler is 17 years old so I already know this will need replacing soon but when visiting the property the heating was on and all seemed fine. I know this doesn't mean much but we have in ming to buy a new boiler anyway and the electrics we want to get a full rewire anyway for peace of mind when we move in and prefer to get these done when I'm there . My mortgage doesnt seem say ' subject to anything so I dont know if I definitely need it doing but anyway I have just wrote back to my solicitor.  I know really I should have these checked but because of the age of the boiler and that I want them replacing anyway.  Think we are waiting for our water search back and then all the searches are back. Dont know what next step is after this  just cant wait to move . 

JS21

amandacat said:

JS21 said:

I think i made a mistake reading job this thread..it's making me nervous that something terrible will definitely happen. Our timeline to date is below (FTB);

House viewings: 13th & 16th March

18th March: 1st Offer

20th March: offer rejected

22nd March: 2nd offer

24th March: Offer rejected

27th March: 3rd offer

31st March: Offer rejected

3rd April: Final offer

13th April: Offer accepted

14th April: Instructed conveyancer and confirmed acceptance with mortgage broker

17th April: Memo of sale received

17th April: Paid conveyancer deposit and search fees, obtained surveyor quotes:

19th April: Broker submitted mortgage application

21st April: Lender confirmed valuation survey

28th April: Lender valuation took place

29th April: Mortgage offer for full value received!

30th April: Draft contract pack received from vendors

30th April: Instructed searches and first search returned

4th May: Mortgage offer received, report raised, contract pack report raised and enquiries submitted

5th May: Surveyor confirmed homebuyers report survey to take place on 27.05.21 (!)

5th May: Further searches returned, contract, TR1 form, deeds, stamp duty forms received

10th May: Signed contract, TR1 form, mortgage deeds, stamp duty forms signed and sent recorded delivery

INBETWEEN: WAITING FOR VENDORS TO REPLY TO ENQUIRIES?

Homebuyer survey takes place: 27th May  

Homebuyers report received - if all good, move to exchange?

Your solicitor sounds very on the ball. Memo of sale for ours was mid Feb and we’ve only received the contract paperwork and other forms to sign last week. 

Sounds like you’re close, once all enquiries are satisfied then you’ll be ready to go assuming there’s no chain. 

I’m at a similar stage, just posted off all signed forms. Majority of enquiries satisfied for us but just the last 2 or 3 hanging about that need answering. Enquiries were sent to sellers solicitor 4th March so I really thought they’d be sorted by now but apparently my solicitor has raised an additional couple on top following the search results.
I sold a house at the start of the year and it was done and dusted in 8 weeks with no drama so things can go to plan and the solicitor who dealt with that sale followed a very similar pattern to yours and was ‘on it’...if only she hadn’t taken 6 months leave or I’d have used her again instead of the slow one I’m using now. 
Good luck, keep us posted on your progress. 

Hopefully it all continues to go as smoothly as it has so far. We're using an online conveyancer that was recommended from family and they are pretty good - they reply to all our questions promptly and update everytime there is an update inc. just acknowledging our questions or uploading of documents. Our vendors also are keen to move along and there's no chain as they're moving into an empty property.

Good luck with yours too - the 8 week turnaround with no drama sounds like it was a dream! hopefully your remaining enquiries are answered soon and you can move forward with this one too!

Lemonyrose13

Another day, another week, fingers crossed for everyone that good news is received however small it may be! The last of our searches are due back tomorrow so fingers crossed all is good there. 

Our timeline so far:
8th March - offer accepted 
10th March - mortgage application submitted, solicitors instructed.
13th March - memorandum of sale received
23rd April - draft contract pack received by solicitor, searches ordered
28th April - drainage and environmental searches received
5th May - enquiries raised and report on the title received.

So now we play the waiting game on how long it will take the vendors solicitor to reply to the enquiries! Once they're back, I'm hoping we can start talking dates! 

Natbag

Wren14 said:

@Natbag that's positive news! Did you manage to speak to your solicitor before they closed? 

Hmmmm, sort of. She won't proceed until she gets more of an update on my ex's purchase, so I'm trying to get my ex to specifically instruct her to proceed regardless. Surely if we both instruct her to, she has to, right?!

@NAC2809 - that should be straight forward, if these things ever are. Just pray the lender doesn't require a deed of variation, because that is much harder, more complicated, costly and lengthy issue, as I am finding out from one party in my chain

Josephgousto

Some good news here from our purchase ... all the searches, enquiries, etc are back and we are ready to start talking dates.
BUT after having to find a new buyer for our property about a month ago, our sale is lagging behind  our buyers haven´t  even got their mortgage offer yet..

hippocrates1

Swear to god no progress has been made for two months. It’s so frustrating  because everything is in the vendors hands and there’s nothing I can do but wait. 

mat1964

We are getting close to having to re-list my GF's house.  4 weeks after the desktop valuation, there is still no mortgage offer.  It seems there is a problem getting it over the line but the broker is refusing to discuss what it is.  The EA thinks it might be connected with their deposit being funded by relatives in China.  There is an outside chance if she can get another quick sale, that we would be able to keep our new build purchase as that would not be ready until 1 September.  However, it seems more likely we will lose that, and around £5k in reservation and solicitors fees.  Very frustrating.