The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

laura_lau

@amyr oh no! I really hope the ultimatum does the trick, good luck with that!  I haven't received my contract from solicitor either (so what they called "shortly" on Friday has a different meaning for them than it has for me..) and I reached out at lunch and the reply, as cryptic as ever "your file is still under review however we should be in touch this week with a full update". I don't need an update, I want them to send me the contract to sign and to agree completion dates with the seller!

cherrypancakes

Very very very long time lurker here- hello all I find this thread strangely comforting, probably because there's many people in the same boat as me and we all know misery loves company! 
Thought I'd join in and add my timeline. This is now the 4th property I've had an offer accepted on (1st two couldn't get a mortgage, 3rd one I pulled out). I am quietly getting more and more despondent as the days go by and my patience is wearing thin with my current living situation. Been renting for 4 years in house shares and I'm completely over it.

Viewing & offer - 16/12/2020

Offer accepted - 18/12/2020

Solicitors and searches instructed - 11/01/2021

Mortgage application submitted - 15/1/2021

Valuation - 19/1/2021

Mortgage offer received - 4/2/2021

Home Buyer Survey  - 10/2/2021

Home Buyer Survey report returned - 12/2/2021

Asbestos survey  - 15/2/2021

Asbestos survey returned - 17/02/2021

All searches returned - 7/4/2021

Management pack received and enquiries made on pack - 16/4/2021

Electrical survey instructed - 11/05/2021

Electric survey to be carried out - 14/05/2021

The sellers solicitor seems to be taking ages to reply to everything and the freehold title for my flat is not available on land registry which is annoying, they may have to chase the freeholder (who is the local council) for it. I am really really hoping I complete by June, on top of that I can't move in straight away because it needs some work!!! I am hanging on by a mere thread.

Hope someone has received some positive news today!

@Natbag - I hope everything goes smoothly from here on out! Been following your story for a while so fingers are firmly crossed!

caz_cardiff87

How long would you wait to start pestering solicitor after searches have been returned? 

climbthatwallseegar

Hi all, I'm looking for best practice / etiquette when withdrawing from a purchase. I've already mentioned on the thread that there had been various issues with the property I planned to buy. After the searches and my solicitor's report came back a number of additional issues came to light including the property being a very high flood risk and a problematic conversion. My solicitor sent queries to the vendor asking for current insurance documents (as he said there has never been an issue insuring the property) and planning permission for the conversion. He has failed to produce either despite repeated requests. He also hasn't answered other queries. There are other red flags aside from this that have slowly come to light but these are really key problems. I am going to contact the EA, who has been quite unpleasant to deal with, so I'm planning to just send an e-mail rather than call him. The problem is this Estate Agent is very active in the specific area I'm looking to buy in and I really don't want to p**s them off. It's really only the specific agent I've been dealing with who has been difficult but he happens to be the manager. Should I just send a (polite) e-mail explaining why I'm withdrawing the offer or would a call be better..?

amyr

climbthatwallseegar said:

Hi all, I'm looking for best practice / etiquette when withdrawing from a purchase. I've already mentioned on the thread that there had been various issues with the property I planned to buy. After the searches and my solicitor's report came back a number of additional issues came to light including the property being a very high flood risk and a problematic conversion. My solicitor sent queries to the vendor asking for current insurance documents (as he said there has never been an issue insuring the property) and planning permission for the conversion. He has failed to produce either despite repeated requests. He also hasn't answered other queries. There are other red flags aside from this that have slowly come to light but these are really key problems. I am going to contact the EA, who has been quite unpleasant to deal with, so I'm planning to just send an e-mail rather than call him. The problem is this Estate Agent is very active in the specific area I'm looking to buy in and I really don't want to p**s them off. It's really only the specific agent I've been dealing with who has been difficult but he happens to be the manager. Should I just send a (polite) e-mail explaining why I'm withdrawing the offer or would a call be better..?

As someone who has had a buyer pull out previously, my only advice is not to delay doing so. It's never a nice conversation but better to do it quickly. 

Be honest and trust your own instincts. The feedback is always helpful for the EA and seller to know too, ahead of it being relisted. Personally, I'd email (and maybe follow up with a call) to ensure they know your tone - often things can get lost in translation with emails. 

Caz_Mnaz

Sigh. Another day of silence from there chain. Literally tearing my hair out and now starting to panic people are stalling/about to pull out. 3 weeks until my mortgage offer expires 😬

laura_lau

caz_cardiff87 said:

How long would you wait to start pestering solicitor after searches have been returned? 

I gave them 7 working days, then I started asking for updates. Three days later they replied, saying they had "just" received the searches and that they were putting together the report before sending it to me. The report arrived 6 working days after that.

binky21

Thought I'd chuck my hat in the ring. We've been waiting to exchange for about 11 weeks now. The chain is relatively simple, selling our flat to an investment buyer and purchasing what we thought was a no-chain freehold house. Mortgage, survey and searches were all absolutely fine, however, we've been waiting for an answer to three remaining enquiries for about a month now and they still haven't materialised. I got a call from the estate agent on Monday claiming that my vendor is keen to exchange by the end of the week and that I'd have responses to our enquiries that morning or by the end of the day. Naturally, nothing has arrived.

I recently learnt that my vendor is actually purchasing a retirement apartment so I have a sneaking suspicion they are attempting to delay everything until that is ready for them. Whilst this is frustrating, I do understand, however, I wish they'd just tell me so I don't have to keep chasing people for answers every couple of days.

trance_abbey

amyr said:

I can't quite believe this - but a miracle has happened. The buyer drove two hours from London to hand deliver the paperwork. We have no idea what is in it, if it's complete or what. But it's there. And it has to be a sign of commitment. 

Tiny, tiny glimmer of hope.

HOORAY!!!

That's such good news for you - so long as the paper work is indeed correct and complete. That's definitely a sign of commitment!

trance_abbey

Is anyone here knowledgeable enough to tell me if LA searches are REALLY important?

Because they're going to take SO long and definitely put me out of the running for the stamp duty holiday I enquired with my solicitor if there was any way we could speed up or circumvent the process... they've said that I don't *have* to do them, but they recommend them for CYA and informational purposes.

In all of the stalking I've done I know that the property was listed last year at a higher price, so I've asked the solicitor to try and see if there was a previous buyer and if they did searches before they pulled out, and if so could I buy them.

BountyBlink - is this something you have an opinion on? I've been very impressed with the insight you've given others.