The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

Justonemorecupoftea

So no viewings booked in for over the weekend and not heard back from the other previous offer.
My EA is speaking to our vendors this afternoon. Looks like I might need to retire from this thread for a while.

At the start of the week I was thinking we might be done by the end of August, now I'm considering whether we'll have to wait until next year.

AnnexeRegular

hippocrates1 said:

Quick question.

I’m buying a vacant property without a chain and I’m in rented. Is there any problem with exchange and completion date day in this circumstance as the day of completion isn’t the end of the world? If it’s on different days how soon after exchange can you complete? My mortgage is through Santander and I’m using a HTB ISA if that changes anything. 

Generally if you are using a mortgage to fund the property it takes time to draw down the funds from the mortgage provider. Santander (who i'm also with) take roughly 3 working days from exchange, so it may be tricky to do same day exchange/completion. Best to ask your solicitor though.

sw7

sw7 said:

I'm taking a break from chasing today after yesterday's failure to exchange. With our long chain and solicitors presumably being busy completing, I can't see it happening on a Friday.

Replying to myself. We've exchanged!

Got a call from the solicitor at lunch saying they were still waiting, but then updated a couple of hours later. Completion on 21st, which is happily just after our holiday next week. As current renters we don't need to worry about packing, just rock up and get the keys.

Turns it can still happen on a Friday, even with a chain of 7

AnnexeRegular

Congrats @sw7

badger09

Justonemorecupoftea said:

So no viewings booked in for over the weekend and not heard back from the other previous offer.
My EA is speaking to our vendors this afternoon. Looks like I might need to retire from this thread for a while.

At the start of the week I was thinking we might be done by the end of August, now I'm considering whether we'll have to wait until next year.

I really feel for you. I don't know whether you have to move or not, or were just taking the opportunity to do it now. If its not urgent, my advice would be to take a break and try again next year.

If its any consolation (& I know it probably isn't!), we tried to sell our 'marmite' house back in summer 2017 as we needed somewhere with less outside maintenance. Nothing remotely comparable for miles around, no local sales for many years, plumped for middle valuation of 3 local EAs. Very slow trickle of viewers - all very positive, loved the house BUT ... then listed one or more of its many quirks. Got fed up and decided to stay put. 

Fast forward 3 years to summer 2020 - can't travel due to lockdown, local market busy with people wanting quieter life & more outside space. Hmmm, that's just what we have. Back on market - very steady stream of viewings, including people who'd travelled 200 miles to view. 2 identical lowish offers on same day. Tell them to come back with best & final. Both increase to over asking price. Accept lower offer from  family who love our 'marmite' house as much as we do. All goes smoothly apart from our vendor withdrawing shortly before anticipated exchange. Bite the bullet & keep our promise to move into temporary rather than lose the chain, while our 2nd choice purchase progresses.

Cut a long story short - I honestly believe someone will love your house and not mess you around. You'll also find somewhere else as good as/better than your current onward purchase. Just maybe not right now.

Good luck, whatever you decide

 

laura_lau

asbear said:

laura_lau said:

asbear said:

laura_lau said:

Good morning everyone. Aaaand it's Friday again... Sending good vibes and wishing good luck to everyone who is awaiting news. I know we can do it, as so many good examples in recent days are showing us, so I'm very hopeful! Now, Just had my coffee, I can start pestering the EA agent to see if they have finally been able to get hold of the seller's solicitor!

I am not sure if I understand your fully story but has your side been ready to exchange and the completion date is set already? Then I think what you could try is pushing your solicitor to chase the seller's solicitor. I think you've done this already but wanted to mention this because of my experience.

A day before our exchange, I called my solicitor and suggested 18 June for the completion date and my solicitor sent an email to the seller's solicitor for setting the agreed completion date. However the seller's solicitor didn't respond until the next day. EA checked that out and it turned out that she was off. I anyway transferred the whole money to my solicitor to prevent any delay but didn't get any news. It was not really hopeful. I called the solicitor firm more than 5 times to chase the progress - couldn't talk to my solicitor directly but left my messages to the person on the phone.

In the next morning, my solicitor gave me a call, told me that he hadn't got any response yet but he will contact the firm directly and find someone else to get the deal done with him. We didn't have the completion date until this moment. But got a call about the confirmation of the exchange of contract around 2pm with the completion date I suggested.

My point is that you could still try pushing your solicitor, for setting the completion date and send the required fund as early as possible once the solicitor agrees with it. To me it looks like the exchange could be done really quickly if your solicitor pushes it really hard.

Hope this helps.

I've done all that, but no one has been able to get a response from the seller's solicitor, not even the seller herself. About 2 weeks ago I told my solicitor to suggest exchange and completion dates, as the final enquiries had finally been satisfied. I suggested 2nd of June as exchange and 9th June as completion. My solicitor sent an email to the seller's solicitor to propose the dates, this was on the Thursday before the bank holiday. I then agreed with my solicitor to send my deposit in readiness for exchange, which I did last Wednesday (2nd June). And that's pretty much it. Since the Thursday 2 weeks ago, when my solicitor proposed dates, we haven't heard back from the seller's solicitor. Last Thursday, since a week had passed and my solicitor said they were chasing but they were receiving no reply, I started calling the EA. They called me back Thursday afternoon saying they had spoken with the seller solicitor who said their IT systems had been down for 3 days and they were catching up, and they wouldn't be able to answer my solicitor's enquiry until early this week. On Tuesday, after my solicitor confirmed she had chased again and had received no response, I called the EA again, and they again called me back repeating what the solicitor had said the week before, but admitting they hadn't been able to speak with the solicitor. They said they called the seller to ask if she had any pending enquires to answer, and she said no, but she also hadn't heard from her solicitor in a while. I told the EA that there are no enquiries, and what the seller's solicitor is calling an "enquiry" is actually our request to exchange and complete. Yesterday, same thing, I called and this time the agent didn't even call me back. I called just now, and they didn't even answer this time, I got redirected to another branch! They said they will let me be called back, but I'll call them if within 2 hours they don't call me back! My solicitor confirmed yesterday evening she chased again in the morning but got no reply.
So It's ridiculous that after 2 weeks we still have received no reply about dates, and, according to the EA, the vendor doesn't know anything! I'm even starting to think that someone is lying here, and maybe the vendor changed her mind and is trying to secure a higher offer? That would be incredibly stupid, considering my offer was accepted on 22nd January, so it's been almost 6 months, why running away literally days before proposed completion?

I feel your pain. It was so difficult to cope with the mental pressure. Was the seller also frustrated and desperate to get this deal done when you called her? One action you could do would be setting a deadline for exchange and completion date. I don't believe that the whole firm have no capacity to make an urgent deal. They are possibly prioritising the deals they might miss if they make any delay.

In my case, I announced my deadline to "completion before June" last month because of the stamp duty holidays. And pushed my solicitor, EA and seller like crazy. The seller finally gave a very tight deadline through the EA - 5 working days to exchange. It was really scary moment for me but also thankful for them doing so, because I was going to pull of at the end of the month anyway.

If you can wait until the next month and really want the house, probably only choice is waiting. Otherwise putting deadline could be a real game changer, you should really mean it though.

I hope some great things would happen to you today!

Thank you!! So, after spending most of the morning on the phone with three different people at the agency, one of them has finally been able to speak with the seller's solicitor! they have sent the dates to the seller only yesterday evening!!! (after 2 whole weeks). He said he spoke with the seller too and she's happy to exchange and complete whenever it suits me so we informally agreed we'll try to exchange on Monday 14th with completion on 21st. I wrote to my solicitor and she said it should be fine in her opinion, so let's hope it really happens on Monday! Honestly I was losing all hope today! She said she'll try to get hold of the solicitor today and see what they can do. I'm not breathing yet, but at least I can enter the weekend with hope.

laura_lau

sw7 said:

sw7 said:

I'm taking a break from chasing today after yesterday's failure to exchange. With our long chain and solicitors presumably being busy completing, I can't see it happening on a Friday.

Replying to myself. We've exchanged!

Got a call from the solicitor at lunch saying they were still waiting, but then updated a couple of hours later. Completion on 21st, which is happily just after our holiday next week. As current renters we don't need to worry about packing, just rock up and get the keys.

Turns it can still happen on a Friday, even with a chain of 7

Congratulations!!!! You can breathe now! 

asbear

laura_lau said:

asbear said:

laura_lau said:

asbear said:

laura_lau said:

Good morning everyone. Aaaand it's Friday again... Sending good vibes and wishing good luck to everyone who is awaiting news. I know we can do it, as so many good examples in recent days are showing us, so I'm very hopeful! Now, Just had my coffee, I can start pestering the EA agent to see if they have finally been able to get hold of the seller's solicitor!

I am not sure if I understand your fully story but has your side been ready to exchange and the completion date is set already? Then I think what you could try is pushing your solicitor to chase the seller's solicitor. I think you've done this already but wanted to mention this because of my experience.

A day before our exchange, I called my solicitor and suggested 18 June for the completion date and my solicitor sent an email to the seller's solicitor for setting the agreed completion date. However the seller's solicitor didn't respond until the next day. EA checked that out and it turned out that she was off. I anyway transferred the whole money to my solicitor to prevent any delay but didn't get any news. It was not really hopeful. I called the solicitor firm more than 5 times to chase the progress - couldn't talk to my solicitor directly but left my messages to the person on the phone.

In the next morning, my solicitor gave me a call, told me that he hadn't got any response yet but he will contact the firm directly and find someone else to get the deal done with him. We didn't have the completion date until this moment. But got a call about the confirmation of the exchange of contract around 2pm with the completion date I suggested.

My point is that you could still try pushing your solicitor, for setting the completion date and send the required fund as early as possible once the solicitor agrees with it. To me it looks like the exchange could be done really quickly if your solicitor pushes it really hard.

Hope this helps.

I've done all that, but no one has been able to get a response from the seller's solicitor, not even the seller herself. About 2 weeks ago I told my solicitor to suggest exchange and completion dates, as the final enquiries had finally been satisfied. I suggested 2nd of June as exchange and 9th June as completion. My solicitor sent an email to the seller's solicitor to propose the dates, this was on the Thursday before the bank holiday. I then agreed with my solicitor to send my deposit in readiness for exchange, which I did last Wednesday (2nd June). And that's pretty much it. Since the Thursday 2 weeks ago, when my solicitor proposed dates, we haven't heard back from the seller's solicitor. Last Thursday, since a week had passed and my solicitor said they were chasing but they were receiving no reply, I started calling the EA. They called me back Thursday afternoon saying they had spoken with the seller solicitor who said their IT systems had been down for 3 days and they were catching up, and they wouldn't be able to answer my solicitor's enquiry until early this week. On Tuesday, after my solicitor confirmed she had chased again and had received no response, I called the EA again, and they again called me back repeating what the solicitor had said the week before, but admitting they hadn't been able to speak with the solicitor. They said they called the seller to ask if she had any pending enquires to answer, and she said no, but she also hadn't heard from her solicitor in a while. I told the EA that there are no enquiries, and what the seller's solicitor is calling an "enquiry" is actually our request to exchange and complete. Yesterday, same thing, I called and this time the agent didn't even call me back. I called just now, and they didn't even answer this time, I got redirected to another branch! They said they will let me be called back, but I'll call them if within 2 hours they don't call me back! My solicitor confirmed yesterday evening she chased again in the morning but got no reply.
So It's ridiculous that after 2 weeks we still have received no reply about dates, and, according to the EA, the vendor doesn't know anything! I'm even starting to think that someone is lying here, and maybe the vendor changed her mind and is trying to secure a higher offer? That would be incredibly stupid, considering my offer was accepted on 22nd January, so it's been almost 6 months, why running away literally days before proposed completion?

I feel your pain. It was so difficult to cope with the mental pressure. Was the seller also frustrated and desperate to get this deal done when you called her? One action you could do would be setting a deadline for exchange and completion date. I don't believe that the whole firm have no capacity to make an urgent deal. They are possibly prioritising the deals they might miss if they make any delay.

In my case, I announced my deadline to "completion before June" last month because of the stamp duty holidays. And pushed my solicitor, EA and seller like crazy. The seller finally gave a very tight deadline through the EA - 5 working days to exchange. It was really scary moment for me but also thankful for them doing so, because I was going to pull of at the end of the month anyway.

If you can wait until the next month and really want the house, probably only choice is waiting. Otherwise putting deadline could be a real game changer, you should really mean it though.

I hope some great things would happen to you today!

Thank you!! So, after spending most of the morning on the phone with three different people at the agency, one of them has finally been able to speak with the seller's solicitor! they have sent the dates to the seller only yesterday evening!!! (after 2 whole weeks). He said he spoke with the seller too and she's happy to exchange and complete whenever it suits me so we informally agreed we'll try to exchange on Monday 14th with completion on 21st. I wrote to my solicitor and she said it should be fine in her opinion, so let's hope it really happens on Monday! Honestly I was losing all hope today! She said she'll try to get hold of the solicitor today and see what they can do. I'm not breathing yet, but at least I can enter the weekend with hope.

Great news!! Have a great weekend. It sounds like the rest of the steps will progress very quickly.

cherrypancakes

I've exchanged!!!! I could cry real tears right now 

Justonemorecupoftea

badger09 said:

Justonemorecupoftea said:

So no viewings booked in for over the weekend and not heard back from the other previous offer.
My EA is speaking to our vendors this afternoon. Looks like I might need to retire from this thread for a while.

At the start of the week I was thinking we might be done by the end of August, now I'm considering whether we'll have to wait until next year.

I really feel for you. I don't know whether you have to move or not, or were just taking the opportunity to do it now. If its not urgent, my advice would be to take a break and try again next year.

If its any consolation (& I know it probably isn't!), we tried to sell our 'marmite' house back in summer 2017 as we needed somewhere with less outside maintenance. Nothing remotely comparable for miles around, no local sales for many years, plumped for middle valuation of 3 local EAs. Very slow trickle of viewers - all very positive, loved the house BUT ... then listed one or more of its many quirks. Got fed up and decided to stay put. 

Fast forward 3 years to summer 2020 - can't travel due to lockdown, local market busy with people wanting quieter life & more outside space. Hmmm, that's just what we have. Back on market - very steady stream of viewings, including people who'd travelled 200 miles to view. 2 identical lowish offers on same day. Tell them to come back with best & final. Both increase to over asking price. Accept lower offer from  family who love our 'marmite' house as much as we do. All goes smoothly apart from our vendor withdrawing shortly before anticipated exchange. Bite the bullet & keep our promise to move into temporary rather than lose the chain, while our 2nd choice purchase progresses.

Cut a long story short - I honestly believe someone will love your house and not mess you around. You'll also find somewhere else as good as/better than your current onward purchase. Just maybe not right now.

Good luck, whatever you decide

 

Thank you.

We are expecting our first baby and wanting to move somewhere bigger. We thought we would try to at least get the viewings etc. sorted before the baby arrived. The idea of keeping a house tidy with a newborn seems...challenging!

Thinking we might keep the house on the market for another month (we've managed to get offers in a couple of weeks each time we've marketed) and really focus on ftb/cash buyers.

It really depends what our vendors say -they don't have an onward chain, have already moved and we offered asking price. However according to their EA they were torn about what to do last time it fell apart, so we'll see!

I go from being really zen, to being so mad that people can mess others around with so little thought!!