The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

TBG01

House_owner said:

E_D_FTB said:

House_owner said:

Congratulations to everyone who has exhanged/completed, sympathies to everyone who is still waiting!

I have just found out that the EPC on the house I am buying is booked in to be done on 9th September.Apart from that everything on sale and purchase is ready for exchange. When I asked if I could suggest a completion date, I was told I can't make any suggestions until next week as my buyers solicitor is on holiday!

Holidaying solicitor strikes again! Honestly, it is shocking how many delays over the last month or so have been in part or wholly due to solicitors being on holiday and no system being in place to cover their cases! Hopefully you'll be able to get things confirmed as soon as they're back.

I have never understood why solicitors can't have someone else take over their work when they are on holiday?!

They do though.

If a completion is arranged someone will be there to sort it. If it's to respond to a 'Can I have an update?' it's going to be bottom of the list of things to do for whoever is monitoring their emails. 

MrsBrush

DamInc said:

Anyone else had dealings with PPL conveyancers?  For the love of God, avoid them like the plague.

We sold our place and put in an offer on a house (accepted same day) on the 23rd of March.  Our chain is quite small.  We all use the same Estate Agents and we all use PPL as the solicitors (other than the top of the chain selling to our vendors).  PPL are our Estate Agents "preferred" solicitors so went with them - yeah, I know, we really should have checked.  There are four properties in the chain.

It's been months of pain and ineptitude thus far.  We've been waiting to exchange and get a date for completion for weeks.  We all finally agreed a date last week, for completion next week.  Hurray!  PPL ordered our mortgage money from Barclays, who then confirmed that to us separately that PPL would get that money next week.

We then get an email from PPL today.  There's seven outstanding queries on the flat our vendors are buying and we may not now be able to exchange next week.  We were told by them last week over the phone that there were no enquiries left.

We've booked time of work and the removals firm.  The mortgage funds hit the solicitors next week.  We're so fed up with this now.

Should a conveyancing solicitor request mortgage funds if there are outstanding enquiries?  Waiting on a call from our EA who is calling the solicitors to see what the hell is going on.  :-(

Feel your pain. We aren't using them, but our vendor were caught in the same trap as you. If I had known then what I know now, I might have thought twice about putting in the offer - but of course, the house is perfect for us!

I will no doubt get shouted down again, because I have been very vocal previously.  PPL have been utterly shocking from the outset with our purchase. We are a small chain, all using independent solicitors except our seller - and there have been delays and hold ups from day 1. We finally got the sellers pack though 2 weeks ago (offer accepted 29th May - vendor didnt get anything from PPL for 5 weeks and returned it within a further 2, so it was in the in-tray the rest of the time with radio silence prevailing). My solicitor turned this around in 2 days, because our purchase was a couple of months behind the sale - and we got our contracts signed and back to our solicitor last weekend. So, having sat on things for10 weeks before sharing it, now they have had the legal enquiries (all 7 of them, and all on the surface so simple I could probably answer these questions myself!). So, PPL tell the vendor to start agreeing exchange and completion dates with us and the chain, and yet they haven't even started looking at the legal enquiries. They then told my EA today that they are referring these legal enquiries to the vendor tomorrow. Surely, the whole point of a legal enquiry is that it is a 'legal' question, rather than a vendor question (??)  

Cue another irate vendor calling them to launch a few more rockets, my EA and solicitor tearing their hair out, and thankfully it might be retrievable because lower down the chain have a solicitor still on holiday! 

Aaagghh! We thought the 20th September might be do-able, which would make everyone happy, it seems now that the whole chain might miss the SD deadline which will collectively cost thousands. Seriously - what is the point of these people? The customer service is terrible and there are no consequences either for their own clients, and certainly no recourse for the havoc and stress they are causing to the people forced to work with them.

neydejean

mortgage_noob said:

How's everyone doing - anyone aiming to complete on the 10th made progress?

We haven't exchanged yet and our solicitor doesn't seem to have applied for the HTB ISA or given us any info about transfer of funds. 

I heard from my mortgage advisor that the bank had received a request to release funds, so it seems the end is near. I've not however heard a peep from solicitor

cheeky-peach

In a dramatic turn of events... we had lots of news today.

Our enquires are now satisfied for our purchase and our buyers have paid deposit to solicitor so we are essential ready to go. Just waiting on news of the top of the chain who said on Monday about completing within 3 weeks so hopefully they won't hold us up. 

Monsternextdoor

cheeky-peach said:

In a dramatic turn of events... we had lots of news today.

Our enquires are now satisfied for our purchase and our buyers have paid deposit to solicitor so we are essential ready to go. Just waiting on news of the top of the chain who said on Monday about completing within 3 weeks so hopefully they won't hold us up. 

Seems that today has been the day for the solicitors to get going again. 

We have been spending the day sending emails back and forth to get things sorted.

cheeky-peach

Monsternextdoor said:

cheeky-peach said:

In a dramatic turn of events... we had lots of news today.

Our enquires are now satisfied for our purchase and our buyers have paid deposit to solicitor so we are essential ready to go. Just waiting on news of the top of the chain who said on Monday about completing within 3 weeks so hopefully they won't hold us up. 

Seems that today has been the day for the solicitors to get going again. 

We have been spending the day sending emails back and forth to get things sorted.

Any further forward? 

Monsternextdoor

cheeky-peach said:

Monsternextdoor said:

cheeky-peach said:

In a dramatic turn of events... we had lots of news today.

Our enquires are now satisfied for our purchase and our buyers have paid deposit to solicitor so we are essential ready to go. Just waiting on news of the top of the chain who said on Monday about completing within 3 weeks so hopefully they won't hold us up. 

Seems that today has been the day for the solicitors to get going again. 

We have been spending the day sending emails back and forth to get things sorted.

Any further forward? 

Exchange tomorrow and completion on wed.

House_owner

TBG01 said:

House_owner said:

E_D_FTB said:

House_owner said:

Congratulations to everyone who has exhanged/completed, sympathies to everyone who is still waiting!

I have just found out that the EPC on the house I am buying is booked in to be done on 9th September.Apart from that everything on sale and purchase is ready for exchange. When I asked if I could suggest a completion date, I was told I can't make any suggestions until next week as my buyers solicitor is on holiday!

Holidaying solicitor strikes again! Honestly, it is shocking how many delays over the last month or so have been in part or wholly due to solicitors being on holiday and no system being in place to cover their cases! Hopefully you'll be able to get things confirmed as soon as they're back.

I have never understood why solicitors can't have someone else take over their work when they are on holiday?!

They do though.

If a completion is arranged someone will be there to sort it. If it's to respond to a 'Can I have an update?' it's going to be bottom of the list of things to do for whoever is monitoring their emails. 

Not just wanting an update though - wanting to agree completion date!

WorriedKirkels

Monsternextdoor said:

@Cookie211 Congrats !! Now the hard work starts ! 

Good news here, Exchange tomorrow and complete on wed ! 

Woo hoo 😁almost there! x

WorriedKirkels

greensalad said:

Can anyone help me with this query; do we have to tell the mortgage provider the survey details? I presume so? Or is it just for us. Or is it if things are raised by enquiries then we may have to?

We are having a small issue with building regs for one area of the house, however we intend to build and extension so we can mitigate these issues in the term of the mortgage. I've heard though that the mortgage provider may need convincing. My query is, how will they know there is an issue? At what point would they get told?

If building regs it will get picked up by solicitors (or should do!) it shouldn’t be a biggie unless it effects the whole house 🏡 x