The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

birdmadgirl8

Oops @scottie21

WorriedKirkels

birdmadgirl8 said:

Our story so far: offers accepted on sale and purchase in Oct/Nov 2020. After 7 months our first purchase collapsed at exchange when our sellers pulled out. Offer accepted on 2nd house on 1st June 21 (market had changed - less to buy and more expensive). Agent said we could get more for ours, but decided to keep original buyer cos we thought it was right. Chain completed and then we all had long wait for searches to come back. Top of chain (TOC) pulled out of buying their probate property in August (just changed their minds). They agreed to go into rental & we all pushed hard once searches/enquiries came back (mid August) to give TOC time to find rental. We were hoping to move in early Sep, but that didn't happen - not helped by 2 unresponsive solicitors. Finally, last Thursday agent rockets our Solicitor (she'd been ignoring our emails/calls) & she springs into action. Friday she confirms that we're ready to exchange and can talk dates. Blimey, this bit's stressful isn't it 🤯 Top three in chain have agreed dates in Oct (tried for end Sep, but no removals to be had & can't get leave). Out of blue, our buyers are saying they can't move till end Nov/early Dec. What??? We've been updating them on chain's progress through agent, but not sure if he passed it all on. Now we have TOC threatening to pull out (please calm down), buyers not responded to agent in last few days & our sol hasn't heard from buyers' sol. Sigh. Given that our last chain collapsed at exchange, we're just a bit anxious 😳

Oh no, really feel for you! It’s such a rollercoaster 🎢 when buying / selling but it’s bonkers that your buyers are now pushing for longer. Hope you find out why and can get them to reconsider 🤞 Just remember it will be worth it in the end 🤗 🏡 🔑 x

Rach273

Rach273 said:

Rach273 said:

Rach273 said:

Tentatively joining this thread, feels like progress is slowly being made. A little more complicated as we are selling two houses to buy one, and one of those was shared ownership, but here's the timeline so far;

• Property A (my house, 75% shared ownership) listed for sale with great timing on 09/03/2020.
• Straight into COVID-19 lockdown on 16th March, viewings suspended.
• 01/06/2020 viewings are allowed to recommence.
• 15/06/2020 accept offer for £1.5k under asking price, chain free buyer in rented.
• Get to September and still don't have draft queries from buyers solicitors, progression is very slow, and after lots of backwards and forwards with the agent, I go direct to the housing association. They have to be careful with what they tell me due to GDPR, but reading between the lines the buyer is in the process of divorce and still owns a share in another property. The housing association are unable to approve the application until this second property is sold. I pull out and sack the agent for not doing their due diligence.
• 15/09/2020 property is relisted with agent number two.
• 22/09/2020 COVID restrictions begin again, but this time we are still allowed to do viewings.
• 02/10/2020 I break my leg badly and have to move into Property B so my partner can care for me, this also means that we do not put his house on the market that week as planned. 
• 14/10/2020 offer accepted £2.5k under asking price.
• 06/01/2021 third national COVID lockdown
• 08/02/2021 exchanged contracts
• 12/02/2021 finally complete on Property A, enlist a lot of help from friends with moving as I'm still on crutches at this point. Put most of my furniture into storage. Decide we need a breather from the stress of property sales, but of course property prices then seem to sky rocket and all the houses we were interested in that have sat on the market for the last 6 months are snapped up.

• Property B (partners house, freehold) listed for sale on 22/03/2021.
• 15/04/2021 Two offers on the table, we went with investment buyers at £2.5k below asking as they were more flexible on timeframes, and not in a rush to be completed before the extended stamp duty deadline. The husband is a gas engineer by trade, and actually serviced our boiler last year so we let them have access for a morning with a builder and electrician to give the property a thorough once over in lieu of a survey.
• 22/04/21 Draft contracts sent.

• 05/05/2021 our offer is accepted for property C, with vendors moving to rented before emigrating later in the year. 
• 12/05/2021 Agreement in principle secured and full mortgage application submitted.
• 14/05/2021 Mortgage broker in contact to say Halifax have been unable to contact our vendor to arrange a valuation - first sign of trouble...
• 17/05/2021 Vendors pull out, as unable to find a rental. Estate agent keen to 'talk them round' so we leave offer on the table, explaining that we weren't expecting to meet the stamp duty deadline anyway, vendors agree to proceed the same day.
• 19/05/2021 Mortgage valuation
• 20/05/2021 Full Mortgage offer
• 28/05/2021 Vendors pull out of sale again. Back to square one, fortunately just the valuation fee down.

• 04/06/2021 after some negotiation on price, offer accepted on our second choice property, property D. Vendor has lived there 20 years, but now needs to care for her elderly father so is intending to move into his home, so a chain of two houses as before, but a bit more money on the mortgage than we would have liked.
• 06/06/2021 amended mortgage application submitted.
• 09/06/2021 Searched submitted - Local Authority advise 70 working day timeframe due to the increased demand in our area. Not sure if Halifax will accept an indemnity.
• 11/06/2021 mortgage offer issued with desktop valuation.
• 17/06/2021 Draft contracts received.
• 18/06/2021 Some to and fro as vendor trying to charge £1,000 for a bog standard garden shed in the fixtures and fittings forms. Politely told that we were not paying any extra, will wait and see if the shed is still there when we complete - I have a feeling it might disintegrate if she tries to move it!
• 29/06/2021 Had Level 2 survey done, as some concerns about the roof, but actually property is in pretty good nick, just some modernisation required as expected.
• Today 02/07/2021 received report on the property from our solicitors, only real area of concern is an old deed of 1937 granted before the house build was completed, giving mutual rights over part of the end garden which would allow both us and the neighbour to build a garage in our garden with a drive through the neighbours garden to a side street. The neighbours have since built a garage off their front drive, so our solicitor has requested the vendor formally ends this right and updates the land registry before we exchange.

Well done for making it this far, it's been quite the saga, I'm just hoping that we can complete before our buyers lose the will to live. We are also getting married in early September, so I can see us moving house in the same week at this rate.

Congratulations to everyone who has exchanged/completed over the past month. It feels like slow progress here, but progress none the less;

• 23/07/2021 Report on title received along with draft contracts to sign.
• 26/07/2021 signed draft contracts and forms returned to solicitors office, the local authority searches not due back until 21st September so solicitor approaching lender to see if they will accept an indemnity.
• 06/08/2021 Chased solicitors for an update - they sent letter to the lender on 4th August and were waiting for an update themselves
• 11/08/21 Solicitor emails to say lender has not received letter so they have emailed and we should have a decision tomorrow.

So fingers crossed our lender will accept the local searches indemnity and we can stat discussing dates. I'd love to complete before our wedding mid September.

Set back today, mortgage company is sending a valuer out next week - earliest date we could get was Friday. They only did a desktop valuation for the mortgage offer and have decided that they need to see the property before deciding if they will accept the indemnity against the old easement

This process has been so stressful, I am just grateful to have a lovely solicitor who is proactive and doesn't need chasing, as I'm sure I would have had a breakdown if I'd had to deal with some of the solicitors the rest of you have!

So quite a few things have happened since my last post;

• The survey was booked for Friday 27/08/2021
• 31/08/21 had a call from the vendor's estate agent concerned that the surveyor did not show. It transpires that on arrival at the property the surveyor realised they knew the vendor and so couldn't give an unbiased report.
• After lots of chasing by our solicitor and our mortgage broker, a second survey was arranged for 08/09/2021
• 13/09/2021 finally get the go ahead from our lender to proceed. Agree completion date of 23/09/2021 (Today!)
• 14/09/2021 our buyer pulls out 
• 15/09/2021 our vendor relists the property for £35k more than our offer - well beyond our reach.
• 16/09/2021 our house is relisted at the same asking price
• 22/09/2021 accept offer from a cash buyer, memorandum of sale issued and our solicitor in contact to say they are sending the draft contract out by the end of the week.

So now we are in limbo waiting for our vendor to decide if they will proceed with our offer or if they are holding out for that extra £35k. We will miss the stamp duty holiday deadline and if we need to find a new property to purchase, we won't be in before Christmas. 

I hate the property buying process!!!!

E_D_FTB

Oh no, @birdmadgirl8, I don't know how you're still going! I would have given up. Hopefully your buyer will reconsider, and whoever's threatening to pull out will calm down and realise if they do it could take far longer to complete in a different chain.

I'm so sorry @Rach273, that's so rubbish! I find people who relist when they realise they could get more for it than when it was originally listed pretty cheeky and greedy - property prices are always increasing, so they could be endlessly relisting at a higher price and never actually sell. Hopefully their desire to move and stick with a buyer they know won't mess them around will override their greed. Good luck!

E_D_FTB

So we still haven't exchanged - apparently the top link is waiting on an important form from the bank. No idea why exchange was suggested last Friday if this was the case, but oh well! Because of the delay our solicitor has now had to request full funds from the bank to be ready for completion on 30th, and we're hoping this form arrives today and we can exchange. Honestly, I'm not liking the gap between exchange and completion getting so tight - would have been nice to know the sale was legally binding before drawing down funds.

Hope everyone else has been having a more successful time of it than us?

scottie21

E_D_FTB said:

So we still haven't exchanged - apparently the top link is waiting on an important form from the bank. No idea why exchange was suggested last Friday if this was the case, but oh well! Because of the delay our solicitor has now had to request full funds from the bank to be ready for completion on 30th, and we're hoping this form arrives today and we can exchange. Honestly, I'm not liking the gap between exchange and completion getting so tight - would have been nice to know the sale was legally binding before drawing down funds.

Hope everyone else has been having a more successful time of it than us?

We haven’t exchanged yet either, aiming to complete the 30th. Got a request on Tuesday to complete tomorrow, but I’m on nights all weekend so it’s a no go. Radio silence since. I want to start informing utility companies etc. I have emailed today for an update, which I feel bad about, as I know they are mad busy.  Like yourself, it is starting to feel really tight.
I just keep thinking today: This time next week 🤞🏼🤞🏼🏡🔑🍾🥂

scottie21

Rach273 said:

Rach273 said:

Rach273 said:

Rach273 said:

Tentatively joining this thread, feels like progress is slowly being made. A little more complicated as we are selling two houses to buy one, and one of those was shared ownership, but here's the timeline so far;

• Property A (my house, 75% shared ownership) listed for sale with great timing on 09/03/2020.
• Straight into COVID-19 lockdown on 16th March, viewings suspended.
• 01/06/2020 viewings are allowed to recommence.
• 15/06/2020 accept offer for £1.5k under asking price, chain free buyer in rented.
• Get to September and still don't have draft queries from buyers solicitors, progression is very slow, and after lots of backwards and forwards with the agent, I go direct to the housing association. They have to be careful with what they tell me due to GDPR, but reading between the lines the buyer is in the process of divorce and still owns a share in another property. The housing association are unable to approve the application until this second property is sold. I pull out and sack the agent for not doing their due diligence.
• 15/09/2020 property is relisted with agent number two.
• 22/09/2020 COVID restrictions begin again, but this time we are still allowed to do viewings.
• 02/10/2020 I break my leg badly and have to move into Property B so my partner can care for me, this also means that we do not put his house on the market that week as planned. 
• 14/10/2020 offer accepted £2.5k under asking price.
• 06/01/2021 third national COVID lockdown
• 08/02/2021 exchanged contracts
• 12/02/2021 finally complete on Property A, enlist a lot of help from friends with moving as I'm still on crutches at this point. Put most of my furniture into storage. Decide we need a breather from the stress of property sales, but of course property prices then seem to sky rocket and all the houses we were interested in that have sat on the market for the last 6 months are snapped up.

• Property B (partners house, freehold) listed for sale on 22/03/2021.
• 15/04/2021 Two offers on the table, we went with investment buyers at £2.5k below asking as they were more flexible on timeframes, and not in a rush to be completed before the extended stamp duty deadline. The husband is a gas engineer by trade, and actually serviced our boiler last year so we let them have access for a morning with a builder and electrician to give the property a thorough once over in lieu of a survey.
• 22/04/21 Draft contracts sent.

• 05/05/2021 our offer is accepted for property C, with vendors moving to rented before emigrating later in the year. 
• 12/05/2021 Agreement in principle secured and full mortgage application submitted.
• 14/05/2021 Mortgage broker in contact to say Halifax have been unable to contact our vendor to arrange a valuation - first sign of trouble...
• 17/05/2021 Vendors pull out, as unable to find a rental. Estate agent keen to 'talk them round' so we leave offer on the table, explaining that we weren't expecting to meet the stamp duty deadline anyway, vendors agree to proceed the same day.
• 19/05/2021 Mortgage valuation
• 20/05/2021 Full Mortgage offer
• 28/05/2021 Vendors pull out of sale again. Back to square one, fortunately just the valuation fee down.

• 04/06/2021 after some negotiation on price, offer accepted on our second choice property, property D. Vendor has lived there 20 years, but now needs to care for her elderly father so is intending to move into his home, so a chain of two houses as before, but a bit more money on the mortgage than we would have liked.
• 06/06/2021 amended mortgage application submitted.
• 09/06/2021 Searched submitted - Local Authority advise 70 working day timeframe due to the increased demand in our area. Not sure if Halifax will accept an indemnity.
• 11/06/2021 mortgage offer issued with desktop valuation.
• 17/06/2021 Draft contracts received.
• 18/06/2021 Some to and fro as vendor trying to charge £1,000 for a bog standard garden shed in the fixtures and fittings forms. Politely told that we were not paying any extra, will wait and see if the shed is still there when we complete - I have a feeling it might disintegrate if she tries to move it!
• 29/06/2021 Had Level 2 survey done, as some concerns about the roof, but actually property is in pretty good nick, just some modernisation required as expected.
• Today 02/07/2021 received report on the property from our solicitors, only real area of concern is an old deed of 1937 granted before the house build was completed, giving mutual rights over part of the end garden which would allow both us and the neighbour to build a garage in our garden with a drive through the neighbours garden to a side street. The neighbours have since built a garage off their front drive, so our solicitor has requested the vendor formally ends this right and updates the land registry before we exchange.

Well done for making it this far, it's been quite the saga, I'm just hoping that we can complete before our buyers lose the will to live. We are also getting married in early September, so I can see us moving house in the same week at this rate.

Congratulations to everyone who has exchanged/completed over the past month. It feels like slow progress here, but progress none the less;

• 23/07/2021 Report on title received along with draft contracts to sign.
• 26/07/2021 signed draft contracts and forms returned to solicitors office, the local authority searches not due back until 21st September so solicitor approaching lender to see if they will accept an indemnity.
• 06/08/2021 Chased solicitors for an update - they sent letter to the lender on 4th August and were waiting for an update themselves
• 11/08/21 Solicitor emails to say lender has not received letter so they have emailed and we should have a decision tomorrow.

So fingers crossed our lender will accept the local searches indemnity and we can stat discussing dates. I'd love to complete before our wedding mid September.

Set back today, mortgage company is sending a valuer out next week - earliest date we could get was Friday. They only did a desktop valuation for the mortgage offer and have decided that they need to see the property before deciding if they will accept the indemnity against the old easement

This process has been so stressful, I am just grateful to have a lovely solicitor who is proactive and doesn't need chasing, as I'm sure I would have had a breakdown if I'd had to deal with some of the solicitors the rest of you have!

So quite a few things have happened since my last post;

• The survey was booked for Friday 27/08/2021
• 31/08/21 had a call from the vendor's estate agent concerned that the surveyor did not show. It transpires that on arrival at the property the surveyor realised they knew the vendor and so couldn't give an unbiased report.
• After lots of chasing by our solicitor and our mortgage broker, a second survey was arranged for 08/09/2021
• 13/09/2021 finally get the go ahead from our lender to proceed. Agree completion date of 23/09/2021 (Today!)
• 14/09/2021 our buyer pulls out 
• 15/09/2021 our vendor relists the property for £35k more than our offer - well beyond our reach.
• 16/09/2021 our house is relisted at the same asking price
• 22/09/2021 accept offer from a cash buyer, memorandum of sale issued and our solicitor in contact to say they are sending the draft contract out by the end of the week.

So now we are in limbo waiting for our vendor to decide if they will proceed with our offer or if they are holding out for that extra £35k. We will miss the stamp duty holiday deadline and if we need to find a new property to purchase, we won't be in before Christmas. 

I hate the property buying process!!!!

That’s poor form so close to being ready, to get more cash. Hopefully karma prevails. 

Hope you get sorted! 

E_D_FTB

scottie21 said:

E_D_FTB said:

So we still haven't exchanged - apparently the top link is waiting on an important form from the bank. No idea why exchange was suggested last Friday if this was the case, but oh well! Because of the delay our solicitor has now had to request full funds from the bank to be ready for completion on 30th, and we're hoping this form arrives today and we can exchange. Honestly, I'm not liking the gap between exchange and completion getting so tight - would have been nice to know the sale was legally binding before drawing down funds.

Hope everyone else has been having a more successful time of it than us?

We haven’t exchanged yet either, aiming to complete the 30th. Got a request on Tuesday to complete tomorrow, but I’m on nights all weekend so it’s a no go. Radio silence since. I want to start informing utility companies etc. I have emailed today for an update, which I feel bad about, as I know they are mad busy.  Like yourself, it is starting to feel really tight.
I just keep thinking today: This time next week 🤞🏼🤞🏼🏡🔑🍾🥂

Same - I literally just said that to my sister-in-law - just one more week! I also have to keep reminding myself how lucky we are that as FTB we don't have to move on Thursday, so we can hold off on things until exchange happens. Saying that, we've booked movers for 1st week of Oct, and ordered white goods to arrive on 2nd.

Keeping my fingers crossed for us both that exchange happens this side of the weekend!

Adsta

Whoop I finally exchanged yesterday! Completion date set for 28th Sept. 
Soooo excited now
Really glad this part is done now, got my buildings insurance all in place. So just the tormenting wait until next week! but its going to be oh so worth it!

Good Luck to everyone else! 

E_D_FTB

Adsta said:

Whoop I finally exchanged yesterday! Completion date set for 28th Sept. 
Soooo excited now
Really glad this part is done now, got my buildings insurance all in place. So just the tormenting wait until next week! but its going to be oh so worth it!

Good Luck to everyone else! 

Ahh, congratulations! So glad somebody exchanged this week! That's so exciting, and not too long now!