The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

novelle

Mantis_Toboggan said:

Veromartos said:

Mantis_Toboggan 

Congratulations! I hope to be there soon.
I know how stressful this is.
The buyers at the bottom of the chain are waiting on ISA funds to be drawn down. (For they deposit)
All of the rest is ready. We have been waiting for this for over a week now. 
Communication with them is not great😖
And my vendor seems a bit annoyed for the delay. We were expecting to complete on 25th October but is not happening..

I know! It's the silence that really killed me, a simple email letting me know what's going on, even if the update is that there is no update, is much better than days of radio silence.

But hang in there! it will all be worth it.

i felt exactly the same!

As a first time buyer I do not know a lot of things and have no idea what to expect.

I am not asking for a weekly update. I just want my solicitor to answer my emails and calls such as the concerns we had after reading the boundaries of our house etc... 

MrsBrush

Well, after all the months of waiting, annoyance, and dealing with other people's rubbish solicitors is now done - we are finally in! Completed on Monday afternoon, and arrived at the house to find the previous owner still faffing and the list of 'not done yet's far larger than we had anticipated! Obviously, we couldn't officially start until we got the call, but our removals people called when they arrived to give us the heads up that a marathon hoovering session might be in order. And boy, was it!

So, in addition to having too much stuff for the house, we have everything piled up all over the place so we can give it a really thorough clean before we can even start unpacking. Now starting day 3, and the bathroom is almost clean enough to be used, I have a clean corner in the kitchen and we got the TV and Broadband working. 

My poor husband hadn't wanted to move in the first place, and he had spent ages fixing the odd bits that needed attention and cleaning the old house before we left. We abandoned the mess in favour of a meal in the local pub, and he just said "what the hell have we done?"  The thing is, the potential is huge and despite needing a really good clean, totally redecorating and a load of stuff done, including at least a couple of skips to get rid of the rubbish, it is already starting to feel like home. 

Faodail

@MrsBrush Congratulations!! 🎉🥳🥳🥳

it sounds like it’s been extremely stressful! But at least you are in, and can begin the overhaul! Xx

justcat01

@MrsBrush I'm so glad you're in! It's a bit of a struggle for the first few days/weeks but it will be so worth it!

novelle

@MrsBrush Congratulations,  so happy for you that you can finally get the house.  Ot was a long and stressful journey.  Sounds like lots of work to be done. Take some rest whenever possible. 

waitingforsomething

Congratulations @MrsBrush enjoy your new home! 

CBat

Just came across this thread and thought I'd join in. I'm an older FTB and can't actually believe I'm in the process of buying a house - it's a dream come true!

House viewing: 02/10/21
MIP from mortgage broker: 03/10/21
Offer made on house: 04/10/21
Offer accepted: 05/10/21
All docs sent to mortgage advisor: 06/10/21
Meeting with mortgage advisor: 07/10/21
Mortgage application submitted to Santander: 08/10/21
Mortgage approval (pending valuation) received: 12/10/21
Solicitor instructed and ID/docs returned: 13/10/21
Survey scheduled: 13/10/21
Full building survey took place: 18/10/21
Santander valuation: 20/10/21

The solicitors checks are underway and we're waiting to hear back on the survey and valuation. It all seems to be happening so quickly. I'm hoping that if there are no hiccups, we can move in by Christmas... Fingers crossed. 

HopeAndDriftWood

Congratulations @MrsBrush! That sounds like an ordeal; but I'm so glad that you're in, and that it's starting to feel like home! 

@novelle In my experience, solicitors are pretty rubbish at updating until it's time for them to "go" when they get a lot better. Essentially you'll be in a pile of cases which are prioritised by how progressed they are, and until you get towards the top, you don't hear much. 

We signed our exchange contracts before enquiries were done; for our sale and purchase, both times. Some solicitors prefer to do it in order, though. Our buyers' solicitor wants him to sign the contract once they've reported to him on the house and pack; as a confirmation that he's happy to go ahead, so he hasn't done that yet. We did ours at the start of the process for both, and our solicitor has them on file for when they're needed. 

No news here. I feel like I check my emails once a second.

mightyblu

nicolanickynic said:

mightyblu said:

nicolanickynic said:

Hi fellow Help to Buyer.

I'm also buying an apartment, but moving from London to Luton. I have done so much reading/researching my eyes are square!

Nearing the end of my process. Just waiting for a few minor enquiries to be answered then hoping to exchange and complete in the next 4 weeks.

Good luck to you!

Wow congratulations, you must be very excited.
I'm reading everything and anything I can, I'm sure I must've read the Help To Buy guide at least 3x now, I'll need glasses soon!

Can I ask how long it's taken you so far? 

Thank you.

My flat was built and on the market for almost 1 year. Last one in the block of 16. Small local (and friendly) developer in Luton.

-Reserved the flat Aug 23rd
-Applied for my Mortgage Aug 24th
-Instructed my Conveyancer Aug 25th who then applied for searches (took a chance)
-Received my ATP Aug 27th
-Lender valuation Sept 8th
-Received my mtg offer Sept 9th
-All searches received back around Sept 14th

the last month has literally just been waiting on my solicitor who has had some annual leave and was also busy with the Stamp Duty holiday. She has confirmed we should be good to go in the next month unless something goes horribly wrong!

The developers gave a 3 month deadline between reservation and completion which is completely fair.

hope this helps x

Very helpful, thank you for sharing!

GeenBeen

Hello! FTB here and feeling very out of my depth.

House viewing: 21/09/21
Offer made: 24/9/21
Best & Final: 30/9/21
Offer accepted: 4/10/21 
Meeting with mortgage broker: 5/10/21
Docs send to mortgage broker: 13/10/21
Solicitors instructed and docs returned: 13/10/21
Solicitors received papers: 14/10/21
Application submitted to Barclays: 14/10/21
Mortgage offer (awaiting valuation): 19/10/21

We've heard literally nothing from the solicitors since returning all our documents, even getting confirmation of receipt of email was a pain when I called their office. Now wondering if we've made a mistake, eek! Is this normal? How long from returning all documents would you expect to hear from the solicitor about the next steps? I've sent a few questions regarding when we need to pay for searches, and whether we'd be tenants in common but I've had nothing back. Am I worrying for no reason? I'm trying to be realistic about their work load!