The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

hpsauce86

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

TheJP said:

hpsauce86 said:

Lessien said:

NicolaFranks said:

MickeyFTB said:

NicolaFranks said:

hpsauce86 said:

NicolaFranks said:

Down to the final stages……solicitor told us Friday that we are unlikely to exchange / complete by 24th (next Tuesday) when our mortgage offer runs out!  Today our mortgage broker told us HSBC do not tend to extend mortgages and we would have to do a new application.  The rate we have from November is 1.4% and the rate now is 2.something which means circa £180 extra per month 

solicitor had told us that the “final documents” we being sent out to us to arrive tomorrow (our buyer has had there’s not sure if they have further up the chain) 

is it feasible to exchange / complete by next Tuesday or should be just pull out now ?

You might manage it. I don’t see why you’d pull out after waiting since November! Can you afford the extra £180 a month on the mortgage? 

Keep sticking with it and see if you can get it across the line by the 24th, let your solicitor know your concerns one more time, as well as the estate agent. I’m sure they will do their best to meet the date you need, if not then back out (and waste the costs you’ve already spent), or speak to your broker and get a new mortgage at a slightly higher rate (still a very decent rate!) 

good luck! 

We can afford it….but if anything we’re to happen to my husband then I wouldn’t be able to cover it on my own 

Our current mortgage v new mortgage is £300 more per month so with the extra £180 makes our outgoings £500 more per month….

The rate we had in Nov was 1.4 % there isn’t anything close to this…..so it looks likely we will be pulling out

Before pulling out definitely have a conversation with HSBC first on extending - we’re with a different provider and our mortgage offer has gone to expire 3 time but they’ve extended as they recognised the issue in the chain was at no fault of ours. Somehow our mortgage broker managed a three month extension on the last one! 

HSBC apparently have a policy that they don’t extend…..I checked this forum and there was posts about plus it’s on their website.  However today we have a significant update…..most probably with the threat of pulling out and my husband pretty much speaking to everyone in the chain…..our documents came today, courier booked to get them back to our solicitors for the morning……kicks up solicitors bums to talk to each other…..we are about 80% there !  Pray for us……it’s gonna be a tough day 🤞🏻

That sounds so stressful! I hope you manage to get it over the line in time!

We have exchanged 🙂 It all feels a bit anticlimactic at the moment but I am impatient to get packing already! 

Go round and measure up! Get excited! Pack and declutter! When’s the completion date? Hopefully you’ll be in for more sun and can enjoy your new home soon! 

Or let the sellers get on with packing their house up in private, measure up when the house is yours. Nothing worse than a buyer wanting to come into the house to 'measure up' at the height of packing and sorting.

This is unreasonable, of course if you have exchanged you should be able to go and measure up. There’s at least a 10 week wait time for ordering large furniture at the moment, it’s far from unreasonable to be able to try and get organised. 

Why wouldn't you have measured up before exchange. Its not the sellers issue on furniture lead times, they have a house to pack so let them get on with it. Its also pretty difficult to measure up surrounded by boxes and as someone who has sold before i would not be comfortable having someone wanting to move boxes around. 

Because you shouldn’t buy anything until you have exchanged. 

I’d hardly assume anyone would even start packing until they have exchanged. So going to measure up the day after exchange or very close to it wouldn’t cause any issues. Our vendor is very happy with us popping around. Not all are as difficult as you make out. 

Measuring up before exchange doesn't mean you have to buy the furniture. The house doesn't suddenly put weight on. We started packing a good bit before exchange, we had a good bit to sort out and pack. Plus having kids means we wanted to start earlier to be ahead of the curve.

Yes everyone's circumstances are different, WFH, kids, house full of boxes mean not all can accommodate. However some buyers take liberty at wanting to 'pop' round whenever it takes their fancy.

My comment is about taking consideration, is it a must or can it wait a week or so until you move in. 

For us it’s a must, we don’t have any furniture of our own. I’m not talking about just popping around, we arranged to go via the estate agent, the seller wasn’t in and was happy with the estate agent letting us in. It’s not a cookie cutter approach for everyone. 

I can see from your own threads that you are an FTB and haven't experienced selling and buying at the same time. I'm not sure if you have kids either but the need to start packing usually starts before exchange, time is limited. I appreciate not all scenarios are the same, my comment was more that consideration needs to work both ways. I would have expected my buyer to know the measurements for the house before exchange, i also wouldn't expect to have a visit after exchange as this is the busiest time for the seller getting everything sorted in readiness.

Our last buyer sent a decorator, carpet fitter and builder to measure for quotes a week before completion, she said she just wanted a quick look at the bathroom. We sent them on their way as they said they would need to move lots of stuff to get measurements.

First time buyer for our house, not for a house. 

We’ve been told all this by both our vendor and the estate agent. Please stop trying to force your opinion when it’s different for each transaction. 

Are you waiting to exchange? Not sure why you seem hellbent on commenting with negative points when it really is just YOUR opinion. Nor does it help the original poster, they can ask to go visit if they so wish, the vendor can say no. Again, there is no cookie cutter approach so you can get off your high horse trying to belittle me with this FTB nonsense. 

Its a public forum where people share experiences to help others, I'm sharing my experience as someone who has been in a sellers shoes, nothing wrong with what I've posted.

I wasn't aware there was a rule that you couldn't post in this thread unless you are waiting to exchange. 

Yes but you seem to ignore other opinions and force yours on people here. 

The fact of the matter is, it’s not always the same. And some vendors (most) are reasonable enough to let people in to measure, doesn’t matter when people choose to do this. Not everyone is as inflexible and unhelpful as you seem to be as a vendor. And also deeply unhappy because you always comment with negative comments, never helpful just trying to belittle people. 

Wanting consideration while you pack a house with children is not being inconsiderate or inflexible especially if the buyer had an opportunity to measure up before exchange, i have no issues with doing everything you need to as a buyer all i said was to also be considerate to the seller. You are the one that got aggressive. I've been plenty helpful on this forum but your opinion of me really doesn't bother me.

I didn’t get aggressive, I said that it’s not the same for every situation. 

I never once said I wouldn’t take in to account the vendors needs/wants. 

Why you commented in the first place when I merely suggested to the poster that they could get excited, go and measure if they needed to…why do you need to argue to say that they should have already done that? Your opinion doesn’t bother me, but forcing your opinion as the only one and the correct one is just silly. 

babyblade41

Just to put an end to what could become a contentious  thread , measurements are usually taken before exchange , also to make sure the property is the same standard as the previous viewings 

It is possibly the most polite thing to do & wait until completion, one can always ask & a lot of the time this is agreed to but quite honestly the time before exchange & completion is the busiest time all .

It won't make any difference to furniture delivery waits so a bit pointless to do it just before you get the keys 

SunsetLover08

Surely it just depends on yours and the vendors situation. There's not a right or wrong answer in the case of measuring up. Personally I wouldn't waste my time or a vendors time measuring up when there's no guarantee the house is mine. I'd wait until after exchange. But it is different for every situation, so no point debating it here. Lets save this thread for people waiting to exchange. 

ironlady2022

Buyer has asked if I'm free on a certain date for survey on my house. Is this normal? Thought the Surveyor company would be in touch direct with me to agree mutual date and time?

I hope Buyer does not turn up. Feels like he is dictating to me.

Surely it is none independant if he rocks up? 

SunsetLover08

mayling03 said:

Buyer has asked if I'm free on a certain date for survey on my house. Is this normal? Thought the Surveyor company would be in touch direct with me to agree mutual date and time?

I hope Buyer does not turn up. Feels like he is dictating to me.

Surely it is none independant if he rocks up? 

More than entitled for the buyer to go, they are paying for it. Some people like to go along to ask questions. 

Its probable that they are just arranging the dates directly with the surveyor, so it's totally normal, don't worry!

livdawsonn

Hi all I am looking for some advice please. I am a FTB, offered accepted 18/03. All searches back, draft contract approved and enquiries were sent 4.5 weeks ago. Our solicitors have heard nothing since, even after chasing 3x in terms of updates. The enquiries (as far as I’ve understood) all look relatively straight forward yes/no answers. After speaking to the EA to see where the delay is he has come back with the following. “Your vendors have their mortgage offer in and their solicitors have raised enquiries with their vendors. However they are waiting for searches to come back on their purchase. A lot of solicitors work differently so they may want everything before they respond to your solicitors” does this sound correct? I just find this a bizarre response as if this is the case they could wait for their searches before responding but this may raise more enquiries and we will be then behind and end up delaying the chain of 3. Apologies if this is a silly question this is all new to me and I am getting quite stressed about the whole thing. Maybe I am overthinking and this is perfectly normal practice. Any help would be appreciated. 

natasha22

@hpsauce86
As i know youve had a similar time line. 

Weve exchanged on time! I commented last week about a rush for exchange because if we didnt hand in our notice by the 18th, then we couldnt vacate the rental until the end of july. Our completion date is early june

Viewing 1: 8.3

Viewing 2 :12.3.

Offer 1: 14.3

Increased offer and acceptance 15.3

Draft contract: 24.3

Mortgage offer: 25.3

Survey: 8.4 results 16.4

Searches back 20.4

Electrician:11.5

Contracts:13.5

Exchange:18.5

We had difficulties sourcing an electrician and also there were lots of various difficulties with solicitors not responding to each other.In fact we only got some responses on 12.5

We went to view after exchange and before completion. Partly to simply review aspects of the property we couldnt remember well eg. what colour the wood was in an unphotographed room so furniture matched and to measure up. It was also a really helpful chat with the seller, we sorted out some basic things for ease eg. do we want certain plants, do we want this or she can get rid, we told her not to bother with fixing certain things as we were going to repaint any way. She even showed us how to work certain things!

Hopefully she didnt find it rude.

I agree about chaos though in her house and ours!. We are in rented and had forgotten that the agency might want to take photos to remarket so have had to try and sort the current chaos of multiple boxes etc. Hopefully the photos dont look like we are living in an episode of hoarders!

We are hoping that they dont ask to conduct viewings because cant imagine trying to keep the house landlord appropriate and the towers of boxes are becoming overwhelming

The next worry for us is about trying to return the rental house in the right condition. Weve lived here for 6 years so theres walls to be repainted etc. Annoyingly theyve asked for reciepts for professional carpet cleaning, but also flea treating?! Reluctant to pay for a pest control company  fumigation when the dog is regularly treated and theres never been a flea to be found.

Richiem1987

babyblade41 said:

Richiem1987 said:

So local searches are now complete, just waiting on the solicitor to finish up. Electrical safety inspection happening on the 28th, so hopefully after that, we can start to arrange exchange and completion. A lead pipe was indenfitied during a survey, however, I went to the property for another viewing to check it out, and it was infact PVC. Everything else is in order, but electrics not checked since 2011!

Hopefully complete on the 24th June with any luck, as if it drags on until July, due to work commitments, completion may well have to wait until the back end of July. Pressure is on. 

Expect the report for them to be not up to standard, unless they were recently updated they won't be up to regulation standard.
People don't normally get their electrics checked until something goes wrong 

Yeah I am expecting that to be the case. It won't stop the purchase either way. I just need to know the condition and actions required. 

Lessien

We're completing on the 30th

Packing has started and I can't believe how much stuff we have! We're in the fortunate position of having most of the furniture and white goods we'll need already as we're renting unfurnished and the house we're moving has similar size rooms so we're pretty confident it should all for!

In our case the property has been vacant for at least a month already as the tenants had already given notice when we viewed (buying their own place). That said, we haven't done any measuring up as it's a two hour drive away and aside from hoping our furniture fits through the door we shouldn't need to know much in advance. Appreciate we are in a pretty fortunate situation all around here.

We've now given notice on our rental property (it's two months) so feeling extra nervous something will go wrong 😬

hpsauce86

natasha22 said:

@hpsauce86
As i know youve had a similar time line. 

Weve exchanged on time! I commented last week about a rush for exchange because if we didnt hand in our notice by the 18th, then we couldnt vacate the rental until the end of july. Our completion date is early june

Viewing 1: 8.3

Viewing 2 :12.3.

Offer 1: 14.3

Increased offer and acceptance 15.3

Draft contract: 24.3

Mortgage offer: 25.3

Survey: 8.4 results 16.4

Searches back 20.4

Electrician:11.5

Contracts:13.5

Exchange:18.5

We had difficulties sourcing an electrician and also there were lots of various difficulties with solicitors not responding to each other.In fact we only got some responses on 12.5

We went to view after exchange and before completion. Partly to simply review aspects of the property we couldnt remember well eg. what colour the wood was in an unphotographed room so furniture matched and to measure up. It was also a really helpful chat with the seller, we sorted out some basic things for ease eg. do we want certain plants, do we want this or she can get rid, we told her not to bother with fixing certain things as we were going to repaint any way. She even showed us how to work certain things!

Hopefully she didnt find it rude.

I agree about chaos though in her house and ours!. We are in rented and had forgotten that the agency might want to take photos to remarket so have had to try and sort the current chaos of multiple boxes etc. Hopefully the photos dont look like we are living in an episode of hoarders!

We are hoping that they dont ask to conduct viewings because cant imagine trying to keep the house landlord appropriate and the towers of boxes are becoming overwhelming

The next worry for us is about trying to return the rental house in the right condition. Weve lived here for 6 years so theres walls to be repainted etc. Annoyingly theyve asked for reciepts for professional carpet cleaning, but also flea treating?! Reluctant to pay for a pest control company  fumigation when the dog is regularly treated and theres never been a flea to be found.

Oh great news! Congrats! Bet you’re relieved to have exchanged in time. 

I wouldn’t worry too much about the flat, 6 years is a long time. We’ve been in ours for 10 years, in that time it’s flooded from upstairs three or four times so it’ll need a fair amount of work when we leave. I’d imagine yours will mainly be listed as wear and tear. My plan is to get a cleaner in for a deep clean (though it’s impossible as we are in the city and it’s very dusty after a day. ) also going to clean the walls down, though they’ll all need repairing (tradesmen have come through the managers each time with a slightly different shade of off white.) I wouldn’t worry too much at all! 

Also I’m sure the vendor wouldn’t take offence! They are questions and points that would save her time and money so I’m sure she’ll just be glad to be able to pack up without an endless jobslist! 

Good luck with the move and huge congrats! Hope we aren’t far behind now. We shall see what this week brings! ☺️