The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

RHemmings

I'm pleased to see this thread being more active. Best wishes to all in the process. 

dander

Hello all, I'm willing to join in and try and get this thread bursting back into life! I'm in the middle of the world's longest buying/selling process with no expectation of completion until Feb 2025, so I'll be here for a while. Here's my timeline so far...

13 Jan 2024 - House comes on Rightmove that is one of the 3 ideal houses on a specific road that I have been saying for the last 9 months "if one of those comes up, I will try and buy it". Book viewing and start rushing around trying to get my own house on market at a price for a quick sale (ie: it's a hell of a bargain).
20 Jan 2024 - View house, internal condition not great but price is good, which suits me well because I enjoy a project. House is fairly modern so structurally fine. Tell estate agent, like it, want it but not proceedable so can't offer yet. 
29 Jan 2024 - Accept offer on my house (told buyers would like to complete by end April)
30 Jan 2024 - Makeoffer - radio silence - turns out vendors hadn't mentioned that there are tenants in the property on a fixed term contract that doesn't end until 2025 and only now are they trying to work out if they can actually get the house empty in time to sell it.
14 Feb 2024 - Told tenants have agreed to go sooner, so memo of sale issued and all starts to progress.
(around this time I start repeatedly asking for more information about when tenants will leave and what assurance we have - lots of fobbing off, but I'm told they are looking for a property)
March 2024 - start trying to get access to property for second viewing and survey at a weekend. Tenants refuse access completely at weekends. Try for a Friday, tenants refuse access on Fridays. Tenants then refuse all access for entire period of Easter Holidays. Becomes apparent that these tenants are not leaving willingly, I push for info about what the agreement is - fobbed off until eventually told that the vendors don't want the property empty so will not actually ask tenants to go until I am at point of exchange. Stalemate because I refuse to pay out any more money on conveyancing on a property that is essentially unavailable to buy and vendors refuse to do anything to make house available until I am at a point of being so committed it's almost impossible to drop out. Me - very suspicious that they intend to hit me with a "pay us an extra £X so we can bribe the tenants out or you can't have the house".
Early April 2024 - I decide whole thing untenable and pull out. Pull out of sale of my property because I don't plan to move anywhere else (and because buyers have tried to reduce price on mine based on stupid survey and I really can't be bothered getting into another argument about why I don't think my 1920 house having steeper stairs than modern building regs means they should get a price reduction etc)
Mid April 2024 - it's all over and I can destress and resume normal life.
Late May 2024 - My estate agent receives a proposal from the original buyers of my property. They are willing to wait until 2025 to get my house. 
June 2024 - The entire chain of the same 3 parties is reinstated on the basis of completion to happen when the fixed term contract ends in Feb 2025. New memos of sale issue with conveyancing to recommence in Sept 2024. Me agreeing to attend to a few bits of work identified by the survey.

So that's where I am so far, with the end far, far away. I need to sort out getting a whole new mortgage offer because original one expires in September, plus trying to get quotes for what are fairly small and uninspiring jobs. Haven't yet faced up to how stupidly expensive conveyancing will get due to long timescales and having to do searches etc twice.
Also living in fear these tenants could yet cause problems. My hope is that they will go in an orderly fashion when their contract ends because it's a family, and not a low-cost rental by any means, and apparently they already own a smaller property that they rent out themselves, so the profile doesn't fit any sort of needing to stay until they are evicted to be eligible for social housing. 

Hopefully other people suffering through this stuff can read the above and know that we are all having a bad time together!
 

gelato_cat

dander said:

Hello all, I'm willing to join in and try and get this thread bursting back into life! I'm in the middle of the world's longest buying/selling process with no expectation of completion until Feb 2025, so I'll be here for a while. Here's my timeline so far...

13 Jan 2024 - House comes on Rightmove that is one of the 3 ideal houses on a specific road that I have been saying for the last 9 months "if one of those comes up, I will try and buy it". Book viewing and start rushing around trying to get my own house on market at a price for a quick sale (ie: it's a hell of a bargain).
20 Jan 2024 - View house, internal condition not great but price is good, which suits me well because I enjoy a project. House is fairly modern so structurally fine. Tell estate agent, like it, want it but not proceedable so can't offer yet. 
29 Jan 2024 - Accept offer on my house (told buyers would like to complete by end April)
30 Jan 2024 - Makeoffer - radio silence - turns out vendors hadn't mentioned that there are tenants in the property on a fixed term contract that doesn't end until 2025 and only now are they trying to work out if they can actually get the house empty in time to sell it.
14 Feb 2024 - Told tenants have agreed to go sooner, so memo of sale issued and all starts to progress.
(around this time I start repeatedly asking for more information about when tenants will leave and what assurance we have - lots of fobbing off, but I'm told they are looking for a property)
March 2024 - start trying to get access to property for second viewing and survey at a weekend. Tenants refuse access completely at weekends. Try for a Friday, tenants refuse access on Fridays. Tenants then refuse all access for entire period of Easter Holidays. Becomes apparent that these tenants are not leaving willingly, I push for info about what the agreement is - fobbed off until eventually told that the vendors don't want the property empty so will not actually ask tenants to go until I am at point of exchange. Stalemate because I refuse to pay out any more money on conveyancing on a property that is essentially unavailable to buy and vendors refuse to do anything to make house available until I am at a point of being so committed it's almost impossible to drop out. Me - very suspicious that they intend to hit me with a "pay us an extra £X so we can bribe the tenants out or you can't have the house".
Early April 2024 - I decide whole thing untenable and pull out. Pull out of sale of my property because I don't plan to move anywhere else (and because buyers have tried to reduce price on mine based on stupid survey and I really can't be bothered getting into another argument about why I don't think my 1920 house having steeper stairs than modern building regs means they should get a price reduction etc)
Mid April 2024 - it's all over and I can destress and resume normal life.
Late May 2024 - My estate agent receives a proposal from the original buyers of my property. They are willing to wait until 2025 to get my house. 
June 2024 - The entire chain of the same 3 parties is reinstated on the basis of completion to happen when the fixed term contract ends in Feb 2025. New memos of sale issue with conveyancing to recommence in Sept 2024. Me agreeing to attend to a few bits of work identified by the survey.

So that's where I am so far, with the end far, far away. I need to sort out getting a whole new mortgage offer because original one expires in September, plus trying to get quotes for what are fairly small and uninspiring jobs. Haven't yet faced up to how stupidly expensive conveyancing will get due to long timescales and having to do searches etc twice.
Also living in fear these tenants could yet cause problems. My hope is that they will go in an orderly fashion when their contract ends because it's a family, and not a low-cost rental by any means, and apparently they already own a smaller property that they rent out themselves, so the profile doesn't fit any sort of needing to stay until they are evicted to be eligible for social housing. 

Hopefully other people suffering through this stuff can read the above and know that we are all having a bad time together!
 

Yikes, that's a long game. I hope the tenants move out at the end of the contract, and it looks like you're aware that they don't have to.

I take it you've still got your eye on the portals in case one of the other houses on that street comes up 🙂

annetheman

Wow @dander that's a crazy timeline - if it helps, I also started my sale in January -- the 8th, because shared ownership so had to wait 8 weeks doing absolutely nothing!

I think having that 'break' from late spring is a good thing - you can think of the late May re-emergence of your buyers as the new start! I always start my timeline from the second estate agent listing for this reason, just block out the pain of the first leg, it doesn't hurt me if it didn't happen

Hang in there, I can definitely relate and hey, might be joining you on round 3 of mortgage application when mine expires in September... Go us!!!

annetheman

I'm definitely exchanging this week with buyer, it seems!

Purchase - not so much! I do 100% want to break the chain and move my things into dad's house so I can get the house liveable, so don't mind a few weeks' break. Funny how the worst outcome is becoming the ideal, now... Not really 'funny' but, I'll take it!

lb00

Very close to exchange. Just wanted a clarification. Seller solicitor has agreed to hold deposit 'strictly to our (their) order'.
Am I correct in understanding deposit will sit with the buyer's solicitor and will be released to seller's solicitor at completion?

annetheman

I was meant to exchange Monday. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday and Thursday went by - then today (Friday) my solicitor called me at 14:00 after I (and EA) had emailed her 3 times.

She said she was waiting for a call back from the buyer's solicitor. At 16:50, I called her office - after being on hold for 20 minutes, I was told she had 'signed off sick'.

I demanded the case be reassigned immediately. Then, miraculously, I was transferred to her (she said she was fine, hallelujah) - the buyer's solicitor didn't call back so it has to be Monday, apparently.

I said I'm not paying the £125 additional fee for exchange and completion in the same week. She agreed. End of call.

So that's the end of my exchange 'week'. Completion still 23rd August, and I'm breaking the chain (moving in with my dad) so there is really no excuse for it being this shambolic.

annetheman

lb00 said:

Very close to exchange. Just wanted a clarification. Seller solicitor has agreed to hold deposit 'strictly to our (their) order'.
Am I correct in understanding deposit will sit with the buyer's solicitor and will be released to seller's solicitor at completion?

That's it - it gets passed 'up the chain'. 

dander

annetheman said:

I was meant to exchange Monday. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday and Thursday went by - then today (Friday) my solicitor called me at 14:00 after I (and EA) had emailed her 3 times.

She said she was waiting for a call back from the buyer's solicitor. At 16:50, I called her office - after being on hold for 20 minutes, I was told she had 'signed off sick'.

I demanded the case be reassigned immediately. Then, miraculously, I was transferred to her (she said she was fine, hallelujah) - the buyer's solicitor didn't call back so it has to be Monday, apparently.

I said I'm not paying the £125 additional fee for exchange and completion in the same week. She agreed. End of call.

So that's the end of my exchange 'week'. Completion still 23rd August, and I'm breaking the chain (moving in with my dad) so there is really no excuse for it being this shambolic.

God, that sounds a total nightmare. Do you know who's causing the hold-up? Your solicitor or theirs?

RHemmings

dander said:

annetheman said:

I was meant to exchange Monday. Then Tuesday. Then Wednesday and Thursday went by - then today (Friday) my solicitor called me at 14:00 after I (and EA) had emailed her 3 times.

She said she was waiting for a call back from the buyer's solicitor. At 16:50, I called her office - after being on hold for 20 minutes, I was told she had 'signed off sick'.

I demanded the case be reassigned immediately. Then, miraculously, I was transferred to her (she said she was fine, hallelujah) - the buyer's solicitor didn't call back so it has to be Monday, apparently.

I said I'm not paying the £125 additional fee for exchange and completion in the same week. She agreed. End of call.

So that's the end of my exchange 'week'. Completion still 23rd August, and I'm breaking the chain (moving in with my dad) so there is really no excuse for it being this shambolic.

God, that sounds a total nightmare. Do you know who's causing the hold-up? Your solicitor or theirs?

Agreed: total nightmare. Best wishes for a speedy solution.