The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

LucyR_

Our solicitor attempted exchange yesterday, but the sellers solicitor can't get hold of one of the sellers - they need both of their permission to proceed due to them being separated (having to go through both of them at every stage has slowed everything down). Here's hoping they have been located and respond today so we can complete before the bank holiday, otherwise I might spontaneously combust.

Roo89

We've finished all our paperwork, the solicitor said we're basically ready to exchange as soon as the chain is complete.

We're first time buyers and currently living with my parents, so we don't have a deadline to be out by, but so desperate for our own space again. Love my parents, super grateful they let us move in with them so we could save our deposit etc, but it feels like I've almost reverted back to being a teenager or something.

Anyway we're buying in Erith and our vendor is buying in Dartford and they're buying in Maidstone, but the whole chain is in limbo because the Maidstone vendors are seperating and Mr Maidstone has vacated the property but Mrs Maidstone can't find a 'suitable' property to move too.....

The whole chain is waiting on her and has been for about 2-3 weeks now

I'm trying to focus on how much more we can save whilst waiting but I just want a confirmed date. I'm really worried that Mrs Maidstone will find somewhere and then her vendor will need to find somewhere and it just feels like the chain is never going to complete :wall:

Brief Timeline:
30/Jan/18 DIP Approved
12/Feb/18 Offer Accepted
14/Mar/18 Mortgage Offer Received
12/Apr/18 Solicitor advises everything is signed and just waiting on chain to complete before closing H2B ISAs

betsie

Our chain is going at a snails pace - 8 weeks and counting!!. We are all ready on our sale and purchase, all contracts signed and questions answered.
One buyers house is on an estate and they pay a fee to a management company to look after the common areas. She had to pay her Soliciters for a management pack which she did by bank transfer 2 weeks ago. Solicitor then paid fee on to management company by cheque. They realised yesterday it was lost in the post so resent. Urgh. Why is the process so painful in Britain. It!!!8217;s like pulling teeth out very slowly.
I!!!8217;ve started packing and filling holes. Just hoping I!!!8217;m not tempting fate.

kk235b

My solicitor is so flipping great. She just phoned me all furious because she can't get a satisfactory answer from the seller's absolutely rubbish legal team. Was super sympathetic about my couch surfing situation and told me it was time to start dropping hints and threats about pulling out of the sale if they keep stringing me along. Suggested I write a strongly-worded email to the estate agents with her cc'ed in, stating how dissatisfied I am, which she is in turn going to convey back to the seller's solicitors.

I hear so many horror stories of lazy solicitors holding everything up, I feel really thankful to have stumbled across one who is proactive and cares about her clients :-)

TamsinC

I am beginning to lose the will to live /buy this house - unfortunately hubby is VERY invested and doesn't share my concerns. The !!!!!!!g Deed of Easement is holding this up and almost become a neighbourhood feud! We were first informed about the need for this Deed of Easement on the 4th Feb but he said it would all be fine and he would get it sorted asap with his solicitors. the land owners, and the land owners solicitors (the discharge of clean water from the septic tank and sewerage plant empty in to an arable field across the road that belongs to a neighbour and requires a Deed of Easement to make it legal). He seemed on good terms with the neighbour and thought it would be as easy as pie. We are now nearly 3 months on from this and they are at loggerheads with each other. The land owner has been sat on the Deed for 5 weeks and is refusing to sign it. He is talking about suing the person he bought the field off for not disclosing there were discharge pipes on the land, saying he wanted to build houses and now he cant due to the pipes (there is no way he will get planning permission), saying he wants adequate compensation for the loss of a 'building plot', our vendor is refusing to pay him anything at the moment, and certainly c/wouldn't reimburse him for the cost of a building plot (the land is worth about £800 as is, a building plot around £100K). Absolutely nothing is getting done. We had another visit last weekend to show MIL around in case she wanted to use the granny annex, when the bombshell of the disagreement was dropped fairly casually into the conversation. Absolutely nothing has happened this week either, despite promises to chase it asap. I would happily walk away now and find another place whilst we still have time before we want to move in early August. Hubby wants to give them another 3 months to see if they can come up with a solution. And if they don't we will have missed our August deadline and still have the wait of another purchase. (Luckily we don't NEED another house until December as in forces accommodation). I have really enjoyed planning what to do with this house but now it is all turning sour and I can only think of the negatives. Hubby won't countenance looking at other houses. My wondrous patience skills are rapidly drying up - should we now issue an ultimatum? Fix it asap or we move on? How do I persuade hubby this is a good idea? Will I change my mind again if it all gets sorted asap or will this always taint my feelings? SO conflicted and confused.

Time Scale so far . . . updates in bold
Tenants asked us if they could leave house - 26/12/17
Estate agents instructed - 31/12/17 (then a bit of bother)
House on market - 10/1/18
DIP from Nationwide 13/1/18
Offer received and accepted on our house 17/1/18
Offer made and accepted on the house we want 20/1/18
Solicitors Instructed 17/01/18
Documents picked up and filled in from Solicitor 17/1/18
Documents and ID returned to Solicitor 19/1/18
Solicitor composes draft contract & starts local searches - for selling 22/1/17 - for buying ?
Mortgage application interview - 1/2/18 - 3 and 1/2 hours of going over and over the same stuff - still not finished - they are struggling with the fact that hubby will leave the forces in Dec and go onto a service pension - we can't say what his job or wages will be at that point and so are basing the mortgage application purely on his pension. They can't cope with that and the fact that deductions from his wages NOW won't be applicable in Dec. Head office and underwriters need to be contacted. This is making a compacted issue out of something that is not complicated.
Vendor tells us he needs a deed of Easement but that it going to fairly easy and he will chat to the owner of the field in the morning and get it all sorted out. 4/2/18
2nd Mortgage application interview - 8/1/18 - ANOTHER 2 hours going over the same information - they still don't get it but the application is going through.
Basic surveys done for our purchase - 12/2/18 - nothing untoward found
various letters and emails from our solicitors - they do seem to be on the ball though I am in contact a leasers twice a week to keep things moving forward.
Valuation survey for mortgage - 14/2/18
Chasing mortgage offer - 21/2/18
Mortgage people see and approve valuation 23/2/18
Building survey - 23/2/18 - awaiting report
Emailed mortgage approval - 26/2/18
Exchanged on the house we are selling 27/2/18
Completion on house sale 2/3/18
Chasing building survey on house we are buying 6/3/18
Received survey 7/7/18
negotiated a £10K discount
rang to sort mortgage documents with lower price 10/3/18
solicitor emails to say old document sent 13/3/18
rang again and it will be another 1 - 2 weeks! 13/3/18
email to say new mortgage offer on it's way - not the 1-2 weeks they said 16/3/18
vendor emails to say solicitor needs to do Deed of Easement 19/3/18
all contracts etc arrive for signing including sight of the Deed of Easement, finally 22/3/18
go to solicitors sign all paperwork 2/4/18
still waiting on Deed of Easement 17/4/18
revisit house, vendor tells us he is in despite with the land owner over the Deed of easement and the land owner is now refusing to sign. 21/4/18

RADDERS

alrewas wrote: »

call it quits, we had an offer accepted end july, there was a couple of charges issues that took a while to resolve, we stuck with it, then vendor was obviously stalling. Asking for 6 weeks between exchange & completion, eventually we gave in & exchanged. He refused to leave on completion day, then refused to leave when notice to complete ran out so basically defaulted on contract.
9 months from start to finish & we now have to start looking again.
So get out and let someone have your money that wants it!

I do hope that you are suing the guy for failing to complete?
What an absolute nightmare for you.

FloProActiv

EAs are currently providing more useful that our solicitors - just had an email from them saying that there were 3 outstanding points which the seller's solicitors had posted answers for yesterday, so should arrive today.

Will give our solicitors a couple of days to review then get in touch to check that that really is everything.

It feels much better knowing where things are, rather than the vague answers we've been getting from our solicitors.

TamsinC

FloProActiv wrote: »

EAs are currently providing more useful that our solicitors - just had an email from them saying that there were 3 outstanding points which the seller's solicitors had posted answers for yesterday, so should arrive today.

Will give our solicitors a couple of days to review then get in touch to check that that really is everything.

It feels much better knowing where things are, rather than the vague answers we've been getting from our solicitors.

Strange how different they all are - the EAs for the house we are buying are useless - never answer emails etc, whereas our solicitors are fantastic.

alrewas

RADDERS wrote: »

I do hope that you are suing the guy for failing to complete?
What an absolute nightmare for you.

currently talking with solicitor about what to do, problem is the guy is skint nothing to get off him, it would be throwing more money away but it would give him grief & me some satisfaction!

what we have learned through this is the law is biased towards the seller, if a buyer pulls out they lose deposit, if seller pulls out its down to you to sue.

pink_pirlie

TamsinC wrote: »

Strange how different they all are - the EAs for the house we are buying are useless - never answer emails etc, whereas our solicitors are fantastic.

We are the same same as you - useless EA - awesome solicitor!!
I really feel for you and your awful situation. I thought ours took an age, 5.5 months, but you’re really in a bad place.
We stuck around as you are doing seeing no movement. It’s so hard and frustrating. I really hope you get some movement one way or the other, limbo is the worst!!!

We are heading into our last weekend mortgage free, completion is on Monday! We won’t be moving in properly until June because the delay means completion has fallen in the middle of exam period for me and my other half is no use at all. So will have to wait until these dreaded exams are over. But at least we can start thinking about what we want to do with the shell. The whole house needs refurbishing cosmetically (inc new bathroom and kitchen). I’m currently spending all my income on tester pots and can’t find one I like! I think I could hav decorated a whole room already on the cost of tester posts.