The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

mrs_M

been lurking for a while but the stress is getting me now!

Accepted an offer 10k below asking price from an investor... turns out he is an inexperienced hobbyist and is taking every scrap of advice from his solicitor.

We are buying a new build, everything our end is wrapped up and ready to go, but our buyers solicitor has come back a week before expected completion with q's about an extension (done 20 years ago before we owned the house) sewer access (we have advised twice it is fully accessible) electrical and gas safety certs (we don't have to do this but have done gas as a goodwill gesture) and other equally ridiculous questions like 'why did you pay less than half of the value 15 years ago, why was it undervalued then' and I don't know how many times i can say inflation, house boom, interest rates change... of course the price will have shot up since 2002!

we should be moving on Thursday this week, but at this point it is looking highly unlikely!

hontas

We have been waiting to buy our house for SO long. We tried last year but our buyer died and the chain fell through. We then tried to buy it again in June this year but the first time buyer at the start couldn't get the mortgage offer (despite getting the MIP) Any how, new FTbuyer found and so we have all been sitting and waiting for this person to catch up (the rest of the chain is sitting at exchange point)
It feels like we have been waiting for ages for this first time buyer to catch up. We know that a Lease hold pack has been sent to them and I believe that the final thing for them to do would be to raise any enquiries off of the back of receiving this pack and therefore our buyer (the next in the chain from the first time buyer) will need to respond ASAP and THEN I believe we can exchange. Everything else like searches etc have been completed but I just don't know if I am still looking at a few weeks until we exchange or whether it could be at the end of this week? I have not had experience of leasehold packs so have no idea how complicated they could make this final part.

Feeling a bit fed up now as we have waited soooo long

Natbag

Had the buyers' surveyor out this morning to do a valuation and home buyers' report. He said the valuation may be back as early as tomorrow and the rest of the pack by Weds/Thurs. Fingers crossed the valuation comes back ok this time and that the report shows nothing major - the house is only 18 years old so fingers crossed. Everything else seems to be progressing quickly, given that we only secured new buyers 10 days ago. Just hoping it all goes smoothly and quickly from now on, I can't take much more stress and worry!

Updated timeline:
* 27/7 - current property listed for sale
* 29/7 - offer accepted from buyers for current property, our offer accepted from vendor on new property
* 3/8 - mortgage application received
* 6/8 - solicitors instructed and forms received
* 15/8 - valuation survey carried out on purchase property
* 18/8 - valuation survey carried out on current property
* 21/8 - mortgage offer confirmed
* 26/8 - survey on current property returned, property under-valued (Countrywide strikes again!)
* 1/9 - negotiations fail, buyers pull out, current property relisted for sale
* 14/9 - current property under reduced offer with new buyers
* 15/9 - vendor's contract documents received from solicitors and enquiries raised
* 16/9 - buyers' offer formalised, our mortgage offer readjusted
* 19/9 - buyers' survey/valuation booked
* 21/9 - updated mortgage offer received
* 22/9 - contract received for sale
* 23/9 - mortgage deed signed and witnessed
* 25/9 - valuation & home buyers report survey carried out on existing property

hazyjo

UKTelecom wrote: »

Just a quick one please for the guys that have been through this before:

So I go to sign the contract on Tuesday. I am the buyer - everything has been done now in terms of searches and enquiries answered.

I sign the final contract on Tuesday. Is it then when the date to exchange contracts is set? Or I am guessing this requires communication with the seller's solicitors first?

Mortgage is all sorted and my deposit money is ready to be transferred to my solicitors. Neither myself or the seller is part of a chain, the property I am buying is vacant.

Both parties want this completed ASAP. Just curious about the process, typical FTB naivety!

You might sign the contract weeks ahead of exchanging. You will exchange when every loose end has been tied up and when everyone in the chain can commit to a completion date.

Cardinal-Red

21 days in and just found out today that the sellers solicitor should be ready to send over the draft contract pack by tomorrow.

Sigh!

Surrey_EA

Cardinal-Red wrote: »

21 days in and just found out today that the sellers solicitor should be ready to send over the draft contract pack by tomorrow.

Sigh!

That's not particularly unusual.

Make sure you have plenty of patience, the world of buying and selling property rarely moves quickly!

UKTelecom

hazyjo wrote: »

You might sign the contract weeks ahead of exchanging. You will exchange when every loose end has been tied up and when everyone in the chain can commit to a completion date.

Thank you - myself and the seller being the only ones in the chain and the property being vacant hopefully means the wait between contract signing and exchange is not as long in that case.

My solicitor tells me we are just waiting on one document otherwise from the seller (building regs compliance for boiler) and we should be good to go!

toc25

Big sigh of relief for me. We have got the problem sorted and are back on track for our original completion date so 2.5 weeks to go.

pollyannaL

Finally!! Spoke to solicitor about the pack not arriving in the post Friday, he apologised and will send it will be with me tomorrow and we are talking about completion in under 2 weeks! Did not expect that but all good. It's been a very very long 10 weeks. Have to close my HTB ISA now with Halifax. Hoping it all works out.

HGW2012

I came to the realisation last night that we have at least 2 further rent payments before we can move which is highly annoying.
Meaning we will not hand the keys back to our rental property until at the earliest 1st Dec!!

Husband is calling solicitors today to see how far off we are, I am hoping all searches are back, he will see if there is the slightest glimmer of hope that we could exchange by Thursday! (Possible or not?!) Meaning we could give notice on our rental property this weekend and the 1st would be our last rent payment.

It is really beginning to stress me now.