The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

Bad_Accountant

Joining this thread! I'm buying with OH, FTBs currently in rented flat.
(snip the saga)
Early September got 15% deposit together and OH's job is stable Re-offered on former house as it was still on market, offer accepted, solicitor instructed! Sellers say they're moving in with family once they sell so we are buying CHAIN FREE
26/10/2020 mortgage approved .... again ... a year after we first got it approved!
30/10/2020 - engaged surveyor for homebuyer's report for a truly obscene price ...
12/11/2020 - Survey booked for 20/11/2020. As long as that's all OK solicitor says we should be able to exchange on the 4th and complete on the 11th December.
17/11/2020 - searches and queries back. No obvious problems!

20/11/2020 - Homebuyer's report survey done

23/11/2020 - draft contract and deeds through from solicitor

24/11/2020 - Homebuyer's report back, no showstopping issues! Hooray!

28/11/2020 - returned all signed documents.

30/11/2020 - life savings safely transferred to solicitor. Planning to exchange this week - as early as tomorrow if the two conveyancers respond quickly. Quite positive now. Mentally planning where to keep my toolbox and whether to buy my own massive ladder for gutters and roof checks!

adierei

CHILL_FACTOR said:

adierei said:

CHILL_FACTOR said:

Would anyone going through a house sale advise how you are notified that you are going to exchange contracts?  All parties in our chain have agreed a completion date, but no-one has contacted my solicitor to ask about an exchange date yet.  Do I get a date for this from the solicitor or could I just get a call out of the blue from them asking if I want to exchange the same day?  We are due to complete later this week.

We didn’t get told until the day. We were going to exchange and complete on the same day (today) but they rang on Friday for authority to exchange. 

Thanks.  It feels like we are waiting around for things something that may or may not happen.  Will push the estate agent today to see if we can get an idea of whether solicitors are thinking to exchange and complete on the same day.  Seems odd packing when we're not 100% certain we have anywhere to go 🤔 

Know the feeling, I’ve found it quite tricky to manage. We ended up sending a couple of cross emails, didn’t make anything go faster but it did have an impact on our solicitors communication, they were just ignoring us for weeks at a time before. We even had to chase them to get bank details to send our deposit on Thursday ( when the plan was to complete today!). Hang in there and fingers crossed you get some clarity

geoave1

calamityjenny said:

It's really frustrating, I think i'm just waiting on Searches now.... it's been 4 weeks so far.  I chased last week and was told that they have no idea how much longer it'll take.  The seller was hoping to move by Christmas, but we're just in limbo at the moment, no idea whether we should pack or not, give notice to the landlord.. or not.  These flaming searches are so slow.  Is this normal?

We had our searches back last Thursday - 8 weeks it took which is a joke! It depends on which council it is but I have found this website to be very accurate for search timelines:
http://search-acumen.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus

Bad_Accountant

geoave1 said:

calamityjenny said:

It's really frustrating, I think i'm just waiting on Searches now.... it's been 4 weeks so far.  I chased last week and was told that they have no idea how much longer it'll take.  The seller was hoping to move by Christmas, but we're just in limbo at the moment, no idea whether we should pack or not, give notice to the landlord.. or not.  These flaming searches are so slow.  Is this normal?

We had our searches back last Thursday - 8 weeks it took which is a joke! It depends on which council it is but I have found this website to be very accurate for search timelines:
http://search-acumen.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus

This is really helpfull! It would be great if you posted it in a new thread. Wish I'd seen this weeks ago, it would have set my mind at ease a bit!

geoave1

Bad_Accountant said:

geoave1 said:

calamityjenny said:

It's really frustrating, I think i'm just waiting on Searches now.... it's been 4 weeks so far.  I chased last week and was told that they have no idea how much longer it'll take.  The seller was hoping to move by Christmas, but we're just in limbo at the moment, no idea whether we should pack or not, give notice to the landlord.. or not.  These flaming searches are so slow.  Is this normal?

We had our searches back last Thursday - 8 weeks it took which is a joke! It depends on which council it is but I have found this website to be very accurate for search timelines:
http://search-acumen.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus

This is really helpfull! It would be great if you posted it in a new thread. Wish I'd seen this weeks ago, it would have set my mind at ease a bit!

Good idea @Bad_Accountant - I tried to post a link a few weeks back but it wouldn’t let me until i’d posted a few more replies 😒. I’ve started a new one called ‘Local Land Searches - Council Timelines’ so people can start posting their council search turnaround times in there..

sarcal3813

What happens on the day of completion? I’ve got the afternoon off, so will it just be waiting for the call? 

firsttimebuyerhelpme

sarcal3813 said:

What happens on the day of completion? I’ve got the afternoon off, so will it just be waiting for the call? 

Essentially, yes. You wait until
the solicitor phones you to tell you you have completed. Then you contact the estate agent and arrange what time you can collect the keys etc. We had a no chain purchase completion recently, call from solicitor at 12.00, picked the keys up 12.15! Was very well organised and quick. 

ThriftyGinger

Small update from me: literally everything is ready to go except the problem with the sodding lease (aka how to bungle a lease extension and not notice for two years, well done all). It's just the Land Registry we're waiting on. Utterly maddening. I really hoped I'd be in by Christmas when I offered in August and at this rate it'll be the New Year!

sarcal3813

sarcal3813 said:

22/08 - Offer accepted
22/09 -Mortgage application in and new solicitor appointed
07/10 - Mortgage offer received 
31/10 - Searches back (not sure when they were sent for) 
02/12 - Exchange and completion 🤞

We have exchanged and completed today 01/12 😊

oniongirl

oniongirl said:

My go! I've tried to stay calm and easy going, but it's tough.

30/06 - Put house on the market

04/07 - Accepted asking price offer

04/07 - View "our" new house

05/07 - Viewed it again, because I wasn't interested the first time thinking the other house we were seeing that same day was going to be better (it wasn't)

06/07 - offered under asking

07/07 - offered asking

09/07 - got AIP, and offer was accepted 

31/07 - chain complete: FTB > us > "our house" > "their house" > new build

09/10 - top of the chain collapses. Something about the searches on the new build means they have pulled out after 3 months. It appears this happened a while ago but they kept it quiet. After tears, we convince ourselves that staying put is better. Think of all the money we'll save. Our house is lovely. We're only going because we can, not because we must.

16/10 - the top of the chain have found somewhere else. That house is a divorcing couple, one going in to rented, the other to a new build. Nobody seems to know if there build is anywhere near being built or not. Give up hope of being in before Christmas.

02/11 - I'm sure something happened in between this and the last date, but I was consumed by doom and gloom. Our Sellers' agents ring us and say that someone has agreed to break the chain and move in to rented (unsure who) and now we're looking to exchange in December, subject to searches, according to our Sellers' agent. Emotions conflicted as was imagining swimming in piles of money that we'd"save" by not doubling our mortgage in the middle of a pandemic.

03/11 - according to MSE forum, searches are taking 6 weeks. Give up hope to be in before Christmas completely despite the agents saying it's very likely.

11/11 - get bored waiting to hear something, ANYTHING, and write this post

The Searches for our sellers' seller's purchase are back. They've raised some additional enquiries. They still haven't broken the chain, I don't understand why they would say they will and then not just do it. We've just been informed our (first time) buyers' mortgage offer expires on the 7th January. Last date our solicitors will do for completion is the 18th, and they're closed til the 4th January. It's looking less and less likely this will happen as there's only really 3 weeks to go.