The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

mm1985

Anybody else waiting for news today? I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do but I reached out to the local authority to see if I could find out when our buyers searches would be returned...they got back to me this morning to say they were returned to the agent who ordered them Friday afternoon...so hopefully that means they’ll be with solicitors this week. Now just waiting to hear back from buyer after they received survey results. As far as we know they were due to get the report last Wednesday and since we have heard nothing. I’m hoping that means there is nothing too bad on there and we can exchange early Jan 

ccfc1972

mm1985 said:

Anybody else waiting for news today? I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do but I reached out to the local authority to see if I could find out when our buyers searches would be returned...they got back to me this morning to say they were returned to the agent who ordered them Friday afternoon...so hopefully that means they’ll be with solicitors this week. Now just waiting to hear back from buyer after they received survey results. As far as we know they were due to get the report last Wednesday and since we have heard nothing. I’m hoping that means there is nothing too bad on there and we can exchange early Jan 

Waiting for replies from solicitors...as usual.

joe90mitch

mm1985 said:

Anybody else waiting for news today? I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do but I reached out to the local authority to see if I could find out when our buyers searches would be returned...they got back to me this morning to say they were returned to the agent who ordered them Friday afternoon...so hopefully that means they’ll be with solicitors this week. Now just waiting to hear back from buyer after they received survey results. As far as we know they were due to get the report last Wednesday and since we have heard nothing. I’m hoping that means there is nothing too bad on there and we can exchange early Jan 

Yeah we are. Were meant to complete last Friday, but that got delayed. Then the last link in our chain (who had outstanding enquiries on their purchase) decided to break the link in their chain and push their sale through. So completion got rescheduled to this Friday and we were told exchange should be happening today. But... 2pm and we've heard nothing. Chased our solicitor and their estate agent.

It's all so stressful - you just wait and wait and wait...

Does anyone know if there are further steps the conveyancers have to take when the chain is broken like that? We were effectively told that we were breaking the chain because all the other transactions were ready to exchange. So now we're confused why we've not heard anything re exchange. 

Hopefully it'll happen soon

mm1985

joe90mitch said:

mm1985 said:

Anybody else waiting for news today? I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do but I reached out to the local authority to see if I could find out when our buyers searches would be returned...they got back to me this morning to say they were returned to the agent who ordered them Friday afternoon...so hopefully that means they’ll be with solicitors this week. Now just waiting to hear back from buyer after they received survey results. As far as we know they were due to get the report last Wednesday and since we have heard nothing. I’m hoping that means there is nothing too bad on there and we can exchange early Jan 

Yeah we are. Were meant to complete last Friday, but that got delayed. Then the last link in our chain (who had outstanding enquiries on their purchase) decided to break the link in their chain and push their sale through. So completion got rescheduled to this Friday and we were told exchange should be happening today. But... 2pm and we've heard nothing. Chased our solicitor and their estate agent.

It's all so stressful - you just wait and wait and wait...

Does anyone know if there are further steps the conveyancers have to take when the chain is broken like that? We were effectively told that we were breaking the chain because all the other transactions were ready to exchange. So now we're confused why we've not heard anything re exchange. 

Hopefully it'll happen soon

It’s majorly anxiety inducing. As soon as I heard the EA couldn’t get in touch I have automatically assumed something has come up in the survey and they no longer want to go ahead with purchase. But even they they would need to make contact with the EA and solicitors to pull out 🤷🏻‍♀️

FlashBuy

It's been 3 weeks and lender still didn't confirm to solicitor that we can proceed. It's this normal?

joe90mitch

joe90mitch said:

mm1985 said:

Anybody else waiting for news today? I’m not sure if it was the right thing to do but I reached out to the local authority to see if I could find out when our buyers searches would be returned...they got back to me this morning to say they were returned to the agent who ordered them Friday afternoon...so hopefully that means they’ll be with solicitors this week. Now just waiting to hear back from buyer after they received survey results. As far as we know they were due to get the report last Wednesday and since we have heard nothing. I’m hoping that means there is nothing too bad on there and we can exchange early Jan 

Yeah we are. Were meant to complete last Friday, but that got delayed. Then the last link in our chain (who had outstanding enquiries on their purchase) decided to break the link in their chain and push their sale through. So completion got rescheduled to this Friday and we were told exchange should be happening today. But... 2pm and we've heard nothing. Chased our solicitor and their estate agent.

It's all so stressful - you just wait and wait and wait...

Does anyone know if there are further steps the conveyancers have to take when the chain is broken like that? We were effectively told that we were breaking the chain because all the other transactions were ready to exchange. So now we're confused why we've not heard anything re exchange. 

Hopefully it'll happen soon

Anyone know how solicitors communicate in a chain. There's us (A), our seller's (B) and their seller (C). Can A communicate with C directly, or do they have to communicate with B only? I'm assuming the latter.

We're just hearing nothing. After the chain being all "ready" a week and a half ago to exchange, C had to delay - there was actually another link in the chain at that point but C decided to break the chain and get their purchase through. We were meant to exchange yesterday again (6 working days after the last agreed exchange) and nothing happened again. B say they're all ready and just as frustrated and I do believe them, they're in much more need to complete before Christmas and have been very open. 

I'm wondering how on earth we try to find out the reason C is delaying. I just want to be able to know what the plan is and it's causing a lot of stress that we're just slowly creeping closer to our second suggested completion date (that the whole chain has agreed to again) without knowing when we might exchange, especially considering we delayed completion once already. If it has to be delayed to January, fine, we would just like to know and not find out at 5pm on Thursday that we're not completing on Friday.

I've asked our solicitor to ask up the chain when the planned exchange date is and if she can ask what the outstanding issues are prior to exchange. But she always just ignores these questions in emails - e.g. yesterday she replied just saying "The chain isn't ready to exchange. Kind regards." I replied asking the above again and she hasn't replied. I've never managed to get put through to her on the phone, every single time it rings out and the receptionist says she'll leave a message and they'll call me back - but I've had 0% success rate over the 7 or so times I've called her over the last 5 and a half months.

ccfc1972

The whole thing is a nightmare. I'm speaking to my solicitor for the sale of our house (A) daily and we're pretty much ready to go...but I can't get a peep out of the solicitor for our new purchase (B) and neither can our sale solicitor. He has left him numerous voice mails for an update, as have I (Plus emails) and he never gets back to us. So stressful.

Beeboo23

I completed today! Officially a first time home owner!! 

amandacat

amandacat said:

I’m selling (moving into rented after selling due to relocation and wanting more time to find somewhere to buy. FTB buying our house. 
Timeline currently:
Sale agreed: 10.11.20 
Draft contract/property forms sent by my solicitor: 16.11.20
Buyers mortgage valuation survey (done in person) 19.11.20
Draft contract accepted by buyers solicitor and pre contract enquires received: 3.12.20
Following a personal headache trying to answer all the pre contract enquires, these answers were sent to buyers solicitor: 8.12.20. 
Now it’s just waiting. EA tells me the buyers have their mortgage offer and searches have been paid for but won’t be back until mid January but from experience I take EA feedback with a pinch of salt. 
Spending every day nervous now the buyer will pull out for some reason. 

Further update for anyone interested:
10.12- response from buyers solicitor with outstanding enquiries including a request that we purchase 2x indemnity insurance. One to cover lack of certificate for work. Less than £20 and our mishap so no big deal. Second one for just under £200 due to some company recently applying to mine nearby land- not happy but have had to agree. 
11.12- further email from buyers solicitor to say buyer insisting on boiler service. We said we wouldn’t initially as only just out of date but  again have agreed to keep the peace. 
Around this time we also received the transfer document to sign and send back. 
I imagine that’ll be it now until after the new year because the searches aren’t expected back until mid Jan. 

DairyQueen

At last! Exchanged today.

Buyer offered third week of July. We are a chain of two as he has nowhere to sell and we have a second property in which we can live until we complete on our new home.

Huge problem manifested third week of September. We were due to exchange on the sale and had offered on a property the same week. Buyer's mortgage offer collapsed. Our EA's MB stepped-in and finally, FINALLY 3 months later we have pulled it off. It has taken us the best part of this year to prepare the property for sale (ready in March - just as lockdown hit), market it (under offer 3 weeks after listing in late June) and transact the sale. In 40 years of property ownership this has been the longest drag from offer to exchange. Incredible given such a small chain but our solicitor advises that this is not unusual this year.

Now hoping to exchange on our new home in January and complete sometime in early Feb.

The process has never been easy but it seems to be more stressful now than in prior decades. One thing we have noticed is that buyers are far more fickle and pull-out of deals even up to the day of exchange.