The NEW waiting to exchange thread...

hema123456789

We were due to exchange last Monday and then on Friday and the due to exchange today and now due to exchange tomorrow BECAUSE OUR SOLICITORS ARE INCAPABLE OF SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER AND KEEP BLAMING THE OTHER ONE!!!!

DairyQueen

mm1985 said:

For those of you potentially moving in Jan, where are you with your packing? Our potential date is 14th abs I don’t even have boxes yet.

We have exchanged and completion is confirmed for the 13th. We were hoping to use the removal company packing service but they are now too busy to accommodate this. We have our packing materials (boxes, paper, bubblewrap, marker pens and tape) and are all set to begin on the 27th and continue intermittently for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, OH will dismantle various things. We are selling a flat so no attic, shed or garage (thank God).

We are lucky that we are not living in the property but OH is working there 3/4 days per week and it's a 30-mile drive to-and-fro. We should complete the bulk of packing by the 10th to give some contingency as we need a day to make sure all is clean and tidy for the buyers.

We are old-hands at moving so know the ropes and that means being ultra-organised. We never underestimate how long it takes to pack a house and things go much more smoothly if packing is undertaken at a reasonable pace rather than in a last-minute panic. 

We must all be mad to consider moving in the midst of a pandemic 

hema123456789

hema123456789 said:

We were due to exchange last Monday and then on Friday and the due to exchange today and now due to exchange tomorrow BECAUSE OUR SOLICITORS ARE INCAPABLE OF SPEAKING TO EACH OTHER AND KEEP BLAMING THE OTHER ONE!!!!

Finally exchanged 

Navigaor31

Should be getting title report through today. 
Still no completion date received from sellers. Was hoping to have a date for January confirmed prior to Christmas, but it's looking like that's not gonna happen. 

Seller is using purple bricks solicitors so..mi suppose I shouldn't expect much haha.

Drawingaline

DairyQueen said:

Drawingaline said:

DairyQueen said:

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.

We also had a complete chain end of July. All ready to go for beginning of Nov when our buyer pulled out. New buyer found in 48hrs, they have a mortgage offer all but one sear h is back and they still haven't raised enquiries! Our mortgage offer expires at the end of Jan with no hope of extending it, and all removal companies needing three weeks advance notice. Honestly can't see it happening now. So fed up of it all. 

I know how you feel. We also had an issue with the removal company. They were originally booked to do the packing but there were so few slots by the time we exchanged that we could only book them to do the move into storage. We now have to pack over Christmas and New Year and travel to/from the property in order to do so. It's right on the boundary of a 'Tier 4' so we are holding our breath as we anticipate it will fall into the dreaded max lockdown area any day.

About 3 months into the process I reached the point where I either succumbed to the stress or accepted that fate would dictate the outcome as I had zero control over any step in the process. Detaching emotionally helped my stress levels but at the cost of the happiness and excitement I usually feel at the prospect of a new home. 

I will be relieved when we finally complete on the sale but am now relaxed about the purchase. If it falls-through then so be it.

Hang-on in there. Fate may be with you. It's really random whether the sale will go through this time but you obviously have a very saleable property. Could you make a provisional booking with the removal company? We were able to do this but couldn't meet the first date. No problem in changing the booking as the removals company had a waiting list as long as your arm ready to snap-up our slot. Or,  perhaps, rope-in friends/family to do a DIY-job as a Plan B?

No chance of a DIY job, we are a family of six! 

Have contacted removal company to see if we can get the date set in. If we miss it we will need to make a decision as to whether we reapply for a mortgage, stay out or continue with the sale and look at being in rented for a year. But rental prices are obscene! 

Drawingaline

Ok removal company just got back to me, they had one van available on the 27th Jan!!!! So paid the deposit and every thing is now in the hands of fate I suppose.

WiseOwl00

17/10 - viewed property + put in an offer lower than asking price. 
18/10 - vendor asked for higher offer (still under asking price). Offer accepted. 
20/10 - information passed to estate agents. All solicitors instructed. 
26/10 - applied for mortgage (10% with Nationwide).
27/10 - Nationwide arranged date for valuation.
03/11 - Nationwide conducted valuation. 
10/11 - Nationwide asked for more information, mortgage advisor. Supplied.
12/11 - solicitor received contract pack. Paid solicitor fees + searches sent.
25/11 - mortgage offer received.
22/12 - searches due back (nearly 6 weeks after requesting!) 

It's been 10 weeks since our offer was accepted, and still no exchange/completion date. This is on top of the 12 weeks we wasted on the  house we had an offer accepted on previously, where the vendors completely dragged us along! All together it's been 23 weeks since we started the house buying process, and I've watched so many people I know buy homes along the way. Hoping for end of January/early February, but won't hold my breath. 🤞🏻

Fionaanne141

My solicitor has today asked for proof of the 9k funds outstanding to cover the difference between my sale and purchase. Im hoping this is a good sign that we're making progress? How far from exchange were you all asked for these details? As far as im aware, all enquiries are now complete

tervozina

We are due to exchange/complete on 5th. Already had a confirmation from bank that mortgage funds will be released on 4th and LISAs funds should be received same day. Fingers crossed nothing goes wrong within 2 weeks. 

Fionaanne141 said:

My solicitor has today asked for proof of the 9k funds outstanding to cover the difference between my sale and purchase. Im hoping this is a good sign that we're making progress? How far from exchange were you all asked for these details? As far as im aware, all enquiries are now complete

We were asked for confirmation of funds from solicitors when we instructed them

katie91_2

katie91_2 said:

katie91_2 said:

I don’t know how much more of this I can take. We’re still no further on with our purchase after 3 1/2 months due to the chain collapsing twice. We accepted an offer on our flat this week (which we can keep, but are hoping to sell as we’d rather not be landlords) and the buyer pulled out literally AN HOUR after the memorandum was issued. It seems like nothing is going right and we’re getting nowhere. I am so fed up.

Our sellers finally found somewhere 2 weeks ago and by some miracle the people they’re buying from already have an offer accepted on a vacant property - fingers crossed it’s third time lucky on this chain! We got responses back today on our enquiries which have been outstanding since 25th Sept, not all resolved yet but it’s nice to have some (any!) progress after the last couple of months.

We finally seem to be getting somewhere. Had an email from our vendor on Saturday saying he’s ready and he hoped to exchange before Christmas  - not sure what planet he’s on 3 working days before with no prior warning! We still have a couple of enquiries outstanding which his solicitors are claiming they’ve answered...and ours are claiming they haven’t. Cue a flurry of activity - the joys of conveyancers.

Still, hopefully looking like we’ll be able to exchange in the next few weeks rather than months!