No chain house - how long - kensington mortgages

Unicornbubble

Hi guys, im hoping some of you may be able to help me I was wondering how long a house with no chain as a first-time buyer will take with Kensington mortgages.
We have just put our mortgage application in and are waiting for the underwriters to get back to us. we are hoping it’ll be at the end of the week or maybe early next week.

Has anybody dealt with Kensington and a no chain property and usually what is the timescale? from what I know my solicitors work really fast from family members that have dealt with them in the past

Also if you have dealt With Kensington when is it that you have to pay 10% deposit for example would it be in say for 4-5 weeks after mortgage application & offer accepted? Just wanted to know an estimate time scale as to when to get everything prepared for my mind. If anybody Don’t know anything or have dealt with Kensington themselves with no chain I would be really grateful if you could help me thank you

Praying we move in by 1st couple weeks of Jan
New to all this

Davesnave

You are speaking as if the mortgage is the only consideration.

Problems with the title documents are not that uncommon, so whether there's a chain or not, any defect in the property title or plan could delay things for much longer than a motrtgage approval.

Oh, and there's this thing called Christmas and New Year when everything seems to grind to a halt for a couple of weeks.


Normally, we say allow at least 12 weeks.

Slithery

2 weeks to 2 years is a good estimate.

The deposit is due when you exchange contracts.

pinkteapot

I haven't dealt with Kensington - is their process different to other lenders? It's not normally the mortgage that delays exchange (the point where you pay your solicitor the deposit) - the legal process that runs alongside the mortgage application process often takes longer.

If Kensington aren't unique and the process is the same as for any mortgage lender, it doesn't sound like you understand the house buying process very well (eg you don't pay Kensington the deposit). Have a read of this:

https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/money-timeline-when-buying-property-england-wales--n-ireland

While the posters above are correct, it is possible to do things quicker unless the solicitor uncovers legal problems with the property.

I've been through two transactions that happened fast:

Ten years ago, I sold my flat to an investor. I was going into rented, so no chain. We exchanged and completed on the same day, five weeks after I accepted his offer.

I'm currently between in the period between exchange and completion. We're selling and going into rented. There are two parties below us (so it goes FTB, middle of the chain person, us). Our buyer needed our house quickly. We accepted their offer on 15th October and exchanged contracts on 19th November (five weeks again). We're having a few weeks between exchange and completion as we need to get our rental and a long distance move arranged!

Four to five weeks (but you'll have to exclude two weeks for Christmas) is probably the quickest it can happen - if you have indeed got a good solicitor who can do it fast if asked to. Things that could delay this are (1) Kensington's current turnaround time for processing applications and arranging surveys and (2) problems highlighted by your survey or your solicitor.

As above, 8-12 weeks to exchange contracts (with completion a short time later) is more like the average. Other transactions I've been involved in have taken this long. A no-chain transaction shouldn't really take longer than that, and can go through quicker if you're organised and do a lot of chasing.

chunkytfg

pinkteapot wrote: »

I've been through two transactions that happened fast:

Ten years ago, I sold my flat to an investor. I was going into rented, so no chain. We exchanged and completed on the same day, five weeks after I accepted his offer.

I'm currently between in the period between exchange and completion. We're selling and going into rented. There are two parties below us (so it goes FTB, middle of the chain person, us). Our buyer needed our house quickly. We accepted their offer on 15th October and exchanged contracts on 19th November (five weeks again). We're having a few weeks between exchange and completion as we need to get our rental and a long distance move arranged!

Four to five weeks (but you'll have to exclude two weeks for Christmas) is probably the quickest it can happen - if you have indeed got a good solicitor who can do it fast if asked to. Things that could delay this are (1) Kensington's current turnaround time for processing applications and arranging surveys and (2) problems highlighted by your survey or your solicitor.

As above, 8-12 weeks to exchange contracts (with completion a short time later) is more like the average. Other transactions I've been involved in have taken this long. A no-chain transaction shouldn't really take longer than that, and can go through quicker if you're organised and do a lot of chasing.

And my experience is the opposite. 2 sales, both Chain free.

One went form estate agent valuation to sale agreed in 5 days and then took 7 months to complete the other just had so much back and forth with silly questions between us and even one seemed to add weeks and weeks to the process.

luckofthe_irish

I am a FTB with no chain as sellers have already moved out. My offer was accepted on the 9th of October and we still haven't exchanged despite me having a mortgage and being a solicitor myself so understanding the process very well - it still seems to take an AGE. We do have a date for completion on the 11 December but I am not hopeful that will happen. The solicitors are just terrible at communicating with us, and every report they write seems to take between 3-5 days. I am in direct contact with the seller daily which helps but it is not a quick process.

pinkteapot

luckofthe_irish wrote: »

I am a FTB with no chain as sellers have already moved out. My offer was accepted on the 9th of October and we still haven't exchanged despite me having a mortgage and being a solicitor myself so understanding the process very well - it still seems to take an AGE. We do have a date for completion on the 11 December but I am not hopeful that will happen. The solicitors are just terrible at communicating with us, and every report they write seems to take between 3-5 days. I am in direct contact with the seller daily which helps but it is not a quick process.

Solicitors vary enormously. Our solicitor for our current sale was always available on the phone and quick to answer emails. The other solicitors in the chain were equally responsive.

If at all possible, get a personal recommendation for a solicitor. Or in our case for this one, we were selling only and said to our EA "this buyer has to get our house quickly or they'll pull out - which local solicitors have you dealt with recently who have been able to handle quick transactions?" They recommended two individuals at different firms and we went with one of those.

Of course if someone else in the chain chooses a particularly bad solicitor, it'll slow the process down for everyone.

hazyjo

Average process is 12 weeks. Quickest I did it was 5 weeks. Slowest was 5 months. No idea re Kensington - anything could slow it down, not just the mortgage.


Oh, and don't forget things like solicitors and estate agents will each prob be shut for a couple of weeks over Christmas and New Year.

Unicornbubble

Davesnave wrote: »

You are speaking as if the mortgage is the only consideration.

Problems with the title documents are not that uncommon, so whether there's a chain or not, any defect in the property title or plan could delay things for much longer than a motrtgage approval.

Oh, and there's this thing called Christmas and New Year when everything seems to grind to a halt for a couple of weeks.


Normally, we say allow at least 12 weeks.

I obviously realise theres surveys searches to be done, i was just asking for an estimate timescale & if anybody had a similar case

Many thanks fir your reply

Bluebonnie

Who put you on to Kensington Mortgages? They're not exactly well known. As a FTB you would probably have a choice of all sorts of banks and building societies.

You should check out the annual report and accounts of their parent company (via the Companies House website). Some of the things going on in the last financial year look odd.

kelloggs36

My siater almost bought a house with a Kensington mortgage. On the day of exchange they demanded an additional 12k deposit...she had ready paid the deposit and did not have any more. She ended up pulling out.