First Time buyer. Am I stressed for no reason?

Jadeedwards30

Hi all!

I'm in the process of buying my first home. We have been in constant contact with the sellers throughout the process and everything has been great up to now.

We have both agreed a completion date of the 20th Sep and speaking to the sellers yesterday (about buying some of their white goods) and everything appears to be on track, we have even organised collection of the keys.

Out of curiosity, I emailed my solicitors today and asked if the exchange had took place (i'd not heard anything after them saying they would begin to attempt exchange) to which they responded that they had been unable to make contact with the sellers solicitors as of yet and I was advised to call the EA to question what the delay was.

I rang the EA who rang through to the sellers Sols whilst I was on hold and they advised that they had previously obtained a Redemption Statement but had needed to request a new one and this hadn't arrived yet (I'm not sure why). They advised they delay was due to it being a smaller lender and that it should be received by the end of this week or early next.

I'm 23yo buying on my own with no prior experience of buying and selling but even I feel like this is cutting it fine? The EA didn't seem to know why the solicitors needed a new one but I since read online that it could be to do with there now being a set completion date and checking to make sure there was no negative equity?

Surely if their lender knows about the completion date then I assume they still believe it will all go through before the 20th!

I'm just worried that it's less than 10 days and we won't be able to exchange let alone complete without this statement and I have already paid for my Home Insurance policy to start on his date along with organizing the removal men for the move and other matters as I thought this had been done. I am just thinking too much into it all????:(

Any guidance to put my mind as ease is greatly appreciated, please no jargon though!

hazyjo

Jadeedwards30 wrote: »

I'm just worried that it's less than 10 days and we won't be able to exchange let alone complete without this statement and I have already paid for my Home Insurance policy to start on his date along with organizing the removal men for the move and other matters as I thought this had been done. I am just thinking too much into it all????:(

You still have plenty of time. Not advisable - but it could be done on the same day (now that is nerve wracking lol) if lenders allow.


Worth mentioning for future thread readers - never book or arrange anything until after exchange! It could still fall through and you'll still have to pay (could prob cancel the insurance, but stuffed with the rest). (Not trying to worry you, OP!)

Soot2006

All sounds on track, but totally normal to be stressed about it!



Our exchange date kept getting pushed back (and also completion date) because of problems in the chain, then the completion date was "confirmed" but the exchange still didn't happen ... Finally did happen with 3 working days before completion to confirm removals, etc. Ridiculously stressful although in retrospect I realise it was all moving along quite nicely!


I was less stressed when I bought for the first time as still had a rental flat to live in, so completion date didn't seem quite so important! But still very stressed



Good luck and enjoy your new property when you get it .

Tiglet2

The seller's solicitor will request a redemption statement at the start of the process to confirm how much is outstanding on the mortgage and the sale proceeds will be enough to pay off the lender and the conveyancing fees.

As the process reaches exchange, the seller's solicitor must have an up to date redemption statement dated to the exact completion date so that on the completion day, your purchase funds are transferred to the seller's solicitor, who then HAS to send the lender the amount outstanding on the day of completion, before they can forward on any surplus back to their client and deduct their fees. They do not send the lender an estimated amount otherwise there would be delays in adding additional funds for shortfalls or obtaining repayment of any surplus. Don't forget that the redemption amount at the start of the process may be different from the redemption amount at the end.

Obtaining a Redemption statement doesn't take very long but all lenders have different requirements for obtaining them and some lenders can be more problematical. For example, if I order a redemption statement for one of my clients from Santander, I will receive it within a few minutes. The Mortgage Works are another story.

G_M

You cannot 'agree a Completion Date' until you are ready to Exchange. Until then it is just a 'wouldn't it be nice' date.


If the sellers have not got a redemption statement that is a reasonable explanation for a delay.But be warned - there are 212 other things that could arise between now and Exchange.


Be patient.

RelievedSheff

We have exchanged and completed on the same day on both of our house purchases so far.

It didn't cause us any problems in either case and both purchases completed with no problems.

It is only natural to be nervous about a house purchase. It is a big thing to buy.

Try to stay calm you have plenty of time yet.

ThemeOne

The problem with discussing things directly between yourself and the seller is what you agree may turn out not to be possible, for the simple reason neither you nor the seller has the whole picture - only the solicitors have that, plus an understanding of the legalities involved.

It's perfectly OK to discuss direct things like buying white goods with the sellers as that's outside the property transaction, but for anything like exchange and completion dates, it's best if you and the seller do everything through your respective solicitors.

If it comes to it I don't imagine it would be difficult to alter the start date on your home insurance, though the removal company might be less flexible.

You'll just have to sit it out and hold your nerve - hopefully you can still complete on the 20th. None of this, by the way, is particularly unusual!

Jadeedwards30

Thanks everyone, this has really calmed me down!!! It's worth mentioning that the removal men are family friends so much more likely to flex if needed, it might just be the home insurance that starts early, i'm not sure if it would be worth changing it though for a sake of a few days...perhaps if it was a month later until we exchanged?

G_M

Jadeedwards30 wrote: »

..... it might just be the home insurance that starts early, i'm not sure if it would be worth changing it though for a sake of a few days...perhaps if it was a month later until we exchanged?

but you can't know in advance if it will be 'a few days' or 'a month'. Or it might actually turn into 2 months.

Or not happen at all.........


If you are still in the 14 day cancellation period, I would cancel the insurance and not set it up till the date you actually Exchange.

hazyjo

Jadeedwards30 wrote: »

Thanks everyone, this has really calmed me down!!! It's worth mentioning that the removal men are family friends so much more likely to flex if needed, it might just be the home insurance that starts early, i'm not sure if it would be worth changing it though for a sake of a few days...perhaps if it was a month later until we exchanged?

Wait and see if you need to. I'd be inclined to leave it, but you should ring them to check.


Don't make any assumptions re removals. If they actually book you in, they are not going to risk losing hundreds/thousands on another job. Pencil it in, yes. But not book. Let them know pronto (although tbh any company with a bit of noddle wouldn't take an actual booking that far ahead without you having exchanged, so maybe you are just pencilled in and if they get another booking they will contact you to see if you're close to exchange).