House buying process, how long left?

homeless9

Hi People,

I am gradually completing the steps in the buying process. I am buying a new build house which has already been built. I am buying with the help of the Help to Buy loan. Below shows where I am at on the house buying timeline.

Assuming everything is ok with the searches that the solicitor does, how long do you think it will take to complete the sale and get the keys? I understand that it all depends on how quickly solicitors get on with things or any unforeseen hiccups that come up.......but any idea how long the remainder of the process generally takes.....

As it's the last day of the month today I am likely going to hand in my notice to my landlord. I am on a rolling month by month contract in a HMO. It's likely I'd have the keys by the end of March - right?

-- how much they can borrow, either by speaking with a broker or bank etc COMPLETE
-- Contact solicitors to find out prices and pick one they like COMPLETE
-- View properties COMPLETE
-- Make an offer COMPLETE
-- have offer accepted COMPLETE
-- ask bank / broker to submit mortgage application COMPLETE
-- broker sends Help To Buy loan application COMPLETE
-- ask solicitors to open a file but do nothing yet COMPLETE
-- sales details get sent to your solicitor COMPLETE
-- you get mortgage offer MORTGAGE OFFER PENDING VALUATION
-- you tell solicitors to proceed I HAVE PAID THEM A FEE TO DO SEARCHES
-- help to buy loan is agreed
-- solicitors do conveyancing (searches and queries, letting you know of any issues or obligations etc) 
-- everything ok.
-- you sign contact.
-- you send solicitors deposit.
-- exchange contacts.
-- solicitors get mortgage fees and additional money from you.
-- purchase completes, you get keys.

Also need to go over to the property and do one of those snagging reports. When do you think the Estate Agent will be happy for me to do this? .....once the Mortgage offer is official?

Slithery

Do not give notice on your current rental until contracts have been exchanged.

AdrianC

"Solicitors do conveyancing" sounds so easy, but that's the slow bit.

Are you buying off-plan? Or is the house complete and ready to go?

Tiglet2

solicitors do conveyancing (searches and queries, letting you know of any issues or obligations etc) 
-- everything ok.

So, none of the legal conveyancing work has actually begun?  Does your solicitor have the draft contract pack from the sellers? The first sentence I have highlighted is one of the major parts of the legal process and can take a long time.  I think you are under-estimating the work involved and the time it could take.  The second sentence should be after "sign contract".  You will probably sign the contract many weeks in advance of "everything ok".  The signed contract will sit in the file until everything is ok.  This can take a couple of months alone if there are issues to clarify.  Solicitors will always advise giving notice on a rental when you have exchanged.  If you ignore this advice, then you may become homeless and it will have been entirely your decision.

Windofchange

We have a similar issue, but our rolling contract renews on the 9th of each month. Our solicitor just got the searches back yesterday after about 3 weeks, but hasn't looked at them or reported on them yet - that will no doubt be next week now as it is the weekend. He has raised a couple of queries with the sellers solicitor, and we are awaiting a response from them. Other than this, we are pretty much through the conveyancing process depending on what the local searches show, and our deposit money is cleared and in the client account of our solicitor. 

We are toying with handing our notice in on the 9th and taking a bit of a punt that it is all done by April 9th. The estimate for completion assuming others in the chain are ready is April 1st. I think that we will probably play it safe however and as per advice above, not hand our notice in until contracts are exchanged and a completion date set. If it means we have to wait an extra month, well it's not the end of the world. Ideally, completion around the 1st of any month would be great as it gives us a week to clear the rental out, clean it and move all our things slowly without being in a rush. I'll give the estate agent a call end of next week to see where the others are at in the process and make a decision then. We are a chain of 3 with us at the bottom, our seller, and then her sellers who are buying a new build, so that should be pretty quick in terms of the purchase. Not sure if our seller would consider living with family etc for a while if her house was delayed, but we'll cross that bridge in the next week or so if it comes up. 

Sensory

homeless9 said:

Also need to go over to the property and do one of those snagging reports. When do you think the Estate Agent will be happy for me to do this? .....once the Mortgage offer is official?

The developer may not even allow an independent snagging inspection until after completion, i.e. when you can move in, but your sales agent should have more information on this. There's no harm in asking.

babyblade41

Don't hand in notice to LL , certainly not until exchange has gone ahead...recipe for disaster.

Sounds like you still have a way to go yet so keep on top with your solicitor as much as poss without being OTT and have plenty of patience 

homeless9

AdrianC said:

"Solicitors do conveyancing" sounds so easy, but that's the slow bit.

Are you buying off-plan? Or is the house complete and ready to go?

House is built and ready to move into.......bar any issues that need rectifying after doing some snagging.....I will go and check for snags at some point.

Cakeguts

To give you a time estimate from where you are it could take anything from 3 months to 6 months or more so plan for at least 3 months still to go.  Do not give notice to your landlord until you exchange contracts.  Do not sigh a new tenancy agreement go for a rolling tenancy.

homeless9

Tiglet2 said:

solicitors do conveyancing (searches and queries, letting you know of any issues or obligations etc) 
-- everything ok.

So, none of the legal conveyancing work has actually begun?  Does your solicitor have the draft contract pack from the sellers? The first sentence I have highlighted is one of the major parts of the legal process and can take a long time.  I think you are under-estimating the work involved and the time it could take.  The second sentence should be after "sign contract".  You will probably sign the contract many weeks in advance of "everything ok".  The signed contract will sit in the file until everything is ok.  This can take a couple of months alone if there are issues to clarify.  Solicitors will always advise giving notice on a rental when you have exchanged.  If you ignore this advice, then you may become homeless and it will have been entirely your decision.

ahhh... I based the time it should take on the Reservation Form I signed which states that I need to exchange contracts before 6th April....

Have I understood you correct in that I will exchange contracts before the conveyancing ends?

Sensory

Cakeguts said:

To give you a time estimate from where you are it could take anything from 3 months to 6 months or more so plan for at least 3 months still to go.  Do not give notice to your landlord until you exchange contracts.  Do not sigh a new tenancy agreement go for a rolling tenancy.

Is 3 months really the minimum? For new builds, developers often request a contract exchange date of apparently 28 days after an offer has been accepted (i.e. reservation fee paid), although it does vary, but certainly not as long as 3 months. On some developments completion on the same day as contract exchange is also possible.