completion dates? at what point to i choose?

cey2007

buying for the first time- at what point do I choose a completion date, as Ihaven't been asked this by the solicitor yet. they said that the contracts are being drafted now.

also, do i need to let the seller (whos a good friend) know the completion date or do our solicitors have to communicate with each other?

Doozergirl

Just the two of you in the chain? you can have an idea of when you would like to move, but please don't give notice on a rented proerty unless you know for sure - which would actually be exchange of contracts.

In the situation, neither you nor your vendor are in the driving seat and so whilst you can have a date you would like to move on, you actually have no control over it.

A good but realistic timeframe to move in for a property with no chain would be about 6 weeks. Add in Christmas and I think you can add two/three weeks to that - beginning of Feb would be a sensible timeframe. Leasehold properties can take longer if the freeholder is slow.

worrypants

dont want to be disagreeable but I disagree re whos in the driving seat.

If you really want to get in qucikly then do the following:

Hound your lender daily eg have they done valuation yet if not why not and when will it be done

If you know the seller get them to ask valuer if all is ok and how fast will his report be with the lender.

When you know this get onto the lender again tell them you will lose the property if they dont get offer out instantly, tell them to fax offer to your solicitor for speed.

Get onto the local council and ask if searches are in if not go barmy at your solictor to demand why not! pay for seaches in cash at the outset then no excuse for them not being sent for immediatley.

be really nice to the council ( ask for land charges dept) and ask for them to put your search at the top of the pile otherwise you will lose your dream home)
I did this on my last purchase and she did the searches and sent back to the solicitor on the day she got the request.
Get you deposit funds into your solictor by CHAPS payment the second your mortgage offer is in.
Solictors dilly dally for days waiting for cleared funds adding a week or more to the process

If you really want and your seller agrees you can get it all done within 10 to 12 working days but its a full time job and you have pester on a daily basis.

get your contract signed asap even before mortgage offer its not binding until everything is done so no danger and get your seller to do the same

Make sure that your seller is kicking their solicitor into touch eg get the draft contract out the day offer is accepeted and get questions answered like yesterday.

Its time for buyer/sellers to unite and kick a$$$

Its us that employ these people and pay for these services eg lenders and solicitors:D

Doozergirl

Average timescale for a house purchase is three months! It takes experience and a relationship with your solicitor to push things through very quickly. At this time of year I suspect every solicitors' clients want to be in for Christmas even if the market in general is quiet. If the OP were that clued up about the conveyancing process then I doubt they'd be asking when they 'choose' the completion date.

A nervous FTB phoning their solicitor everyday can often mean that they just stop taking the calls, including the important ones as many FTBs will take things too far and start annoying everyone in a chain There are so many outside parties involved that if there is a delay in one, there is a delay all round. It is not a simple process and not even entirely driven by solicitors, just dependant on when all the relevant documents from all the different parties can be in place at the same time.

worrypants

point taken doozergirl

especailly if a FTB and not familair with the process

do wish that seasoned buyers/sellers wouldnt just sit back and let solicitors dictate though

During one of my purcases I had one of those answerphone/with a client types and I sacked her:rotfl:

Have an absolutely fab solicitor now though

During the sale of my Pub last year I had daily emails:eek: even when nowt had happened
Ive used the same firm for a purchase and two sales since then ( one failed sale:mad: ) and absolutely everything is communicated to me and dealt with instantly

She also thinks outside the box eg a paper exchange before funds clear
got to contact her on monday to see if we can do a indemnity exchange as buyers searches are via a private search company this time and not due to be done until tuesday:rolleyes: