Will another lockdown affect house buying process?

hazyjo

Blimey, what a lot of negativity.

If everyone (generally, not just those mentioned) stopped trying to "get in for Christmas", everything would literally carry on as normal as moving house is allowed.

Never understood it myself.

Loads of transactions are going to fall through as a result of nothing but impatience. People are cutting their noses off to spite their face.

Dant

We too are hopefully exchanging next week out EA and solicitor are working as normal we are a small chain and hopefully everyone can move 

Caramac

We are buying a newbuild and are aiming to complete at the end of November. Due to problems with our sale (due to exchange/complete on 16th October but didn’t and our buyers solicitor isn’t talking to anyone) we will be financing purchase from savings. Some of it is in various Building Societies so I’m worried about actually accessing it. I’m sure it’s possible but it’s stressful.

speedy_gonzalez

We should have moved Friday but our solicitor forgot to tell our buyer's solicitor the completion date which no-one discovered until the day we were due to exchange.  We had re-arranged the move for this Friday but I'm just so fed up and worried.

Tiglet2

I agree with everything Hazyjo says above.  It might conjure up a cozy picture of you and your family watching Christmas films, with the tree up and the fire blazing, but the reality is you might have boiler problems etc etc and no-one will come out to see you during this very busy time of the year, let alone fixing any problems you have.  Conveyancing takes as long as it takes whether or not it's before or after Christmas.  This year we have the pandemic as well as the temporary lifting of stamp duty, which has resulted in nearly every client demanding that the transaction proceeds as fast as possible.  Transactions have increased substantially over the last couple of months, from new sellers/purchasers attracted by the lifting of the stamp duty and those sellers/purchasers who were in the process of moving earlier in the year but had to delay or postpone their move.

I also agree that the vast majority of transactions fail because one or more people in the chain have not managed their expectations very well and are too impatient to wait.  

Crashy_Time

hazyjo said:

Blimey, what a lot of negativity.

If everyone (generally, not just those mentioned) stopped trying to "get in for Christmas", everything would literally carry on as normal as moving house is allowed.

Never understood it myself.

Loads of transactions are going to fall through as a result of nothing but impatience. People are cutting their noses off to spite their face.

Loads of transactions are going to fall through as a result of people losing jobs.

Crashy_Time

Caramac said:

We are buying a newbuild and are aiming to complete at the end of November. Due to problems with our sale (due to exchange/complete on 16th October but didn’t and our buyers solicitor isn’t talking to anyone) we will be financing purchase from savings. Some of it is in various Building Societies so I’m worried about actually accessing it. I’m sure it’s possible but it’s stressful.

Why wouldn`t you be able to access money in a building society? Is buying a house from savings really the best move just now though?

Caramac

We had enough difficulty contacting them to get statements from one to prove the funds during the first lockdown. Branches were shut and even now are not open on Saturday. It is/was just a cash flow solution whilst our house sale goes through.

pbhb

hazyjo said:

Blimey, what a lot of negativity.

If everyone (generally, not just those mentioned) stopped trying to "get in for Christmas", everything would literally carry on as normal as moving house is allowed.

Never understood it myself.

Loads of transactions are going to fall through as a result of nothing but impatience. People are cutting their noses off to spite their face.

As much as I would like to be in before Christmas (the original plan), I wouldn’t pull out if it takes longer. So there’s no cutting off my nose to spite my face here. I was just wondering if the process would be slower so I could manage my expectations 

SDLT_Geek

Here is a link to the English lock down regulations, effective from today: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/1200/made

 Leaving home and house moves 

A key is a general provision on leaving home in regulation 5:  "5.—(1) No person may leave or be outside of the place where they are living without reasonable excuse." 

Regulation 6 sets out exceptions, where there is a reasonable excuse. These include exception (g), where it is reasonably necessary to leave home: 

6(2)(g) to undertake any of the following activities in connection with the purchase, sale, letting or rental of a residential property—

(i) visiting estate or letting agents, developer sales offices or show homes;

(ii) viewing residential properties to look for a property to buy or to rent;

(iii) preparing a residential property to move in;

(iv) moving house;

(v) visiting a residential property to undertake any activities required for the rental or sale of that property; 

Closure of businesses 

Regulation 16 requires some "restricted businesses" to cease during lockdown.  They are listed in part 2 of the Schedule and include cinemas, theatres and nightclubs, golf courses and conference centres.  Estate agents and solicitors are not listed. 

Regulation 18 deals with other businesses of offering goods for sale or for hire in a shop, not listed in Part 3 of the schedule.  They should close their premises unless required for providing deliveries or collection pursuant to remote orders. 

Part 3 of the Schedule sets out businesses permitted to remain open, it includes the following of relevance to house movers: 

37  Hardware stores

38 Building merchants

43 Banks etc

53 Garden centres 

It seems that estate agents are not caught as they are not offering goods for sale.  Nor are solicitors and conveyancers. 

Restrictions on gatherings 

Estate agents, like everyone else, would still be covered by the restrictions on "gatherings" in regulations 7 – 14.  Regulation 11 gives some exceptions to the general prohibition on gatherings including: 

11  Exception 2: gatherings necessary for certain purposes

(3) Exception 2 is that the gathering is reasonably necessary—

(a) for work purposes or for the provision of voluntary or charitable services;

……….

(f) to facilitate a house move.

Edit: 43 Bands etc corrected to 43 Banks etc