Is the whole property buying process too complicated?

badger09

UnderOffer said:

I’m happy to wait for the weeks/months involved in purchasing so that relevant information can be provided on the property, what I’m less happy about is the lack of commitment by a buyer who can just walk away even when it is not the property or legalities at fault but just because they’ve seen something better or changed their mind. 

I don’t think there is an answer though to speed up the process or commit a buyer. 

Erm.... sellers can also just walk away - for whatever reason, and they are less likely to have invested a lot of money in the process.

I say that as both a seller & a buyer (whose seller has pulled out, and our 'aborted purchase' costs are nudging £1000!)  

ccfc1972

RelievedSheff said:

ccfc1972 said:

I'd like to buy a house like I buy a car. See one I like, have a look round, then pay for it and jump in!
I realise it's never going to be straightforward, I was just wondering if it was possible to make the process quicker at all...i'd like to think there must be.

How quick would you like it to be?

Our last purchase was 3.5 weeks from placing the offer to moving in.

Lucky you! We're 4 months and counting. Could I have the name of your solicitors? 😊

RelievedSheff

ccfc1972 said:

RelievedSheff said:

ccfc1972 said:

I'd like to buy a house like I buy a car. See one I like, have a look round, then pay for it and jump in!
I realise it's never going to be straightforward, I was just wondering if it was possible to make the process quicker at all...i'd like to think there must be.

How quick would you like it to be?

Our last purchase was 3.5 weeks from placing the offer to moving in.

Lucky you! We're 4 months and counting. Could I have the name of your solicitors? 😊

GM Wilson, Barnsley.

They were top notch. We had no complaints what so ever with their service and would certainly use them again if the need arose.

ccfc1972

If we ever move to Yorkshire, i'll look them up, thanks 😊 

davidmcn

Dare I say it, I suspect much of the problems come from the "money-saving" attitude of the punters - if you want cheap mortgages / surveys / conveyancing, then the providers are all going to cut down their level of service (and extend their turnaround times) to match. And then it's a race to the bottom - your solicitor may wonder why they should bother doing things quickly if everyone's going to be twiddling their thumbs for weeks longer waiting for mortgage offers or searches to turn up.

Also (as often recommended here) people seem to want to do everything sequentially in order not to risk "wasting" any fees if things fall apart - so wait for your mortgage valuation and offer before you get your own proper survey, don't tell your solicitor to do anything until the other party seems ready, etc. All of which extends the total time taken, and itself adds to the risk of something else upsetting the transaction as the weeks go by.

newsgroupmonkey_

When we talk about the HIP, are you talking about the Scottish Survey?

I like that idea. Everyone knows what they're walking into. It also gives a valuation and there are no arguments about Estate Agents over-pricing a property.

Ramouth

that’s a very good point - the process can already be quicker if people are willing to take on more risk - but this is actually another reason to have some sort of penalty for pulling out - it would give buyers more confidence when instructing solicitors 

SpiderLegs

somerlouise said:

It is much less complicated in other countries. For example my brother lives in Canada. He applied for a mortgage before he even started looking- and was approved to a certain maximum amount. So when he found a place he made an offer and already had the mortgage sorted- just had the valuation which was actually done the next day. 

Also, his offer was a binding contract so he couldn’t back out once it was made without financial penalties. Therefore he thought long and hard before making the offer. 

He moved in 1 month after his offer. 

Well the obvious point here is that he did all the ‘important stuff’ before making the legal commitment. And you’ve started counting the days from that point.

That’s no different to this country, just that the we generally start counting the days from long before the legal commitment is made.

If I exchange (legal commitment) and complete on the same day, can I claim that it only took me one day to buy a house?

Timbosaurus

In Sweden, the estate agent can act as conveyancer to both sides.  They have a duty of care to both, and disclose all relevant facts to both parties.  I've completed within 14 days of offer over there.

somerlouise

SpiderLegs said:

somerlouise said:

It is much less complicated in other countries. For example my brother lives in Canada. He applied for a mortgage before he even started looking- and was approved to a certain maximum amount. So when he found a place he made an offer and already had the mortgage sorted- just had the valuation which was actually done the next day. 

Also, his offer was a binding contract so he couldn’t back out once it was made without financial penalties. Therefore he thought long and hard before making the offer. 

He moved in 1 month after his offer. 

Well the obvious point here is that he did all the ‘important stuff’ before making the legal commitment. And you’ve started counting the days from that point.

That’s no different to this country, just that the we generally start counting the days from long before the legal commitment is made.

If I exchange (legal commitment) and complete on the same day, can I claim that it only took me one day to buy a house?

He may well have done ‘all the important things’ before but that involved securing a mortgage, which in his case took about a week to get a decision. Then he knew the price he could afford. So he didn’t start looking at houses until then.  

People here will put an offer in on a house and then look for a mortgage. Sometimes this works out but sometimes people can’t get a mortgage and that’s a lot of time to waste. 

Also, while he was obligated to buy, his sellers also were obliged to sell ofmr also suffer a financial penalty. This weeds out s lot of time wasters.