Trying to beat stamp duty! What happens after searches are back?

caz_cardiff87

i'm waiting for my local search to come back. no chain either and property is empty. it all depends what the searches throw up and how quickly the solicitors send out enquiries / respond.

It's an anxious time for sure but i'm just taking the time to declutter and look at buildings insurance etc. As much as people bash solicitors - as far as searches an enquiries go they are reliant on other people being prompt with responses etc. If the searches aren't back till 19th may, I would just call then and check they are in and ask when they expect to go through them and make their enquiries. You will get a report with the findings also. Mine should be back next week so I'm just gonna call on thurs and see if they have them

Tiglet2

gemgem85 said:

Hello!

TLDR: What happens after searches are back? In most cases is it quite a quick move to exchange then completion? Our searches aren't due back until 19 May but we plan to complete on 1st June. Is this feasible? Do things tend to move really quickly once searches are back? No chain. First time buyers!

I'm in the process of buying my first house. I'm super excited because for years we've been cooped up, renting a little flat, and now we're buying a big beautiful family home twice the size of our current place! Also super anxious! It all seems too good to be true!

Our searches are out at the moment, due back on 19th May. This is longer than any estimate I could find online but I'm guessing covid + stamp duty holiday means there's a bit of a queue! I know we've been lucky so far with the rest of the process, I'm just wondering what happens next and if it's likely we'll hit that 1 June completion date

Here's my timeline:

March 25: Started looking for properties
March 26: Applied for mortgage through broker
March 28: Mortgage in principle!
March 29: Made offer
March 30: Offer accepted!
April 6th: Valuation
April 9th: Mortgage offer!
April 12th: Survey complete - no reds
April 13th: Draft contracts
April 14th: Searches requested and enquiries raised
.......LONG WAIT......
May 19th: Searches due back??
June 1: Completion date??

Thank you

There may be more enquiries raised once the searches are back.  

According to your timeline, your solicitor has only been in receipt of the draft contract paperwork since 13th April, so it still is in the early stages.  

I think 1st June is optimistic.

Swash

Our searches came back beginning of January, we still haven't exchanged. Hope it happens for you! 

gemgem85

Swash said:

Our searches came back beginning of January, we still haven't exchanged. Hope it happens for you! 

Oh no @Swash! What's the hold up? Good luck!

gemgem85

Tiglet2 said:

gemgem85 said:

Hello!

TLDR: What happens after searches are back? In most cases is it quite a quick move to exchange then completion? Our searches aren't due back until 19 May but we plan to complete on 1st June. Is this feasible? Do things tend to move really quickly once searches are back? No chain. First time buyers!

I'm in the process of buying my first house. I'm super excited because for years we've been cooped up, renting a little flat, and now we're buying a big beautiful family home twice the size of our current place! Also super anxious! It all seems too good to be true!

Our searches are out at the moment, due back on 19th May. This is longer than any estimate I could find online but I'm guessing covid + stamp duty holiday means there's a bit of a queue! I know we've been lucky so far with the rest of the process, I'm just wondering what happens next and if it's likely we'll hit that 1 June completion date

Here's my timeline:

March 25: Started looking for properties
March 26: Applied for mortgage through broker
March 28: Mortgage in principle!
March 29: Made offer
March 30: Offer accepted!
April 6th: Valuation
April 9th: Mortgage offer!
April 12th: Survey complete - no reds
April 13th: Draft contracts
April 14th: Searches requested and enquiries raised
.......LONG WAIT......
May 19th: Searches due back??
June 1: Completion date??

Thank you

There may be more enquiries raised once the searches are back.  

According to your timeline, your solicitor has only been in receipt of the draft contract paperwork since 13th April, so it still is in the early stages.  

I think 1st June is optimistic.

At our last update (this week) they said there are some enquiries with the seller at the moment and expecting all searches back by 19 May so still good for the completion date. What are the usual delays? Maybe she's being super optimistic

caz_cardiff87

It could be anything and depends what the searches throw up - solicitor may request additional paperwork from vendor, he may not have it or may need to request things from other agencies himself to send over which can cause delays.  Additional searches maybe needed, other solicitor may be slow to pass information back to yours.... no way of knowing or predicting these things. 

I am still waiting for searches to come back and don’t expect enquiries to be particularly quick but fortunately my house is £142k so still below threshold for SD after June. 

Tiglet2

gemgem85 said:

Tiglet2 said:

gemgem85 said:

Hello!

TLDR: What happens after searches are back? In most cases is it quite a quick move to exchange then completion? Our searches aren't due back until 19 May but we plan to complete on 1st June. Is this feasible? Do things tend to move really quickly once searches are back? No chain. First time buyers!

I'm in the process of buying my first house. I'm super excited because for years we've been cooped up, renting a little flat, and now we're buying a big beautiful family home twice the size of our current place! Also super anxious! It all seems too good to be true!

Our searches are out at the moment, due back on 19th May. This is longer than any estimate I could find online but I'm guessing covid + stamp duty holiday means there's a bit of a queue! I know we've been lucky so far with the rest of the process, I'm just wondering what happens next and if it's likely we'll hit that 1 June completion date

Here's my timeline:

March 25: Started looking for properties
March 26: Applied for mortgage through broker
March 28: Mortgage in principle!
March 29: Made offer
March 30: Offer accepted!
April 6th: Valuation
April 9th: Mortgage offer!
April 12th: Survey complete - no reds
April 13th: Draft contracts
April 14th: Searches requested and enquiries raised
.......LONG WAIT......
May 19th: Searches due back??
June 1: Completion date??

Thank you

There may be more enquiries raised once the searches are back.  

According to your timeline, your solicitor has only been in receipt of the draft contract paperwork since 13th April, so it still is in the early stages.  

I think 1st June is optimistic.

At our last update (this week) they said there are some enquiries with the seller at the moment and expecting all searches back by 19 May so still good for the completion date. What are the usual delays? Maybe she's being super optimistic

There are only 9 working days between the return of the searches and the proposed completion date.  That is quite tight, as the solicitor needs to review the searches to see if there is anything to raise as an enquiry, send out any enquiries and then wait for the responses and/or evidence.  All before exchange.

Lavendyr

TBG01 said:

teachfast said:

Remember you need to sit on your solicitor or conveyancer for any action to take place. They are notoriously uncommunicative and unprofessional in many cases. 

Or maybe just maybe, read the terms of the retainer which will more than likely point out timescales *cough it's longer than you think no matter what the estate agent says or if Mary down the street apparently completed in two days* and wait to be contacted if and when necessary? 

If searches are taking several weeks (which they are) to come back, there's nothing we can do about that. No matter how much you "sit" on us think your transaction is more important than someone else's. 

Genuinely don't see the need to be so unpleasant. Not in line with the spirit of this forum, never mind the rules. Searches do take time to come back but it is not unusual for solicitors to sit on things until nudged. Perhaps you don't, but that doesn't mean that this is the same for others. No need to take it personally. And it's not about being more important than someone else.

To the OP, all parties involved in house transactions are extremely busy right now. A major delaying factor in our exchange and completion was the drainage survey just because it took a long time for the local authority to get to it. There is no harm whatsoever in staying in (polite) contact with your solicitor and asking them to chase. That is what you pay for and what should be expected in this market. Any good solicitor will understand this.

skm1981

Our searches came back on 23rd December, my conveyancers closed on Christmas Eve for the week.  We had a couple of queries from the searches, but we completed 3 weeks after the searches coming back (and bearing in mind, a week of that nothing happened because conveyancers were closed), but I did push my conveyancer to get it done as quickly as possible.