Start property searches without draft contract?

starsandcircles

I've been waiting for the vendors solicitors to produce the draft contract for several weeks, I'm not sure how long is considered normal to wait?

My mortgage broker initially said "don't pay the solicitor for searches until the mortgage is approved", which gave me the impression that searches could be started at anytime.

Now, mortgage approved and weeks later every time I request searches we seem to be waiting for different documents.

I'm aware the searches might take up to 6 weeks (solicitors estimate), but we can't even start that process as we're still waiting for the draft contract from the vendors solicitors. 

So, can searches really not begin without the contract?

Thrugelmir

What documents is your solicitor waiting for?  Is your vendor in a position to progress their onward move? 

starsandcircles

My solicitor has said they need the contract/draft contract and that will include the plans of the property boundaries they need to order the searches.

There's no chain, from either myself or the  vendor

Ref44

We've just been through the process. Our solicitor sent us a copy of the Land Registry plan showing the boundary of the property which the sellers solicitor had forwarded, Once we confirmed that it was the right property, they then ordered the searches.

user1977

starsandcircles said:

My solicitor has said they need the contract/draft contract and that will include the plans of the property boundaries they need to order the searches.

They don't need that to order searches (99% of the time the boundaries are going to be pretty obvious anyway), but it's a fairly clunky indicator of whether the vendors are actually ready to proceed. In your circumstances I'd just get on with ordering the searches.

Thrugelmir

starsandcircles said:

There's no chain, from either myself or the  vendor

The vendor is dragging their feet for a reason. Tenant, probate, divorce, additional secured debt etc. 

starsandcircles

The impression I got from the vendor when I viewed the property was that it'd all be straight forward, I specifically chose a property where there was no chain involved.

Seems as you say there's something else going on.

london21

Do ensue your seller is serious. My previous seller wasted my searches money because we didn’t have the draft contract and later seller changed their mind about selling. My experience was with purplebricks and it’s seems the seller weren’t eager to proceed. 

Thrugelmir

starsandcircles said:

The impression I got from the vendor when I viewed the property was that it'd all be straight forward, I specifically chose a property where there was no chain involved.

Seems as you say there's something else going on.

Maintain good contact with the EA.  They are in prime position to facilitate matters and maintain contact between all the parties involved.