How long after draft contract to completion.

Iansellers

Hello All,

Currently selling my leasehold property. No chain for either party and its a cash buyer.

My question is how long after my solicitor has sent out the draft contract to the buyers solicitor is it to be expected before I complete?

Thanks to all for any help.

lika_86

How long is a piece of string? Usually a draft contract is sent out with the initial documents.

Jonboy_1984

For us our solicitor advised 16 weeks end to end was the fastest to reasonably expect for a leasehold property.
Most of the delays seemed to be on getting the management pack and freeholder/management agent answers to enquires rather than anything under the control of the buyer or seller.

Iansellers

Jonboy_1984 said:

For us our solicitor advised 16 weeks end to end was the fastest to reasonably expect for a leasehold property.
Most of the delays seemed to be on getting the management pack and freeholder/management agent answers to enquires rather than anything under the control of the buyer or seller.

Thanks for the info, appreciate it, I'm past the management pack stage with the draft contract sent out just over a week ago. It took 1 week to receive the management pack which i thought was reasonably quick. I'm just wondering how long left really, assuming it all goes to plan.

Flugelhorn

from offer to completion the last couple of leaseholds I bought were:

12 weeks with Xmas in the middle
7 weeks

bought another one 20 years ago and that was 4 weeks but reckon things might have changed 

Iansellers

Flugelhorn said:

from offer to completion the last couple of leaseholds I bought were:

12 weeks with Xmas in the middle
7 weeks

bought another one 20 years ago and that was 4 weeks but reckon things might have changed 

Okay thanks, I was told 6-8 weeks by estate agents and Google says as much so you mentioning 7 weeks ties in with those timings. I understand that every case is different so there's no "norm" 

I've already been 3 weeks and draft contract went out 2 weeks after I accepted an offer, so I'm hoping for another 4-6 weeks from this point. Was just interested in people's past experiences.

UnderOffer

Have your buyers solicitor raised enquiries/queries and sent those to your solicitor? Answering those questions can often take several weeks. 

Tiglet2

Iansellers said:

Hello All,

Currently selling my leasehold property. No chain for either party and its a cash buyer.

My question is how long after my solicitor has sent out the draft contract to the buyers solicitor is it to be expected before I complete?

Thanks to all for any help.

A lot will depend on how many enquiries the buyer's solicitor raises and how complex those enquiries are.  Leasehold takes longer than freehold as there will be additional enquiries raised based on the management pack.

Iansellers said:

Flugelhorn said:

from offer to completion the last couple of leaseholds I bought were:

12 weeks with Xmas in the middle
7 weeks

bought another one 20 years ago and that was 4 weeks but reckon things might have changed 

Okay thanks, I was told 6-8 weeks by estate agents and Google says as much so you mentioning 7 weeks ties in with those timings. I understand that every case is different so there's no "norm" 

I've already been 3 weeks and draft contract went out 2 weeks after I accepted an offer, so I'm hoping for another 4-6 weeks from this point. Was just interested in people's past experiences.

Take the 6-8 weeks estimate by the Estate Agent with a pinch of salt.  They will have no idea whether your sale is going to be straight-forward or not.  Leasehold is quite complex and managing agents tend to take time to answer any queries that are not already supplied in their management pack.

The last few years have seen leasehold sales taking much longer than 6-8 weeks, so I'd be very wary of this timeline.

steve866

Once an offer is accepted and solicitors accepted I'd expect 12 weeks minimum for a leasehold transaction. You might get to the 8 weeks suggested with a cash buy and quick turnaround on the management info. 

penners324

Sold a leasehold flat a year ago. No chain. Took 5 and half months, end to end

Iansellers

penners324 said:

Sold a leasehold flat a year ago. No chain. Took 5 and half months, end to end

Oh dear, was that a cash buyer?