Need help with enquiries on sale

GoogleMeNow

Legally, you don't have to provide a heating service report.  However, it is a big purchase for the buyer and quibbling over the cost of a service (i.e. do you pay for it or do they?) is not worth losing the sale over.

NornIronRose

I wouldn't risk the sale over it. I have already checked and can get it done for £70. So if they insist I will do it. Saying that, as I was told there wasn't one on my purchase, I already made plans to get it checked at my own expense.

My buyers have seen the boiler working so up to them. I will do it if need be. 

I have put in my response to the queries that it was done but just can't find the paperwork. TBH, I would be more reassured by a warm house and working boiler than a service report from 10 months ago, but maybe that's just me. 

Tiglet2

NornIronRose said:

I wouldn't risk the sale over it. I have already checked and can get it done for £70. So if they insist I will do it. Saying that, as I was told there wasn't one on my purchase, I already made plans to get it checked at my own expense.

My buyers have seen the boiler working so up to them. I will do it if need be. 

I have put in my response to the queries that it was done but just can't find the paperwork. TBH, I would be more reassured by a warm house and working boiler than a service report from 10 months ago, but maybe that's just me. 

Your buyers probably are happy that the property feels warm and the boiler is proved to be working.  It tends to be a standard enquiry between solicitors that gets batted back and forth until a sensible compromise can be agreed.  If your buyers are happy with your response to the query, they need to let their solicitor know that they are happy with the response and want to proceed with the transaction.

NornIronRose

I got an email back from my solicitor after she received my responses. Has now just asked for my marriage cert and for me to come in to sign ready for exchange. 
Tbh I am 99% sure that these enquiries were raised weeks ago. The buyers have now been round and I think most of the things that were being questioned were things I answered on that visit. 

I got the deeds from the solicitor who said that I had to answer the question about the restrictive covenants. That was really easy. The only one was that no business could be conducted from the property except doctor, dentist or surgery! 

Again thank you so much MSEers. 

NornIronRose

UPDATE: I've finished off sorting out the enquiries and have been in to sign contracts and TR1 forms, as has ex-H. Just waiting for exchange now as I think all the last wee bits are now done. 

NornIronRose

So peed off and nervous now. 
Was expecting a call yesterday to say we were going to exchange. 
Instead got a very irate call from the EA to say that he was in touch with my solicitor and there are still enquiries outstanding on both my sale and purchase. 
I was in there last week, answered every enquiry (which they had apparently been sitting on since the beginning of September!!) and was fully prepared for exchange. 
Buyer at the bottom of the chain only has their mortgage offer til today apparently so I'm not sure if this means that the chain will collapse. 

My friend knows the owner of the solicitors' so I have asked him to contact the owner today and get him to contact me as this is just feeling ridiculous now. 
Sorry, just needed a rant and you guys on here have broad shoulders and usually have some sound advice.  

housebuyer143

NornIronRose said:

So peed off and nervous now. 
Was expecting a call yesterday to say we were going to exchange. 
Instead got a very irate call from the EA to say that he was in touch with my solicitor and there are still enquiries outstanding on both my sale and purchase. 
I was in there last week, answered every enquiry (which they had apparently been sitting on since the beginning of September!!) and was fully prepared for exchange. 
Buyer at the bottom of the chain only has their mortgage offer til today apparently so I'm not sure if this means that the chain will collapse. 

My friend knows the owner of the solicitors' so I have asked him to contact the owner today and get him to contact me as this is just feeling ridiculous now. 
Sorry, just needed a rant and you guys on here have broad shoulders and usually have some sound advice.  

Your solicitor probably sent the replies over to the other side shortly after you went in and answered about the covenant. It's not much time at all for the other side to review it and then confirm they are happy. 
Makes no sense that the bottom of the chain only has their offer until today as you wouldn't exchange for a future date without a valid offer.
Exchange dates change all the time but you should be working to a completion date. 
Hopefully it all works out soon.

Devongardener

You have my sympathies!  Something very similar happened to us 3 weeks ago and it ended very badly.
Our vendors solicitor had done nothing with our solicitor’s queries for 5 weeks.  The vendor’s EA got involved to try to move everything on, even driving them to the solicitor’s office to get it done.

We thought we were nearly there and everyone in the chain had agreed on the exchange date with completion 3 weeks after that.  Literally as our solicitor was processing the exchange, our vendor decided he didn’t want to move!    We were absolutely devastated,  a lot of packing done, moving company booked.   The first time buyers at the start of the chain had a deadline of the completion date for their mortgage offer so there was no time for us to find another property to buy.      So we had to try to get over the huge disappointment and unpack everything to get our home back together,  then 4 days later our vendor contacted the EA to say he realised he’d made a mistake and wanted to sell after all!   We were considering what to do, when our buyer pulled out anyway.   

This the fourth time in 18 months that our sale chain has collapsed for different reasons,  we struggling to believe that we’ll ever get it done!

I hope you have better luck and get it over the line!🤞

Tiglet2

NornIronRose said:

So peed off and nervous now. 
Was expecting a call yesterday to say we were going to exchange. 
Instead got a very irate call from the EA to say that he was in touch with my solicitor and there are still enquiries outstanding on both my sale and purchase. 
I was in there last week, answered every enquiry (which they had apparently been sitting on since the beginning of September!!) and was fully prepared for exchange. 
Buyer at the bottom of the chain only has their mortgage offer til today apparently so I'm not sure if this means that the chain will collapse. 

My friend knows the owner of the solicitors' so I have asked him to contact the owner today and get him to contact me as this is just feeling ridiculous now. 
Sorry, just needed a rant and you guys on here have broad shoulders and usually have some sound advice.  

You've answered all the queries asked of you.  However, there may be outstanding queries asked of other third parties, such as the Council, your lender, the Land Registry, any management company (if any), any LISA/HTB Equity loan/ISA parties to liaise with.

It may be that all the sale enquiries have been dealt with, but what about queries on your purchase.  As you had to, your vendors also need to answer enquiries satisfactorily, plus there may also be third parties to respond too.  

You can't exchange until everything on the sale and on the purchase are completed.  Is there any chain above or below you, which also needs to be ready?

housebuyer143

Out of interest, who told you exchange was aiming for that day? The solicitor or the estate agent?

I find agents can be a menace because they set unrealistic expectations getting people to work to an exchange date that has no chance of being met and then everyone is upset when it doesn't happen.
I would be surprised if your solicitor told you they were trying to exchange when they knew everything wasn't ready.