How long is a piece of string?

horsewithnoname

I know this is probably one of those questions but how long does a sale take? No chain either way, buyers have a mortgage in place, price agreed, obviously xmas has put a slight delay on, but all being well 🤞 when should it all be done and dusted?
thanks

RelievedSheff

It will take as long as it takes.

Our first purchase which was no chain took 12 weeks but that is a long time ago now.

Out most recent purchase, again no chain, was 3.5 weeks but that was a part exchange of our previous property on a completed new build. A lot of the legal paperwork was already completed by the developers legal team which saved a lot of time.

MikeJXE

The best person to answer that question is your solicitor 

There are too many variables to your question for anyone here to answer 

Rodders53

192 mm.  May shorten to 185 if it shrinks in the rain.

MEM62

I accepted an offer on my property early December 2022.  Not chain.  We completed in May of 2023.

horsewithnoname

Ok, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea. My solicitor is off until 2 January so I’ll ask him after. 

Thanks 

Alderbank

horsewithnoname said:

Ok, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea. My solicitor is off until 2 January so I’ll ask him after. 

Thanks 

As you can see from the posts, everyone has an idea, usually based on their own experiences, but each sale is unique so not much help in forecasting your own transaction.

You don't say which country you are buying in. My current house took one month from viewing to moving in, and that is not unusual here in Scotland.

I don't want to worry you, but a surprisingly large number of sales do not complete at all. The number varies between one in four and one in two, but on average a third of all house sales simply do not proceed to completion.

Emily_Joy

In our case it was exactly 4 months, and could have been much sooner, but the seller solicitor from no-sale-no-fee conveyancing factory was ... very stubborn. We spent ages on emails along the lines: 
Our solicitor:  The document X you've sent contains 10 pages. You sent only the first 2. Please send the remaining 8.
Vendors' solicitor: If we don't exchange by the end of tomorrow, we will pull out!

FreeBear

Alderbank said:

horsewithnoname said:

Ok, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea. My solicitor is off until 2 January so I’ll ask him after. 

Thanks 

As you can see from the posts, everyone has an idea, usually based on their own experiences, but each sale is unique so not much help in forecasting your own transaction.

I recall one poster buying a property from an elderly individual. Sale was progressing nicely, then she went and died. Probate, along with family bickering dragged the process out - From memory, some 18 months (or was it two years)..

horsewithnoname

Alderbank said:

horsewithnoname said:

Ok, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea. My solicitor is off until 2 January so I’ll ask him after. 

Thanks 

As you can see from the posts, everyone has an idea, usually based on their own experiences, but each sale is unique so not much help in forecasting your own transaction.

You don't say which country you are buying in. My current house took one month from viewing to moving in, and that is not unusual here in Scotland.

I don't want to worry you, but a surprisingly large number of sales do not complete at all. The number varies between one in four and one in two, but on average a third of all house sales simply do not proceed to completion.

I know every case is different, I suppose I was just looking for an expected time frame. 

Very unlikely, though never say never, that it will fall through. It’s been 20 odd years since I last sold a house, seems not much has changed !

Tiglet2

horsewithnoname said:

Alderbank said:

horsewithnoname said:

Ok, I just wondered if anyone might have an idea. My solicitor is off until 2 January so I’ll ask him after. 

Thanks 

As you can see from the posts, everyone has an idea, usually based on their own experiences, but each sale is unique so not much help in forecasting your own transaction.

You don't say which country you are buying in. My current house took one month from viewing to moving in, and that is not unusual here in Scotland.

I don't want to worry you, but a surprisingly large number of sales do not complete at all. The number varies between one in four and one in two, but on average a third of all house sales simply do not proceed to completion.

I know every case is different, I suppose I was just looking for an expected time frame. 

Very unlikely, though never say never, that it will fall through. It’s been 20 odd years since I last sold a house, seems not much has changed !

If you ask a solicitor "for an expected time frame", they'll likely say around 12 weeks freehold and 16 weeks leasehold, but of course it is dependent on everyone responding to requests in a timely manner, providing paperwork or evidence quickly to the solicitor so the solicitor can proceed with the legal work.  Title issues, HTB agencies, ID or AML issues, lenders, any management companies, probate/repossession issues can delay work so the "average" timescale is just a suggestion, not set in stone.