Not sure whether to continue

Huskymumma

We put an offer on a house on 13th Feb. We are cash buyers. When we made the offer we were told the vendor had put an offer on a property, and that the seller of said property "had somewhere to go" so we could aim for a quick completion.

Our conveyancing solicitior has steamed ahead and been brilliant, we are in a position to talk completion dates. When we asked her to bring this up with the sellers solicitor and to confirm position above in the chain they replied and said they were only at the contract pack stage and very earlier in the process.

So I am wondering what the hell is going on because in my mind contract packs should have been done 8 weeks ago, searches, legal report and TR1 should be done.

Our solicitor has also had difficulty with our vendor not giving a straight answer to enquiries and there was a deed missing too, from a second conveyance in the 2000's.

Added to that we got a full structural and there is a fair bit needs doing, the house still valued up to just over what we are paying, but electrics, plumbing and some corrective work for damp on groind floor and a "hsrd to access space in dorma roof causing cold ingress and condensation in a bedroom" plus needing rerendering and ventilation adding to sofits. Two gutters have been fibre glassed over on an extension and garage. Its all adding up.

I am feeling really fed up, I have been to arrange my fathers funeral today and uwas the last thing I needed as well.

I am seriously thinking of pulling out but, then we are back to square one.

Please can someone tell me if I am expecting too much from the conveyancing at this stage - we were told by our solicitors initially we would be in a very strong position to complete around end of April.

Flugelhorn

if it was all really chain free then yes you could exchange fairly quickly and be in by the end of April - but this isn't chain free - there are 3 properties - people often say "they have somewhere to go" but actually they haven't / don't really want to go there / want to delay until something else works out 

david29dpo

Welcome to the world of buying and selling in England (?)
Could be MANY reasons why thing are slow, 

Tiglet2

Huskymumma said:

We put an offer on a house on 13th Feb. We are cash buyers. When we made the offer we were told the vendor had put an offer on a property, and that the seller of said property "had somewhere to go" so we could aim for a quick completion.

Our conveyancing solicitior has steamed ahead and been brilliant, we are in a position to talk completion dates. When we asked her to bring this up with the sellers solicitor and to confirm position above in the chain they replied and said they were only at the contract pack stage and very earlier in the process.

So I am wondering what the hell is going on because in my mind contract packs should have been done 8 weeks ago, searches, legal report and TR1 should be done.

Our solicitor has also had difficulty with our vendor not giving a straight answer to enquiries and there was a deed missing too, from a second conveyance in the 2000's.

Added to that we got a full structural and there is a fair bit needs doing, the house still valued up to just over what we are paying, but electrics, plumbing and some corrective work for damp on groind floor and a "hsrd to access space in dorma roof causing cold ingress and condensation in a bedroom" plus needing rerendering and ventilation adding to sofits. Two gutters have been fibre glassed over on an extension and garage. Its all adding up.

I am feeling really fed up, I have been to arrange my fathers funeral today and uwas the last thing I needed as well.

I am seriously thinking of pulling out but, then we are back to square one.

Please can someone tell me if I am expecting too much from the conveyancing at this stage - we were told by our solicitors initially we would be in a very strong position to complete around end of April.

Don't forget, you were the first party to offer and start the process off.  So, your part of the transaction started before the other parties were linked to the transaction.

Your solicitor will naturally be ahead of your vendor's (and their vendor's) conveyancing.  Your solicitor has now done most of his work for your purchase, but in order to exchange and set a completion date, the vendor and their vendor also need to have done most of the conveyancing work.  

If some enquiries and a missing form are still outstanding, then you are not ready to exchange and set a completion date.

There could be numerous reasons why the other parties haven't reached the same stage as you - survey not satisfactory, mortgage not yet approved, contracts not yet agreed, outstanding certificates/warranties required, further enquiries relating to the searches not yet answered, etc.

Unfortunately, this is normal.

Sorry for your loss.

pretamang

all sounds absolutely normal. every time I've moved it's been twice as much hassle and taken twice as long it should have.

If you do really want that house, then keep cool and work through it all, it'll be worth it in the end.

If you're not sure and have other options, best to cut away now and move on, it'll be worth it in the end.

all houses need maintenance, and the surveys often seem more scary than the reality. presumably the seller is living there with these problems, doesn't sound like anything too major

Albermarle

There could be numerous reasons why the other parties haven't reached the same stage as you - survey not satisfactory, mortgage not yet approved, contracts not yet agreed, outstanding certificates/warranties required, further enquiries relating to the searches not yet answered, etc.

Or could be the vendors are a bit flaky, telling lies about their situation etc .
Although some delays are normal, the fact that they are only at the contract pack stage after 8 weeks is suspicious.

 people often say "they have somewhere to go" but actually they haven't / don't really want to go there / want to delay until something else works out 

This is quite possible.

OP - One alternative is to try and force the issue. Tell them if contracts have not been exchanged by a certain date, the deal is off. It might get them moving.

Huskymumma

Thanks everyone, I should have clarified I am an ex mortgage broker so I have some memory of tricky conveyancing. Now I have settled down a bit (I was already upset about just losing my Dad) I will clarify a few points.

1. We are cash buyers
2. We offered on 13/02/25 on the basis we wanted a quick completion
3. The seller accepted the same day, at 5k less than the asking price as it's all they could afford
4. The seller had already seen a property and expressed an interest in it, and offered on it the next day
5. The people they are buying for "had somewhere to go" so gave assurances at that time (via her EA to us) that they would not hold up completion.
6. I accept a mortgage survey could have held things up 
   

HOWEVER

I get the feeling we are not being told the truth. I am not a naturally suspicious person but I do trust my instincts.  I don't want to pull out because I have spent a grand on a full structural, which came back a bit meh, but I am willing to put the work in as its "a lot of house for the money" according to the surveyor. and its perfect for our needs as a family needing a bungalow and a space for me and the Mr to work.

So far the EA has tried to blame the top of the chain saying their estate agents haven't been  chasing, no suprise there then today we found out the legal firm our sellers were using and the reviews are scathing.

God only knows whats happening but we are being kept in the dark and I needed a big fat rant before I satified my frustration smashing something up.

MysteryMe

I am sorry for your loss.
People's circumstances can and do change unfortunately and what may have been true two months ago is no longer the case. It's annoying but that's life. Patience and considered thinking should never be in short supply during property conveyancing.  You can only influence matters within your direct control, nothing else. That's why people find it so stressful for much of the time, you are relying on a bunch of complete strangers.  If you think you are being messed around to an unacceptable level, you can walk away, but what you have posted seems to be the usual issues that come up regularly on this board. Just think of the end goal, if you have found the property that really works for you then it will be worth waiting for.

pinkshoes

Sorry for your loss. It's a stressful time.

I would be phoning daily and asking for information. I'd want someone to clarify where the end of the chain is going and check that they're now not buying something too.

Keep pushing for an exchange/completion date.

It has only been a couple of months though so nothing unusual.