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Time from memorandum of sale to completion?

18 replies

Pepperama · 31/10/2020 11:01

Just looking for experiences. We’ve had some issues in our chain and now had to have a new buyer stepping in so back to square one. Memorandum of sale has just been sent to new buyer’s solicitors. Estate agents don’t want to even give estimates on timescales yet and I know there’s all sorts of uncertainties. But if you’ve managed to get there, can you share your experiences please to give us an idea of fastest and slowest to expect?

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PointyMcguire · 31/10/2020 11:18

For the sale of our house we had the memo of sale on august 18th, exchanged october 13th and complete on november 13th.

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HelpMeh · 31/10/2020 11:20

We got our memo of sale on August 20. Havent exchanged Angry

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amiw · 31/10/2020 11:22

Longest 9 months. Shortest 2 days.

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FManc · 31/10/2020 11:22

We got our memo of sale in July and we still haven't exchanged.

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MaggieFS · 31/10/2020 11:22

How long is a piece of string Grin
I'm my experience, even with some delays on one move, I'd say two to three months, but it hugely depends on the complexities of the properties involved, length of chain and efficiency of solicitors.

Main things you can do to make it as quick as possible are be prepared with paperwork, fill it in immediately and keep a gentle pressure on your conveyancer. IMHO, they often work on the stuff of whoever is shouting the loudest.

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SushiGo · 31/10/2020 11:22

Our solicitor say 3 months, estate agents say 4.

I'm hoping for 3, but expecting 4.

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Ihopeyourcakeisshit · 31/10/2020 11:27

We had an offer on our house on September 2nd, can't remember the exact date of mos, but we had completed by October 23rd!

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ethelredonagoodday · 31/10/2020 11:29

We received ours 27th August. Still nowhere near exchanging... 🤦🏻‍♀️😫

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PointyMcguire · 31/10/2020 11:31

Oh wow @Ihopeyourcakeisshit that’s pretty speedy!

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RunningThrough · 31/10/2020 12:42

Memo 6th Aug, still not exchanged.

Our purchase has fallen through...

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Mildura · 31/10/2020 13:11

At the start of the process it is incredibly difficult to make an accurate prediction for how long an individual transaction might take, which is why your estate agents rightly don’t want to give an estimate. There are a huge number of variables, any one of which has the potential to cause a delay to the process.

On average a transaction takes about 12-14 weeks from offer acceptance to completion.

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Shadowboy · 31/10/2020 13:24

We had memorandum of sale on the 18th August. 5 in chain. No idea when exchange will happen 😭

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Puffthemagicdragongoestobed · 31/10/2020 21:56

Took just under four months in our case, with Christmas in between.

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Pepperama · 31/10/2020 23:08

Oh boy. This sale is dragging on and on. Had a first complete chain back in July, then someone had mortgage issues, buyers’ house back in market, chain fixed but I’m so fed up with it now! We were supposed to move over the school holidays, now sounds like we’re lucky if it’s this year. Rats

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Baxdream · 01/11/2020 07:52

Our chain completed end of July. On the verge of exchange but that's only due to a break in the chain!

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wowfudge · 01/11/2020 07:57

Shortest 6 weeks - no chain and we were selling, longest 14 weeks in a chain of four and our sellers mucked us about because they didn't want to move at Easter, but didn't just say so. Bear in mind that conveyancing is very busy at the moment.

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pilates · 01/11/2020 08:03

A difficult one to call but don’t despair. Having a new buyer means your solicitors can issue a contract pack very quickly as they have it all prepared from the first time around.

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Pepperama · 03/11/2020 18:50

Pilates, that gives me hope. Now worrying about progress with searches and mortgage offers during another lockdown. This is just so difficult!

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