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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Selling house.....

17 replies

Haggischucker · 28/08/2013 12:55

Aibu to expect that our buyers should have their mortgage offer approved after 7 weeks (on Monday) of putting in their offer and that my estate agent should understand why I am getting more and more frustrated by this?! Aarrggghhhh! In Scotland this would have been a done deal and we'd probably have moved by now!

Rant over! :(

OP posts:
Jan49 · 28/08/2013 13:04

Has their mortgage company surveyed your house yet? That's the next step.

Last year I sold my house and the first (unsuccessful) attempt took 2 months just to go from offer accepted to survey done, and then they pulled out after the survey. But with the successful buyer, the sale was completed 10 weeks after we accepted their offer.

My estate agent seemed to think if things hadn't proceeded from offer accepted to sale completed in about 12 weeks and it's the buyers delaying in some way, then it's time to give up and put it back on the market. But I think he was a bit black and white about it and it should have gone back on the market earlier.

Hegsy · 28/08/2013 13:06

YANBU. I'd personally be looking at putting it back on the market. Thats a ridiculous legth of time for nothing to be happening.

MorphyBrown · 28/08/2013 13:09

Are they using HSBC and therefore Countrywide? They are notorious.

50shadesofmeh · 28/08/2013 13:11

That's a ridiculous length of my time and I'd be feeling agitated to the max, but they must be feeling the same , can your lawyer not chase them up and let them know you are dissatisfied

Lonecatwithkitten · 28/08/2013 13:13

I always am able to get offer in principal for mortgage, but then formal offer always takes around 8 weeks as I am self employed and all my accounts have to go the underwriter. The underwriter then without fail refuses mortgage usually as they are unable the line in the accounts that says drawings. I then have an hour long conversation with the underwriter and then mortgage gets approved.
So not necessarily because they are dragging there feet may just be their financial circumstances.

BackforGood · 28/08/2013 13:19

....and if you work for the same local authority as me, then it takes an AGE to get them to reply to the mortgage company.
Last 2 times I moved, we had the offer accepted in February and moved in July - not from lack of will on our part, but it's just the way of things IME.

OneInEight · 28/08/2013 13:34

We are fifteen weeks and waiting for our buyers to exchange - they have promised tomorrow but am not optimistic. They have given us flimsy excuse after flimsy excuse for delaying. Prior to this we have had two sets of buyers drop out each after twelve weeks. Stressed to say the least!

Binkybix · 28/08/2013 13:42

I've heard that there's a real backlog for valuations at the moment - in London at least.

fiorentina · 28/08/2013 13:51

We are trying to buy and there was a huge backlog in getting a survey. We chased daily and eventually got a 'cancellation' still 2 weeks later, I was getting so frustrated as I knew that like you, our vendors would be wondering what we were playing at.

Maybe ask for proof what stage they are at. Ours is approved in principle awaiting the survey so they should be able to prove some progress..

catinabox · 28/08/2013 13:54

I have found in the past that a flask of tea, some newspapers and a couple of free days will solve this kind of problem.

.....If you are dealing with countrywide.

Go and park in your estate agents or bank (whoever is acting as an agent for this bunch of chumps) And refuse to move until things start moving forward. If it gets a bit slow, tell every new customer that comes into the EA not to take on the conveyancing package with countrywide because they are incompetent.

Our sale and purrchase was on the brink of falling through then miraculously resolved in two days after i did this (along with finding some planning documents publically on the internet which countrywide were waiting for for 3 weeks)

If you can contact the person who is buying your property, it is 99% likely they are equally frustrated! Encourage them to do the same.

Poor you. definitely contact your buyer if you can. I know you are not supposed to but a united front can help!

BackforGood · 28/08/2013 14:46

I found it was our solicitors that had no sense of "needing to get on with it". I went and called on them personally when 2 days overdue with our PFB, trying to convince them of the urgency of getting things sorted Grin. I'd presumed we'd have been moved in a couple of months after everything had beeen agreed.

Original poster
Haggischucker · 28/08/2013 18:48

Thanks guys, glad to see I'm not alone or unjust in my frustration. I think the estate agent is getting really fed up with me calling to check progress but this is the third I've sold and looking to be the slowest by far. Think I just need to take a chill pill and wait! Thanks for replies x

OP posts:
Pickle131 · 28/08/2013 18:55

Or if it's The Abbey who use ESurv they are also a waste of space. They actually turned our mortgage down saying the house was unmortgageable on the basis of a wrong assumption about its structure. They refused an appeal too. Our IFA hurried things through with Newbury Building Society who were much more sensible. My point is that there may be things going on in the background. But I'd jolly well be chasing every day and updating you with news if I was your buyer.

Serialdrinker · 28/08/2013 19:02

Don't just call the EA- call your solicitor and find out if anything at all has been done, have they committed to the purchase financially in any way? local searches etc. 2-3 weeks is standard for a survey to be booked (I am an EA- Dont shoot) i'd be getting twitchy between 2-3 weeks and would call the buyer and tell them they have a week to book the survey (very often the delay is that the buyer hasnt paid for it yet) or the property is back on the market until such time as a survey is booked. 7 weeks is a piss take.

Original poster
Haggischucker · 28/08/2013 19:33

Our lawyer is waiting to hear from theirs still and no searches been instructed as yet. All our paperwork has been completed and returned, is a chain free sale as we're going into rented and they're first time buyers.

Am tempted to give one more week then back on market, we accepted this offer within a week so should be interest in it still. Will see what EA comes back with tomorrow, hopefully! :(

OP posts:
catinabox · 28/08/2013 19:38

Good luck OP.

Threatening to pull out might suddenly mean they get their skates on!

Pobblewhohasnotoes · 28/08/2013 19:58

We went with nationwide who were hopeless in organising surveys, or anything quickly. It took about five months between putting in an offer and moving, we had loads of delays.

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