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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU (Nosey) to ask how long your house purchases took?

95 replies

Manth0914 · 13/02/2020 23:16

First time buyers, just had an offer accepted on an empty, probate property (probate has been granted) mortgage advisor has said she will begin our application now she has all our paperwork. Obviously all the survey/legal bits need doing but what are your experience of time scales from this point to moving in? Also, anyone else a tiny bit terrified about paying so much money back 😣 excited and nervous in equal measures.

OP posts:
assilem92 · 14/02/2020 07:03

4 months, seller took his time with paperwork

geojojo · 14/02/2020 07:09

We have just been through this. It took about 12 weeks from selling to moving. We had a very small chain (bought by first time buyers and bought from an elderly woman moving to family's home) so was relatively quick but was over Christmas so lost a couple of weeks then. We were all keen to move quickly. We wanted to move before schools application deadline or else our son wouldn't have got a place locally!

ChasingRainbows19 · 14/02/2020 07:10

12 weeks, should of been quick no chain and the owners were keen to go quickly. Despite Easter in the way the mortgage was approved and sorted quickly it was the bloody solicitors dragging. If I hadn't been contacting them and pushing we would still be waiting.... and after all the waiting nothing major came up in their enquiries.

It's a stressful time but totally worth it in the end. Just prepare for stress!

Yeah I have online banking app and see our mortgage every time I'm on thereConfused. But then again it's only 50% as we had large deposit. However because I see it is so frequently it's motivated overpayments!

mizu · 14/02/2020 07:14

2 years ago. No chain. 3 months.

Tfoot75 · 14/02/2020 07:15

12 weeks both times no chain. Seems normal, no delays anyway just takes a lot of time for things to happen!

Brown76 · 14/02/2020 07:23

12 weeks with a chain causing most of the delay

Sooperkat · 14/02/2020 07:27

Our offer was accepted on the 23rd May last year, we moved on the 4th Dec. There was no chain above and first time buyers below. This is our third house purchase and it took by far the longest!

takeyourrubbishhome · 14/02/2020 07:31

Offer put in mid-April last year, offer accepted Easter Saturday on our house. Supposedly cash buyer for us, supposedly no chain deceased estate as new house. Vendors sprang a chain on us and we ended up in a chain of 8. We moved in the first week of September, so 5 months. Our cash buyers also tried to tie in a separate sale at the last minute but I refused (good thing too as that property took another 6 weeks to complete!). The chain was a big factor in the delay but so was some ineptitude from the bank, and while a deceased estate means its empty and in theory ready to go, there were issues with lost paperwork and non-answers to questions. It can be quick, sometimes it’s slow for good reasons. Similarly, some friends of ours put an offer in sept/Oct time and are moving this month, so at the 4/5 month mark

LiveatCityHall · 14/02/2020 08:00

9 months. It was a nightmare and had a very short chain. Our offer was accepted in october 2018 but the sellers didn't actually look for a house to move to until January 2019 and didn't even put an offer in on their new house until march! It got down to the wire a couple of times and we nearly pulled out but we finally got the keys in July last year. I'm never moving again!

madcatladyforever · 14/02/2020 08:06

I've just moved. No chain, my seller buying a probate like you. I had been in rented for a few months. It took less than a month. We both rushed it all through as we were in a hurry to move.

DrDreReturns · 14/02/2020 08:10

The first time (when we were first time buyers) it took about three months.
The next time when we moved to a bigger house was quicker for some reason, we did it in two months.

loobyloo1234 · 14/02/2020 08:14

I offered on my house in September - it went through finally in February. Did take a while due to further up the chain. Ended up having to move out of my house as had first time buyers who wanted a quick sale - and moved in with my sister for 2 months. Was quite a lot of pushing from my side to get into my house and i may have threatened to pull out if they didnt hurry up

QueenOfCatan · 14/02/2020 08:15

Last time we put an offer in early March and were in by the end of May (first time buyers). This time around the offer was in the week before last and I won't be happy if we're not in by the end of March! We're the middle of the chain with ftb buying ours and somebody moving in with family above us so I'm hopeful. We'll see though Hmm

coginamachine · 14/02/2020 08:19

6.5 months! Offered mid June last year and completed end December. No chain, tenants were out within a month, nobody could explain the hold up or what was taking so long!

Spudlet · 14/02/2020 08:23

We put our offer in in January, and moved in in May. It should have been relatively straightforward as we were first-time buyers and the seller was moving in with his partner, so no chain - plus she was pregnant and due in June, so you’d think he’d have been motivated to crack on! But he and his solicitors were sloooooow.

I was also pregnant by the time we moved in, and my hormones were making me cranky. His solicitors have no idea how close they were to having an angry, nauseous, pregnant lady camping out in their reception area until they sorted his paperwork out ShockGrin

YappityYapYap · 14/02/2020 08:30

Between accepted offer and getting the keys, 6 weeks

francienolan · 14/02/2020 08:32

We have just completed on our first house! Offer was accepted 11 November and we got the keys 5 February. Everything stopped for a couple weeks at Christmas. The survey threw up a couple of things we had to investigate but the biggest delay was that the vendor's solicitor took almost 2 months to send ours a draft contract. (And the docs has been signed by the vendor well before, so it seems like it was their solicitor being slow.) Searches also took a few weeks to come back. There was no chain and both sides were motivated but it still took that long.

LionelRitchieStoleMyNotebook · 14/02/2020 08:37

Ten months, the house our seller was buying fell through

mojitosfordays · 14/02/2020 08:48

7 weeks

bluebell94 · 14/02/2020 08:58

7 months - first time buyer, empty house, no chain.
It was a nightmare! Our solicitor found an issue with the freehold of the house which apparently the owner's solicitor should have picked up on when they bought the house years before?!
Thankful it was sorted and our eagle eyed solicitor was great but my god the whole land registry thing went on for agessss and I don't want to move again!

woodencoffeetable · 14/02/2020 08:58

chain free in england 8 weeks

could have done it 2 weeks quicker, but solicitor was on holiday for 2 weeks in between.

Original poster
Manth0914 · 14/02/2020 09:00

Ooh this is interesting, most people in a situation similar to ours have gone through relatively quickly. I was expecting (hoping) 2-3 months so that seems reasonable. Bit more time to save too. We lived in a very cheap rental for a number of years before this point so when I saw £900pm repayments it was a bit scary however houses to rent in the same area for the schools we are in are £850+ so best get those hours in 😂😣

OP posts:
GallusAlice79 · 14/02/2020 09:02

3 weeks...we had to do it quickly or the sale would fall through. Used a mortgage broker who knew the bank most likely to turn around quickly.

That was a new build though so different.

MRex · 14/02/2020 09:04

First: bought in exactly 8 weeks from first viewing; few days for offers so 7.5 weeks from offer being accepted. Sold in 9 weeks from accepting the offer. Second bought in 11 weeks (I broke the chain because I didn't trust my buyers not to dick about if given half a chance).

AlmaMartyr · 14/02/2020 09:07

Offer accepted 9th Oct, got the keys 7th January. We were buying an empty property. The biggest delay was the buyers of our house - they were FTB and had a really slow solicitor.