To ask if 22 weeks and still waiting for completion is taking the Michael,?

[MysticalPombear]

Was due to complete 12th Sept, then 29th Sept, then 6th October, sellers solicitors have pushed it back again with no real reason apart from "need reasonable time fo complete documentation". The sellers solicitors so the middle of the chain have been the ones to push it back each time. Now with further push back, with no end date in sight.

I'm wondering if this is taking the Michael or not, my solicitors, mortgage advisor and the estate agent seems to think so. Sellers solicitors have told sellers this is perfectly normal (they are an online conveyancing solicitor).

When does it become taking the Michael and does anyone have any advice what I can do to get in my new flat?

I’d ask them to set a deadline to ensure we’re all on the same page and to demonstrate they are committed to the sale. Then see what date they’re thinking. No point ime you setting a deadline - you need to know what timescale they have in mind.

how much do you want the house? I’d keep an eye out and be ready to walk. I moved in 12 weeks and it was painful but by 22 I’d be losing my mind.

They set the 6th then moved the date. Its post break up so I moved out, into my brothers. It isn't ideal but isn't too bad either.

I love it but there are others similar.

The sellers supposedly want to move but their solicitors are basically saying that the rest of us are being unreasonable.

They have a house also, it is empty and the estate agent said they are ready to complete. I will request my solicitor to sugget to the sellers to set a date in October that suits them but if it goes over 26 weeks since offer I may have to pull out maybe.

I’ve got no tolerance as I’ve got older for this nonsense. Our sellers made out we were unreasonable for refusing to move on a Saturday because they’d just had a 3 week holiday in Dubai (delaying the whole move) and their employer wouldn’t let them have more time off…. None of the solicitors would work on a Saturday even for a premium so it wasn’t me being difficult, I was just the one who pointed out a weekend move wasn’t possible from a legal perspective.

What happened did you pull out or dud sale go through?how many weeks?

Have you exchanged already? And waiting to complete?

It did go through but they bitched about us to the street - only 19 houses! We’ve been here 8 years and get on with neighbours fine thankfully. It was 12 weeks, which doesn’t sound much but it was our buyers moving in from their parents’ homes, us and the sellers moving in with parents while their newbuild was built. It had zero reason to drag on and when we missed the move date by 2 weeks it pushed it into August and it’s hard to take leave short notice in August (nhs). I ended up taking a day leave, moving, then going back to work 😩 (with 3 dc). I hate moving and you’ve just reminded me to embrace my current home.

Good luck op!

If it ever goes through... I want be moving again haha! Yes embrace if happy, find joy in it 😊

I can sympathise. I had an offer accepted on February 12th. Sellers solicitors took from end of March to end of August to give reply to queries from. I'm finally exchanging contracts on 26 th September and completing on 29th. A pity the entire summer has now gone because it's a house overlooking the sea and I would have loved to go to the beach opposite to the house in the sunshine.

Wowzers can i ask what took so long and was it online conveyancing solicitors?

I may have to just accept I'm at my brothers for a few mote months.

Have you exchanged? I thought once you exchanged you got in all sorts of trouble if you didn't complete on the planned day.

Ive handed mine back... in August, the sellers has supposedly been lost when sent via recorded delivery. So unsure what that means. I'll have to ring and ask my solicitors but I signed saying I was legally bound to buy the property.

Assuming you are in England you should have a date for exchange and a date for completion, usually a couple of weeks after.

You exchange once all the searches have been done and questions answered and mortgage is arranged. And you've handed in the form you mention. As do the other side. Once you exchange you are legally obliged to buy the house, but completing on the agreed day. That's when the balance of the money gets paid and you get the keys.

But your solicitor should run through this with you and make clear what you are committing to and when.

What’s the average? I am planning a big move back north (from south east) next summer, and wondering when you start looking and putting offers in. I am thinking 4 months but maybe that is on the longer side of things? I can move from July so maybe Feb / March time?

Hope you get sorted soon!

No a local solicitor not online conveyancing. Im buying this house from council as they put it up to sell through tender. No idea why the council solicitors took so long to answer enquiries except every time my solicitor asked was told the people dealing with it on holiday. It was summer break but still.

Its a horrible process. I think I’d be giving a date for completion and saying you’re unwilling to wait beyond that date.

I sympathise. Although looking at some replies I don't think our situation is as bad. Our house is empty, on the market 25 June, offer accepted 1 July, buyers have no place to sell and our house is empty as we live overseas. However we are paying the mortgage on that and our place now!!

We "agreed" we would complete on 15 Sept which at the time seemed ages away. Ha! Their solicitors have taken so long to send enquiries that we are nowehere near exchange. I know for a fact the searches were in at the beginning of August too. Absolute joke.

We got to 28 weeks and the house we were buying were still procrastinating about the moving date.
She was still showing people round despite us being very close to completion, she wanted a higher offer.
In the end, I told the estate agent that if we didn't move on X date (the Friday before half term), then we would walk away. And we would have done.
Only a couple of weeks prior to this, the estate agent had rung and said someone else was interested in the property, again, to get us to improve our offer. I told them to crack on and let me know if anything changes the ongoing sale.
Needless to say, they never came back to me.
We bought off a bitter old woman who had massively over valued her property, when we had it surveyed, it came in £175k less than what she wanted for it, our agreed price had to change 🤷🏻‍♀️
She made it as difficult as she possibly could for us.
Apparently, she was known for being awkward to deal with, she didn't get on with the local farmer whose land surrounds ours or any of the neighbours. We were welcomed with open arms 🤣

I'd say to them that unless it happens on 6th Oct, you're pulling out of the sale. Get in touch with their estate agents too, not just solicitors.

Ours took about 6 months - long but not abnormally so according to our solicitors.

Even on the day our buyers didn't get us the cleared funds till gone 4 and our sellers hadn't moved all their stuff out by 6. Moving is so stressful, youn have my sympathy!

Completion date is almost always arranged at exchange of contracts. It doesn't sound as though exchange has happened so you won't get a completion date until it has. It'll probably be a couple of weeks after exchange.

As it's a flat, I'm assuming it is Leasehold. Flats tend to have a lot more paperwork and additional parties such as management companies to deal with, so can take a lot more time than a regular freehold house.

Online conveyancer can cause a delay too.

Lost paperwork - eek!

You signed your papers, but until they have been exchanged, you are still in the waiting game. Hopefully it will all work out soon, especially before mortgage offers expire.

You're not using Advantage Property Lawyers are you?

We used them a couple of years ago to sell my mum's empty house. Folk moving into hers sold to a first time buyer so should have been straightforward.

APL fucked just about everything up that it's possible to fuck up in conveyancing. Including losing documents i'd hand delivered to their office.

You have my sympathies op. Ask your solicitor for a hard deadline. If everything is done there is no reason for delay.