DELAYING house buying process!!

[ButtonMoon]

About to buy a house but need extra time to collect finances.......How can I extend the 28 day period that it usually takes to exchange contracts? Any hints or tips?

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No set time period that it takes to exchange contracts, 28 days sounds quite fast. Solicitors are experts in delaying matters. Just say to your solicitor that you don't want to exchange yet, he can easily slow the process down. All he cannot do is lie on your behalf - if he gets asked a straight question then he will have to tell the truth. So if the seller asks _ "Is the finance in place ?" he will have to answer.

Be very pernicekty, ask lots of stupid questions about the property that you are buying and then when you get a response answer follow up questions.

Thanks for the advice...just to be thick...what sorts of questions could i ask ?(it's a 1930s property btw)

Have you had a survey? Is there anything in the survey or searches that looks like it warrants a second look? If there is, can you get a builder or someone in to look at it for you?

We bought a 30s terrace last year and from our initial viewing in April, it took til October to move in. When we bought our flat 18 months prior to this, it took us from November to the end of March. We used a different solicitor, but we had a combination of things go wrong - our buyers went on holiday for a week just as we were due to sign and exchange for one thing!

How much extra time do you think you'll need?

survey not been done yet..we are getting someone in soon....the vendor wants to get it sorted before the new year!!! our solicitors will not slow process down, already asked and got a icy response so we need to do slowing down indirectly ourseves!

A survey on a 30s house is bound to show 'something' that needs a second look. New Year is REALLY quick for it to all go through. Try not returning calls until the end of the day when it's not possible for them to do anything until the next morning - that way you effectively waste a day. I hope your vendors aren't on mumsnet too!

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Chances are that the process will take longer than 28 days anyway. Have you had your search back yet? Don't know if you could contact the search department at the council and ask them to prioritise other searches . They'll be dreadfully surprised as they usually get calls asking them to hurry up. Might not work if your sellers have provided you with a sellers' pack though.

Has your mortgage offer come through yet? If not, you may find that your lender is not terribly quick at instructing a surveyor to do a valuation survey.

If you are instructing someone to do a survey, ask them not to hurry it too much and tell your solicitor that the surveyor is pretty busy and can't get it done in the time-scale required.

Why on earth will your solicitors not slow the process down. You are paying them - they should bedoing whatever you want them to do, as long as it is legal. And saying before you exchange contracts that you don't want to rush is completely legal.

Oops - posted before I'd finished!
It is getting to be more of a buyers market now. If you tell your vedor that you really don't want to complete before New Year I doubt very much that they would want to put the house back on the market - they would be very unlikely to get another offer in, exchange and complete before then with anybody else.