Home Buyers Support Thread Part 3

[juneybean]

Part 2 here -> www.mumsnet.com/Talk/property/a1905904-Buyers-support-thread-part-2?msgid=48420379#48420379

Hope it's okay that I made the next thread :)

Good god MrsFlorrick. WTH?! I just don't know how some people sleep at night.
Seems the reason the forms hadn't arrived from the solicitor is because he hadn't actually SENT them. Arse. So he emailed them (which originally he claimed wasn't possible grrrr!) and we've posted them back. Also, the result of the final searches are with him but he can do nothing until a more senior person has looked at it. That's at the end of the week. Or maybe next week. Jeez!!! He's been told to pull his finger out. I'm just gobsmacked - wtf do these people DO all day?? God only knows when we'll exchange at this rate, of course everyone else in the chain is waiting for our useless solicitor. I'm slightly miffed (note the understatement!)

offer has been accepted. DH has informed me that an exchange date of 12th Dec has been muttered . Really hope it all works out this time. Like you Mrs F I prefer the new house, so here's hoping its all smooth from now on!

Dotty! That sounds like your solicitors put it to the bottom of the pile and forgot! Honestly. Doesn't inspire confidence, does it.

I don't know how they all sleep at night.
I don't mind being outbid but to chuck £6k of fees on the bonfire is way beyond irritating.

Why set your asking price at less than you actually want

Mary well done on offer accepted. It's a start.

No exchange today

Took most of the day for the bottom of the chain to get the deposit sorted and then his flipping solicitor was out of the office until 5pm! When he got back he called our solicitor for exchange and she had to tell him that all the other solicitors in the chain had gone home!

Apparently everyone and everything is set for exchange tomorrow (all 5 links) and they will be kicking of the exchange process first thing. Moving date is still next Monday but we must exchange tomorrow or it will not be enough time to get mortgage funds in place.

So fed up now - I've lost count of how many 'exchange days' we have had over the past 10 months!

MrsFlorrick - can't believe how badly you have been treated. Appalling behaviour! What goes around comes around..... We had to,pull out of the first house we were buying and I was gutted at the time but I now prefer the house we are buying instead. Hope your dream house finds you soon

dotty - drives me mad that so many solicitors use post rather than email! If only they had emailed the forms in the beginning!! Hope everything gets back on track for you really soon x

Marymoocow - congratulations! 12th December will come around very quickly. Sending you lots of smooth transaction vibes!

Gemma. You can do it!!! It's all set and good to go! Positive vibes for you.
Wishing you smooth transfers of funds for tomorrow. And obv solicitors who got out of bed and could be arsed.

Yes. Still a bit annoyed really. It's not so much the vendors as their shark agent. He was a real slimy shit. He just wants a bigger commission in time for Xmas hence squeezing someone £100k above purchase price.
It sounds a lot and it is although it's technically only 6% more.
Still 6% I wasn't prepared to stump up and who knows he could do it again next week. Untrustworthy so and so.

Not heard back on offer. We are in a competitive bidding situation.
Not trusting this estate agent either.

He won't email me to confirm he has forwarded the offer to the vendor and only phones me despite me emailing him.
I'm wasting my time, aren't i? He has got someone lined up he wants to put in front of the line.
And I upped our offer above asking this afternoon too
We should be dream buyers. Not in any chain, effectively a cash buy with tiny 30% mortgage which is obv already good to go, solicitors on stand by etc etc and willing to conform to ANY time scale the vendors want.
Ffs. Doesn't anyone want my money?? Is it not good enough?

Sorry feeling ranty. Stressed out with DC this evening and DH is going away on business for 2 weeks which doesn't help the buying situation at all.

Do you all think my troubles stem from me making the offers and handling everything rather than DH? Obv they have seen DHs emails confirming what I'm saying etc?
Could it be that a housewife like me isn't taken seriously??

Must stop ranting at you all and go to bed. Need to watch something soothing on iPad.

Hope you've exchanged this morning Gemma.
I really hope it's not because you're a housewife MrsF - I'm in the same position and have been dealing with our house sale/purchase. Although the estate agent we're buying through is female, maybe that makes a difference.
I'm getting a bit worried we're going to be ready to exchange too soon! Better get on with getting school places sorted, just in case.

Hey All. Just beginning the fraught journey that is house moving. We had an estate agent coming round to value our house yesterday, another coming today.

Yesterday's EA suggests we put our house on the market and then just... wait for something we like to become available: we're being quite specific about the location / kind of house we want, but currently there's nothing that fits the bill.

EA thinks we'll sell easily, so is he right in saying we'd be a more attractive buyer having our own buyer set up? Or is he just being a teensy bit pushy? Or should we wait to find the house that we want before putting ours on the market (given his prediction that ours will sell easily)? Any point in putting the house in the market this side of Christmas? Any advice appreciated.

Sorry, not sure that this is the right place to post... just needed a bit of hand holding and guidance. Thx.

Cherries. The EA is saying that because he wants something in the shop window and the old "you'll sell easily" and "serious buyers are always there" is bull.

Not many folk looking this side of Xmas unless they have just missed out or they are after a bargain.

If you're not in a rush then wait till Monday 5th of January to put it on.

He is correct that having your buyer in place means you're more likely to have an offer accepted.

We are in London and you wouldn't have an offer accepted unless you were ready to go forward immediately. No patience around here

Given how much of a pain it all is, it's a miracle anyone actually ever moved house!

Glace: we put ours on the market before finding anything specific (but having had a general look and decided on areas etc). Offer came in very quickly on ours so we then had to find a house to buy v quickly (we looked at 17 houses in one week whilst working ft and managing a toddler. I take a bow).
Do all your homework beforehand, decide on streets and budget, walk around the areas to be sure you like them etc. Be prepared to decide quickly.

Then wait 12 weeks while everything crawls along at snails pace.

Million. Yes to snails pace . What's that all about??

Last time we moved it was super fast because everyone in the chain of 4 were up for it.

We put our house on the market on the Thursday, we had 6 offers on the Saturday (whilst we viewed the house we are now in). Under offer on both sale and purchase on Monday afternoon.
And from there it was 5 weeks to completion. So all done in under 6 weeks.

It is possible. But everybody has to be up for it and you have to allow all the estate agents in the chain and all the solicitors in the chain to speak to each other. And then all buyers and sellers in chain have to chase their solicitors daily via email, copying everyone in.
That way you can do a chain of 4 with mortgages in 5 weeks.

Sadly mostly it's a snails pace and utterly boring.

Cherries, all EAs will tell you your house will sell quickly. We were expecting a quick sale on ours, and are still waiting 4 months later!

We've just switched EAs and have a viewing this weekend, so there are still people out there looking.

When we moved here we had a chain of 4 and did it in 6 weeks - helped that all had used the same EA.
It's very usual at the moment though to get a sale first before looking around. If you're very specific about area and there's nothing there right now, you'd have to consider what you'd do if you got a sale and nothing turned up - would you rent while you waited in order to keep a buyer?
It's such a precarious process, it's amazing it ever goes to plan!

So thrilled to be finally able to say WE'VE EXCHANGED!!!!!!!!

Can't believe that the last 10 months of stress, two broken chains and hving to pull out of the first house we were buying are finally over Never dreamed it would be this stressful. We sold our house in less than 12 hours for full asking price and found our new house two days later... little did we know then what lied ahead. BUT suddenly all that stress, worry and upset has gone . To everyone still striving for exchange, it really does happen in the end

We complete next Monday! Best get packing!!

OMG Gemma! Not buying or selling but just ultra interested in this thread and have been waiting with baited breath for you to exchange, and you have at last. So ridiculously thrilled for you, here you need , I feel like I do, Congratulations!

Yay!! So pleased for you Gemma77. Two weeks after you've moved in, you'll have forgotten how stressful it is....!

Congrats Gemma! The relief, eh?

Our 2nd EA has valued £25K lower than the first - was the first just ENTHUSIASTIC I wonder

We'll have to get our finances in order now that we have a rough idea of what our house might go for. Will prob wait till after Christmas before we go to market, don't want to keep potential buyers waiting for months if we can't find something for ourselves in the meantime.

Thanks everyone!

Gemma. Congrats. Phew.

Cherries. Perhaps get a third agent to value your house? Or pick a figure in between the two?

I've just heard and we got the house I am so thrilled. This agent knows the back story of the other house and has promised no other viewing etc while we go ahead. Owner is downsizing and very committed to selling to us as we can meet their time scales as we are chain free and em ready to go.

Solicitors are instructed, survey instructed. What could possibly go wrong....... Famous last words.

I do hope it goes to plan. I love this house. Guess I will just have to twiddle my thumbs nervously until exchange....

Great news Gemma and MrsF!

Great news Gemma and best of luck MrsF.

Ours is moving at snails pace as the buyer at the bottom of the chain has freeholder/lease extension issues. Our buyer and seller though have progressed it as quick as they can. We're all sitting here waiting to exchange...

Wow Gemma! AT LAST!!! Congrats
Well done MrsF!

Thanks so much ladies xxx

Had a busy afternoon - removal company booked, printed change of address letters, sorted post redirection with the post office... but an awful lot of packing to do!!

Hope this is a lucky week and lots more good news and exchanges to come before the weekend

well done Gemma, and congratulations Mrs f :-) discovered today that DH meant they want to complete on 12th not exchange! Is that even possible?

Congrats Gemma! Hope all your preparation goes smoothly.

We are hoping to exchange on Friday; fingers crossed...

Gemma congratulations . It's been such a journey for you to get here, I hope moving day goes well for you.