Offer accepted on our dream house, what next

[parentallyinept]

We have had an offer accepted on our dream house today. We are very lucky to be cash buyers, as my husband is receiving a decent inheritance, and we are chain-free as our current house doesn't have to be sold to buy the new one. This is all very new to me, so what happens next? I've appointed a conveyancer online, and contacted a local surveyor to get a survey done. The estate agent is asking for 'proof of funds', which we don't currently have, as the money is coming from MIL once she has sold the shares from my late FIL's estate (can be done pretty much instantly, but given the sums involved, she wanted to keep them earning interest as long as possible). I presume a share certificate or bank statement at this stage would be sufficient, or will we need something else? We have told the EA that we are in no great hurry to move, to give the current owner time to find something else (she's massively downsizing apparently)

Any/all advice gratefully received.

Telling the estate agent you are in no hurry may have then thinking you are just messing

Best bet would be to get the shares sold cash in the bank and just let them see that

Get on with everything else and if solicitors are happy then get contracts exchanged

You can set completion for as soon or long after exchange as is convenient for both parties as by exchanging contracts you are legally obliged to buy and them to sell

Estate agents will despite you having an offer accepted keep showing prospective buyers around unless they have seen proof of funds to know you can afford it

We bought out current house in 3 weeks from first viewing to exchanging contracts including sorting mortgage, surveys etc all very quickly as it had been on the market and removed when someone made an offer that then pulled out

We made an offer and were in a contract race at one point with another buyer as we wanted it

Once contracts were exchanged we had a month before completion so the seller could finish getting packed and out and they let us have the keys early so we could get a couple of rooms decorated and made habitable ready for completion

We never showed proof of funds as we didn't have it and were relying on being able to borrow so much, but once it came on the market again it sped through so quickly that I think even the estate agents were surprised.

Thanks for the responses. We said about not rushing on the basis that we weren't pushing the vendor out immediately as she has recently lost her husband, hence her reason for sale, rather than us being time wasters - I'd far rather be in as soon as possible

Now the offer has been accepted, the shares are in the process of being sold, but if the EA need 'instant' proof, then we can show them the share certificates

Useful to know that we don't have to exchange and complete on the same day too - I shall be pushing our conveyancer for a swift exchange in that case, then we can set a mutually-agreeable moving date to give her a bit of time

Yes most solicitors usually exchange and complete on the same day as it is probably easier when there is a chain involved but there is no need to do so

Main thing to remember is you will need insurance in place from exchange of contracts so you are covered as you are still legally obliged to buy it even if something happens in the meantime

We had 3 weeks from offer to exchange and then 5 weeks before completion to get things done on both sides

Thank you cheerup - lots of useful information.

We were cash buyers and had to show proof of funds, we showed our Solicitor not the EA (non of his business seeing what we actually had verses what we had offered). The EA asked and we told him that the solicitor had seen the proof of funds.

Agree with some of the above - give proof of funding to your solicitor and the estate agent should be happy with an Email from your solicitor confirming that the funds are there. Most transactions complete about a week or two after exchange of contracts as it is difficult to book removals without a firm completion date and that can often only be set when everyone is ready to exchange. I would recommend getting to exchange of contracts as soon as you can because searches and surveys often come up with things that need to be checked out - particularly if it is an old property. Good luck.

Hi, thanks for all your sage advice. A bit of an update - our solicitor said he didn't need to see proof of funds, and the EA seems happy enough with a copy of my late FIL's probate certificate. We've got a property survey booked for next week (I know as cash buyers that this isn't a legal requirement, but it's a lot of money not to get checked for peace of mind), so fingers crossed all goes smoothly....

exchange and complete on the same day is not standard, it makes life very difficult. You can't confirm removers, post redirect and a dozen other etcs until you have exchange!

so yes, survey (if it subsides in the future you'll be stuffed on insurance if you don't), start the searches (which can be the delay) and push for exchange ASAP. Then you know where you are and it effectively turns your vendor into a cash buyer too. Bear in mind you have x-mas approaching which brings everything to a halt for 3 weeks from mid-Dec.

how long a gap to completion - 3 months would be very kind, or set less if she is prepared to go into a rental.

and yes, you must insure from exchange.