Would anyone like an 'in a chain' support group?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Would anyone like an 'in a chain' support thread? We're selling and buying and it's so stressful!! We've found our 'dream house' and had an offer accepted, had an offer on ours within a week which was subsequently retracted. Wondered if anyone else was finding this whole process ridiculously stressful?

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Well I'm really hoping this week will be the week we get our offer, I am so done with tidying for viewings! We have 3 interested couples who all plan to let us know after the bh weekend if they want a 2nd viewing and return with their parents and/ or builders, plus a new viewer on Thursday too. 6 years ago today we viewed this house for the first time and loved it so perhaps it's fate!
How's everyone else? Anyone moving this week???

[HuckleberryGin]

We are moving in weds. I am so done with packing. Most stuff is done, but it still feels like there is stuff everywhere that has no real place.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Hurray huckleberry are you all packed up?
We have a 2nd viewing booked for tomorrow, someone who viewed last week. She wants to see the loft, we have hideous spray foam insulation up there which will probably put them off- although as dh points out he's so calm and rational and annoying it didn't put us off so if she loves the house she might still be interested. My loft is exceptionally tidy thanks to Pinterest and kondo, so hopefully she'll be wowed by my orderly boxes of baby clothes all labelled and categorised and not look at the spray foam! Fingers crossed!

[YelloDraw]

Argh my useless conveyancer has her out of office on AGAIN for the whole week. Her assistant isn't answering emails of phone.

I just want to know who is dealing with my purchase! Should be able to exchange soon if the conveyer actually ever did anything except sit on letters for nine days before responding! And.... Breathe.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

How frustrating! The more I hear of solicitors the more I'm amazed how little support they are when they get paid so much!

[YelloDraw]

thenewaveragebear1983 most conveyancing isn't done by solicitors any more - its been commoditized and is done by licensed conveyances and their assistants. And the internet has forced firms to compete on price... so you get a shit service. Doubt they are getting paid much, but they should at least provide a professional service.

I't has been slow throughout - my fault for picking one of the cheaper ones on an online comparison tool. Will write reviews when this is finished.

[Spickle]

No, I don't get paid much (am Conveyancing Assistant) and yes, we have to compete on price. We do provide a professional service but we have so many clients at any one time that contact with our clients is limited to when there is something to report to them. We don't have the time or resources to be providing call-backs and updates for every client every day/week. While that might seem unprofessional, it can seriously slow things down for other clients if we are constantly being chased for updates when there is nothing to update. Cheap online conveyancing means you will get a basic service with no frills and you share your conveyancer with approximately 200 other clients.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

We have always used a solicitor for conveyancing, our current one has quoted us 2000 pounds for our sale and purchase. The last one, who we paid similarly, allowed a guarantee for work to be accepted and they didn't identify the company was in liquidation. Said solicitor is now also in liquidation I wonder why and thankfully the mistake hasn't cost us yet but could massively affect our current sale. Needless to say I'm a bit miffed with them! Present company excepted of course

[Mummyme87]

Good luck for completion today huckleberry. We complete tomorrow. In packing hell. There is stuff everywhere and I feel like we have a lot to do... A 2yr old isn't helping matters

[YelloDraw]

Spickle, I'm not casing for an 'update', I only contact them when I need to! I am not receiving even the barest minimum of a professional service. This isn't a 'I hate conveyances,' I have just been unlucky with the the person assigned to my case who clearly has too much work and has been taking approximately every other day off work and leaves at 3.30, plus this is the second week long holiday with no cover provided except her assistant who is barely in the office herself.

e.g. "Do you need x from me or is y that I have provided suitable? No response. A month later... "You need to provide x". ARGH I asked you a month ago if you needed that!

e.g. Vendor's solicitors send responses to some questions on 1 August. I finally get to see these on 17 August. Response to the vendor's solicitors asking for more clarification is sent on 23 August. Not an appropriate turn around time.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Woooohoooo! We've had an offer! Not quite enough but dh is negotiating so hopefully we'll be accepting soon

[YelloDraw]

Good news thenewaveragebear1983

[thenewaveragebear1983]

All I can think of is how nice it will be to be able to be messy again!!

[HuckleberryGin]

We're in! It was actually quite a smooth completion day considering what the build up has been like. We completed before 12. Only hiccup was removals- was supposed to be two vans with four people. One Van got caught up and in the end we only had one Van that did a few trips. We were out of our house by 2.15pm (contract said 2pm)

But otherwise all good. Beds are up and half kitchen unpacked.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Brilliant news, well done!

[YelloDraw]

Woo hoo :-) enjoy the first night in your new home

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Hurrah! We've accepted an offer today and it's all systems go, they are in rented so we are 2nd in a chain of 4. Everything crossed for a speedy sale!

[YelloDraw]

thenewaveragebear1983

Fingers crossed!

[HuckleberryGin]

Yay! Hope it all goes smoothly!

[ThymeForTea]

We've recently moved a And don't give a shit to say - hate conveyance.

We had so many things wrong ending in them giving us too much money back we had to pay at 4pm completion day before we could have keys, I nearly fainted with stress.

Basic service doesn't even cover it.

I'm in customer service and if you take on too many you can't make people happy when they are spending their life's money upfront then don't take them on.

Or go work somewhere else.

[Spickle]

Thyme sorry you had a bad experience with your conveyancing.

Sadly, due to pressure to compete on price, many conveyancing firms now operate on a quantity rather than quality basis, as my company does. I totally agree that having less clients would vastly improve communication and service. However, it is our sales department who gets the business in with the lure of cheap prices and discounts for repeat business and then the new files are distributed to the fee earners. I do not have any say over how many new files my team get each week - suffice it to say that we get in far more new files than we can realistically deal with. The company however don't care how pressurised we are, only that the business is coming in thick and fast, which it is. This is how they make their money, my health and well-being doesn't come into it.

The reason I haven't gone and got another job? I absolutely love it and I love the people that I work with, we are a great team together. I just wish clients would remember that I am a human being and I don't deserve to be disrespected or to be sworn at while I am trying to work on their behalf.

For all those people moving house who want to be hand-held throughout the process - do not use a cheap conveyancing firm. Pay more money, i.e. £1200+ for a purchase and get the personalised service you will not get at a conveyancing bucket shop.

[CalebHadToSplit]

Can I join in, please?

We are now in our 3rd chain in a year, so hoping that this is going to be the one.

Cash buyers for our house, us, our vendors, empty property, so fairly short chain.

Really hope to be in by Christmas, but not sure how realistic this is. At least because of previous chains we have sorted / found all our paperwork / certificates etc. which was a big stress last time as we had to get electricians, plumbers and others in.

Well done to those who have completed- that gives me hope that it is possible.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Hi Caleb, welcome!
Fingers crossed this time! I feel like our chain is fragile but I think that's just my nerves after last time. The people buying ours are in rented (they rent their own home back off the person who bought it from them?) and then our vendor is moving into a now empty property. I'm hoping that as both ends of the chain are in rented things might move relatively quickly. We have all the paperwork from when we bough tis house all ready to go, everyone's funding is proven as the EA insists on it before offers are accepted. We are really hoping to being by Xmas -its about 14 weeks isn't it, so not at all unrealistic. We are really trying not to get too excited but it's hard!

[CalebHadToSplit]

Thanks bear. Your chain sounds promising too. Let's hope we are both in by Christmas!!

[thenewaveragebear1983]

Any developments ? We are current!y trying to liase with the valuers to get the house we are buying valued for our mortgage, but the EA won't do this without a written agreement from Barclays to say how much they will lend, which they won't give until they have valued..... Going round in circles??!!