Best case scenario, how quickly can a house sale go through?

[TaliDiNozzo]

Prospective house has no chain and is standing empty at the moment due to repossession so is being sold by the bank. Is currently being advertised publicly due to rules around repossessed properties (didn't know this was a rule tbh but this is what my sister has been told).

Sister is a cash buyer and also has no chain. She is offering asking price.

In the best possible circumstances, how long is the quickest the property sale could go through so she could move into the property? She's desperate to be settled in time for Christmas but has previously had quite difficult house moves.

Any advice anyone could give on this would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Has she done the survey, searches etc? I would have thought if she's done all of that side of things then it's simply a question of how quickly both sides' lawyers take to exchange documentation - ?
Has her offer been accepted ?

Really quickly. She doesn't need a mortgage so no mortgage surgery. You can do hand searches to speed it up.

Is her cash readily available?

Survey!

if shes a cash buyer with no mortgage she doesn't actually have to do searches or surveys...that's a decision only she can make, many would advise against but we aren't having a survey other than the mortgage company valuation as we know the house well.
It really comes down to how quickly the bank can provide the draft contract

I was in a small chain and we managed 7 weeks. If the seller has all the paperwork ready and your sister has her finances sorted she might do it in a month. I think a repossession can be a little more complex as some information tends to be missing.

It's true it has to be advertised etc as a repossession. They are bound to get the highest possible price.

I was told 4-6 weeks was the quickest for a regular sale with searches but no chain. So this should be quicker.

Thank you for reply Jenny. :)

I'm not 100% on the details there. I think that's all in the process of being done now though.

The house is actually overpriced for the area (it's up for £360k, identical house in the street sold for £300k 14 months ago) but sister really wants to be on the street to be near us and other family and she is fortunate enough to be able to offer over the odds in cash so i doubt there will be any higher offers.

If the survey and searches were complete and the offer was accepted, how long would it take after that?

Sorry to pepper with questions, our house purchase took ages but this was held up by twatty behaviour from the previous owners and sister's previous moves have been similar!

Ooh more replies, thank you everyone.

Thanks for the comment on the repossession, it's not a situation I'm come across before so had no idea if this was actually true!

The cash is as available as it can be, obviously an amount that large would take a teeny bit of organising to literally have in hand but her DH had a very large inheritance of more than double the cost of the house.

You do need to get searches, personal searches are quicker than local authority ones but most solicitors don't like them. Some local authorities are quicker than others the EA or Solicitor will know. She really must get a survey, but use a local surveyor who's likely to be able to within a week as its not a busy time of year. I've had a few go through in four weeks, but it's rare.

My friend bought a repossession, it had to be completed in 21 days (by law?), they managed it.
They were no chain but did need to sort mortgage.

Okay this is all quite reassuring, thank you all.

She will go ahead with the purchase regardless of whether they can get in before Christmas, but they would love to be settled before the start of the new school term!

House is in a really condition on the surface, so all being well would be ready to be moved into.

If she is happy with her survey (which she can only realistically instruct earliest for the day after offer is accepted) then she should ask for exchange and completion on the same day. That'll save two weeks and can be done if no chain and she is absolutely certain it is vacant possession.

Ok, you need your wits about you with a repo.
The bank wants as much back as they can possibly get, the EA has to advertise the accepted offer and anyone can put in a higher bid right up until completion.
So if you agree/ be accepted for whatever price and you lose out to someone else, the EA then has to advertise at the new accepted offer, then if someone offers more, once again it is advertised. I can go on for ever depending on how popular the house and area are.
So the question is a sort of how long is a piece of string question.

I sold my dm's house and the estate agent said it was the fastest sale they had ever put through. It was on the market with another agent with no interest for five months, changed to current agent on the Friday and it was sold to cash buyer on the Tuesday. I received the paperwork on Wednesday and it specified the following Friday ie ten days for completion.

I rang the agent to say this must be wrong, but no, it was right. Buyer did not want a search or survey and I had to get my skates on and empty the house. We exchanged and completed on the same day which I did not want because of uncertainty but no issues. This may be better for your sister.

Repossession is different because they have to advertise your offer in the local press because they have a duty to ensure the best possible price for the property so it will be uncertain until exchange. You are dealing with the mortgagees in repossession rather than a person.

The only concern is the price as it does seem rather on the high side and I hope your sister is not getting carried away.

I sold my dm's house and the estate agent said it was the fastest sale they had ever put through. It was on the market with another agent with no interest for five months, changed to current agent on the Friday and it was sold to cash buyer on the Tuesday. I received the paperwork on Wednesday and it specified the following Friday ie ten days for completion.

I rang the agent to say this must be wrong, but no, it was right. Buyer did not want a search or survey and I had to get my skates on and empty the house. We exchanged and completed on the same day which I did not want because of uncertainty but no issues. This may be better for your sister.

Repossession is different because they have to advertise your offer in the local press because they have a duty to ensure the best possible price for the property so it will be uncertain until exchange. You are dealing with the mortgagees in repossession rather than a person.

The only concern is the price as it does seem rather on the high side and I hope your sister is not getting carried away.

Ah Gilly that's interesting, thank you. I understand the whole being advertised rule now!

The reason I think it's overpriced is not just because of the previous sales in the road but because the area itself does not have the greatest of reputations (totally unwarranted but there were historical problems etc). There are two cheaper houses being advertised in the wider general area, one in particular is in a more 'desirable' road and is semi-detached rather than terrace which is what my sister's chosen one is. This has been on the market since September.

Sorry if I've missed this answer, but how long will this house have to be advertised before by law? My sister may know this, not sure, but she hasn't mentioned.

From my local knowledge I can't see anyone topping my sister's offer (but obviously you never know).