At what point are moving dates agreed?

[Honey1975]

Out solicitor says we'll be ready to exchange & complete by end of August. If it doesnt happen by then it won't be until mid October as our buyers can't do September.

There are 3 people above us in the chain & 1 below. Trying to get any kind of information about their progress or
timescales seems to be difficult. We've spoken to 2 agents who've told us different things.

Who is meant to co-ordinate the agreed date for exchange & completion?

Should I start packing things gradually now or not?

It is agreed before exchange. Your solicitor, who you pay, takes your preferences and tries to sort it with the others.

Do not go for simultaneous exchange and complete - maximum stress, high risk, no benefit. You could exchange and leave the move until October for certainty.

Doesn't hurt to get decluttering and packing, get removal quotes etc!

You can get the EA to do the leg work ringing round and sounding out where the others are up to.

It's a complete nightmare and people lie constantly. We're in a chain of 3 - us and 2 others and still can't get anything firmed up.

Motherofdragons, that's exactly how it seems! The estate agents have told us so many things that have turned out to be untrue I just can't believe a word they say now!
I wish I could just ring up each person in the chain and speak to them direct, would be a hell of a lot quicker and I'd be getting the facts.

Should we be asking the solicitor then to try and agree a date rather than the dreadful EA's? Why do people have to lie so much, we all want the same outcome so wouldn't it be better to tell the truth and get on with it.

We're not expecting to exchange and complete on the same day but in the same month would be nice! Is it usual then not to know when you will be exchanging until right before it happens or should we be aiming for a date to be set now to work towards? Sorry, just a bit confused and stressed by the whole palava!

If you can't get information about exchange dates then you should assume that your transaction is not anywhere near ready for sensible dates to be discussed and therefore no point in speculating.

Once you are in a chain and everyone has instructed solicitors, it is out of the hands of the EA, so while they can phone up and down the chain, they do not have access to your conveyancing file (or anyone else's) so their information is only what they have been told by phoning around.

It doesn't matter how long or short your chain is, if the property has issues with title, searches, restrictive covenants then it will take longer to resolve.

If you are in contact with your seller and buyer, then you may already have an idea when you'd like to complete in agreement with them, however your solicitor will not be able to exchange if there are outstanding matters to resolve and if this means a delay, then your preferred dates will be dismissed. Your solicitor will tell you when you're nearly ready and at that point will discuss dates with you.