In a Chain Support Thread Nov2017

[YogaDrone]

Congrats to those who have exchanged and are moving soon.

Fingers crossed to those hoping to exchange soon.

Come vent your property chain based frustrations and joys here.

Previous thread is HERE

Oh no Yoga I hope she's okay. She's a Labrador isn't she? I remember you telling me before. Do you get to take her home later on today, or is she in for a few days? I really hope she's okay (and your insurance company are such buggers doing that to you).

Hope you get the missing listed building consents soon as well.

Thanks all- I thought it seemed off. Hadn't even thought of cash buyers not needing searches/surveys (our building is 2 years old) but perhaps they've chosen to have them in this instance... our EA have been lovely but have been bricking it since the last lost sale. They're keen to get their commission and I feel are telling us anything they think we want to hear- argh. I've already said it's okay for buyers to come over on Saturday and don't want to back out now. It's going to be really awkward and strange having them over but I suppose it'll be the perfect opportunity to grill them 101 about where they're at and what their situation really is. Really hoping they're not time wasters... is it the done thing for me to ring their solicitors for a progress report? Or is that weirdo territory?

Hint- what a horrendous situation. Lots of hugs and FX for you.

Congrats to all those who've exchanged/completed and exited this foreverland of anxiety and despair.

Yoga- hoping the dog makes a quick recovery. Insurance companies are notorious bleeps.

Thanks for asking chaps - so its been a rather large rollercoaster of a week so far and its not over yet.

we told the boys on monday evening which was met with inevitable tears but relatively they are ok and even possibly looking forward to the new house.

After having no options for our Y1 chap on monday we now, it appears, have two to choose from without needing to appeal. not at the same school as our Y4 but still he has a place and we'll work around the logistics etc of everything else.

Vendors continue to be total dicks. nothing new there

i'm looking forward to not having to deal with them any more. still not excited about the house but hope once we get in and everything has settled down it will feel like home and we can start to enjoy life again. it feels like its been a long long time since we were relaxed, chilled and happy. nearly 3 and a half years.... oh dear

Congratulations on finally getting in Pick sounds like your male vendor was a nightmare! Happy reading of the stash of old docs, I love that kind of stuff. I hope it feels a bit cleaner and a bit more like home every day! Hope you begin to feel better too, house buying/selling is generally very bad for your health.

Lazy I'm a big fan of Forton services, I used to live up that way! Sadly we're not going quite that far north (Liverpool). On the whole, the services improve the further north you go I think.

So sorry to hear about your dog Yoga I hope the op is successful and she's okay - can you pick her up today?

That must be a relief Raa even though it's not ideal. When do you move, is it this week? You're really very almost there, hang in there!

So....drumroll.... we have exchanged on our purchase, for completion tomorrow! The packers came this morning and took about 90% of our stuff away, and tomorrow we all head north. I am absolutely knackered, I haven't slept properly in weeks...I'm hoping the house still looks the way I imagined it in my head, so that it all feels worthwhile at the end.

Fantastic news Frescoed All the best for tomorrow Please let us know how it goes!

Thanks for your kind words and good wishes for our dog. I know she's "only" a dog, but we all love her dearly.

Thanks KitKat, yes she's a Labrador and a soppy old thing to boot

The vet has called and said the op. was a success and she's now in recovery and having a cuddle with one of the nurses. Such a relief. She has to stay in overnight as she's on a morphine drip but will be home tomorrow

Oh Raaraa I know it's not quite the news you wanted but it must be a relief to have school places for both of your boys Hopefully the end of your rollercoaster saga is in sight!

A few hurdles still to get over then MrsJW but sounds positive for a move in January!

Well you'll be able to look them in the eye on Saturday Cats and see if they are all that they seem. Don't let them turn your house into a shop though - just tell them you'll be completing the fixtures and fittings in due course and leave it at that. Good luck!

I'm feeling more desperate and stressed by the hour. Been waiting for exchange since Friday - solicitor promises it every day but never calls me back... If we don't exchange by Friday, we won't be going before Christmas. I am NEVER doing this again!!

That's brilliant news Fresco you must be so relieved!

Big hugs for your dog Yoga. What reason have the insurers given as to why they'll only pay £750? Is it a condition which has a lower limit on it?

FX and good luck to everyone else. Hope all is going OK. No news from us - at the moment we're waiting to find out when the valuation survey has been booked for.

Fingers crossed for exchange today Mollieben. What happened about the £1000 oven?

Apparently Lazy in the smaller than smallest typeface known to man in the insurance policy is an even smaller asterix which, providing you have a microscope, points you to the tiny print which says that retrievers (and a few other dog types) are only covered to £750 for cruciate ligament issues as it's quite common for these types of dog and heaven forbid you might actually want to use the policy. I wouldn't mind so much if it wasn't the most expensive and (I thought) thorough policy I could find. Grrr.

The good news is that she is coming home this afternoon The bad news is that the vet rang this morning to say that as they turn the morphine drip down she is getting more stressed about being at the vets. She has always been horribly phobic of the vet's surgery and I'm concerned that she is going to be in a terrible state of anxiety when we go to get her

Hope everything goes well for you today Frescoed

That's a shame - unfortunately CL is common in certain breeds and it's consequently a common limitation. They should have made the limit clearer though. My younger dog loathes the vet with a passion - but normally getting her home and on the sofa with her favourite blanket helps perk her up. Hopefully your boy will be the same.

Thanks Lazy. Yes, I've certainly had a lesson in reading the fine print! Going to get her and bring her home soon It's strange how some pets have such an aversion to the vets. She has been this way since being micro-chipped as a puppy. "Her" sofa is primed with her blanket and her squeaky toy!

This has at least taken my mind off our lack of chain progress. Vendor's solcs (or vendor we're not sure which) have asked the council for the missing consents and now we seem to have stagnated. I wonder how long would be reasonable to wait before asking for indemnity (we're happy to pay for this)? I'd like to complete on 21st - we probably have another week to allow this to happen without having to organise extraordinary mortgage drawdowns.

Any progress with your mortgage valuation survey Lazy?

Thanks yoga - we are almost there...its looking like completion next Friday. I guess they are taking the oven, we have heard nothing since we declined their 'kind' offer Anyone else moving so close to Christmas?

So the EA rang today and said that our cash buyers have decided that they do in fact need a mortgage. It's a fairly small one, so I guess no concerns about them actually getting it, but now that means we need a survey etc. A bit annoying, although the EA seemed to think it wouldn't slow progress at all. Also, our home buyer survey flagged up marks from a previous leak in the kitchen of the new house. But the vendor say there's never been a leak and it's standard wear and tear. I am not sure where we go now, but I think we need to talk to the surveyor.

Raa that sounds good on the schools! Annoying that they are not the same but definitely better than being without a school place.

Frescoed I think you must have completed by now - congratulations!

Yoga the surveyor is waiting to hear back from the vendor as to when they can go round. Am going to ring and chase again tomorrow.

Sorry, was absent for a few weeks. We are going to exchange tomorrow, and complete 20th December. We will need to organise Building Insurance before completion, who do you go with?

That's great news Zoe - I didn't know you could exchange on a Saturday though?

Re: buildings insurance, I always make sure I go with a 5 star defaqto rated provider (which indicates the quality of cover). I usually go with a big 'name' like Aviva or Direct Line. I want a firm that's big enough to have good infrastructure in place for paying claims, and which has good customer service and complaints procedures if something goes wrong! I take the attitude that if I've just had a burglary or half my house has fallen down, then that's not the time to find out that a tiny tin-pot insurer that was £50 cheaper has really shitty claims service

So far you,Zoe and Stormy due to complete soon, Mollieben. Frecoed completed yesterday - hope everything went well for you Frescoed!

I'm still hopeful that we can complete before Christmas (fingers eternally crossed).

Hopefully the vendor will agree a date with the surveyor soon Lazy. Are they still resident or is a matter of getting keys from the agent to let the surveyor in? I'd guess they want to compete as quickly as possible too.

Good news Zoe I agree with Lazy about the insurance providers. You will probably find that your current provider will have a system in place so that they will cover you on both properties from exchange to completion and then drop to just the new property post-completion. If you want to remain with the same company of course.

We have the EPC person coming to do a new certificate this afternoon. Ours ran out at the end of Nov (typical)!

How is your dog doing Yoga? Any chance of exchange next week?

Exciting times Zoemelb! I second getting decent buildings cover. Your house is probably the most expensive thing you will ever own, so it may as well be insured properly.

Hope you get the valuation soon Lazy.

As for us, vendor's EA phoned yesterday to say vendor has put an offer in on a bungalow, and is just waiting to hear if it has been accepted. It would be great if it was as apparently it's a vacant property (I believe it's a probate sale) so the chain would be pretty short then and just consist of our buyers - > us - > vendor - > family selling probate house. Fingers crossed the vendor gets an answer either today or tomorrow! I'm almost as anxious about hearing how the vendor's offer goes as I was about my own offer! Lol!

Hi All

Not been on for a while, things are ramping up at work so that's a welcomed distraction.

Yoga, so sorry to hear about your dog, how is she doing? How annoying on the EPC.

Zoe what brilliant news!! I thought you had to have buildings insurance from when you exchange? Maybe I have my wires crossed . Im with the others on getting a "big name" insurer, the premiums will most likely be a bit higher but it does make a difference if you ever need to claim. Hope all goes according to plan for you tomorrow xxx

Lazy I hope you get your valuation sorted soon, I hate unnecessary delays - we have had quite a few ourselves.

MrsJ At least its all positive movement on your sale, even if a mortgage app will now take a bit longer than you expected. Hope its nothing serious with regards to the leak fx.

Raa what good news on the school issue, you can always try to get them in at the same on again next year. My inlaws have had the same issue after a move and finally got it resolved and the kids are happy as ever.

Congrats to those who have now exchanged/completed. Its great to see it happening somewhere - gives the rest of us hope.

I got myself into a bit of a state this week, looking for party outfits for the season which of course are all in storage! looking at all the lovely Xmas trees on fb and of course we were supposed to host the family this year (wishful thinking back in march when all this started) and cant, cause our current rental is about the size of a shoebox! We finally heard from our broker yesterday - only to get us to sign a declaration for the lender which we are both sure we have already signed! The transfer of the mortgage to the new purchase is just taking forever. OH is working away, I miss my family in SA and its all just a bit poo!!! Had a little cry but feel better today. Still hoping to exchange before xmas but its not looking good.

Hope you are all doing better than I am lol Sorry just needed to vent!!!

Good news KitKat that would be a nice short chain for you. Probate sales can sometimes a bit of a PITA but still better than a lengthy chain. Fingers crossed your vendor's offer is accepted soon!

Our exchange isn't going to happen today. I'll chase with the conveyancer on Monday I think. My chances of a pre-Xmas completion are getting smaller by the day, but it's not the end of the world if we can't move in 2017

Our dog is doing well, thank you both for asking. DP slept on a mattress downstairs in case she needed anything in the night but she slept quite well - probably wiped out from the stress and drugs! She can bear a little weight on the leg now and is certainly happy to be home

Oh Honey living out of boxes and in rental can't be fun and you are allowed to be down and have a cry when you need to . This moving process is stressful and difficult. Are you still having family over at Christmas or have you changed plans? Having all your party clothes in storage MUST be a brilliant excuse to treat yourself to a new outfit at least

Fingers crossed for pre-Christmas exchange for you

MrsJW how long have your vendors lived in the property? Any chance the leak could have been from before they moved in?

If your buyers need a small mortgage this shouldn't take too long hopefully, if they can get their valuation survey sorted quickly that is.

Leak is a bit mysterious. They've had it redecorated since moving in, so can't be from before. But it's been rented so could be more recent. However, although there's staining, it's dry, so doesn't seem to be a current issue. Not 100% sure what we do at the point. FIL reckons we should get a roofer to take a look and see if there's an issue, my dad says that as it's felt covered with tiles, no one will be able to see anything.

Any progress on the mortgage valuation Lazy?

Fingers crossed for your vendor KitKat, that would be a good chain!

Good to hear that the dog is doing well Yoga.

we exchanged donkeys ago but we aren't moving in until 22 dec. should be a fun few days frantically unpacking before christmas day...! We get the keys next week though and also went around today for our vendor to tell us how things worked. he seems happy as larry and seemed to think that we were getting on really well - clearly he didn't think his attitude would have caused any problems with us

he did say that he had fallen out with his vendor though! no sh!t - i feel really sorry for them!

but walking around i'm finally feeling excited about moving there. I think it will be good and i think we'll be happy there.

schools are 90% sorted - just need to see one on Monday to make a final decision and then its organising the little one to visit it. Took the bigger chap to see his new school yesterday and walking around I just felt really confident it was the right choice for him. He really liked it and is looking forward to going i think.

Is it just me who still gets a rightmove alert about a 'property i might be interested in' and then think.... 'oh i prefer that one, I shouldn't have rushed into this....'...................

haha Jober I used to do this all all the time! Until I found the current house (house number 3) we are trying to buy. I think I just love it too much.

Yoga we are off to the inlaws for Xmas now, I'm sure it will be lovely. Just a little annoyed we're still in limbo.

My OH has just got a call from our broker, the mortgage has finally been approved!!!! Just need to wait for the hard copy now and then the sale can finally progress!!

Same for us Yoga - so close to exchanging today but didn't quite happen everything is done, all money is ready to go but no one can get hold of the top of the chain to confirm completion next Friday... Should be Monday now but I have been saying that it should be tomorrow all week. We will get there in the end. Good luck to everyone - the end must be in sight!