So please can someone explain to me the steps involved in house sale/purchase?

[jobergamot]

So I have an offer on my house and had an offer accepted on another I want to purchase. My buyers are FTB and the house I'm purchasing has no upward chain.

I have done mortgage application and have to have survey done through them. I've appointed solicitors.

Can someone please explain the steps involved and at what point a date for a move gets discussed?

I've googled obviously, but still don't really understand.... My dad died 5 years ago... usually he'd explain all this sort of stuff to me!!!

Over the next few weeks a few things will happen: there will be a survey on both properties, solicitors will do 'searches', you'll both finalise your mortgage applications, you'll be asked to look over lots of paperwork and say what you're leaving/taking in the house. There could be issues with any of these things which you'll need to try and work through. But hopefully it will be smooth and once that is well underway you'll discuss dates for exchange (when you promise to buy the house) and completion (when you actually hand over the money and get your keys). If you have a particular date you need to work towards, say this now.

Everyone 'completes' at the same time so you need to be out of your current house at the same time as you get the keys for your new one. You can't move slowly over a few days.

Many thanks.... so what takes so long? Is it the 'searches' process? Would it be realistic at this stage to try to agree a 1st week in Jan move?

My local authority are only taking 7 days for searches atm. I agreed to buy a house last week, no chain on either side, I expect to get the keys in early Jan if everything goes smoothly.

Having had three aborted purchases this year I know how things can go wrong though!

I think that might be a little early, especially with xmas etc. I’d say exchange maybe then. You need to get the searches done and also formalise your mortgage.

As there are only 3 of you in this chain, then I dont think its unreasonable to try and agree a date. Solicitors dont like doing this as things seem to take longer these days (mortgage process, indemnities for this or that, missing receipts for work etc), but with 3 of you theres much less chance. 6-8 weeks is a reasonable timeframe but with Christmas realistically you're looking at late January.

it's way too early to discuss dates... all sorts of crap and hold-ups can happen... see the 'in a chain' thread

Also, you have Xmas in the way and bank hols etc which will hold things up something chronic. Unless by some miracle you're all really motivated and straightforward with fantastic solicitors and EA's who answers queries fast and deal with everything on the ball.

Yours might be great but you're at the mercy of a lot of other factors and other peoples choices of solicitors etc.

Sorry for the doom and gloom! Just trying to prepare you that it might not be completely straightforward and fast, and that agreeing dates now is fine in theory but it's likely to change and could fall apart until you're all exchanged.

We sold and had our offer accepted in May... our chain has fallen apart three times (twice at the top on bad survey results and then our buyer pulled out) and we are just breaking the chain and going into rented to protect our sale (we got our buyer back by exchanging that week and going into rented)

Our vendors are going into rented too to keep us. So thankfully it's (in theory) chain free now. But I still don't expect to be moved and in there till mid-Jan, as I have a feeling our vendors will drag their heels over finding a rental!

Yes searches take a while then they may flag issues which a solicitor needs to look at. You'll also be applying for a mortgage which will need 101 different bits of paper which they might ask for one by one. The survey will need to be done and looked at by you and the mortgage company. The solicitors will need to draw up a contact. And that's if it all goes smoothly. I managed to exchange in 6 weeks and complete in 7 in a similar chain. But that was chasing everyone every day. With Christmas you need to allow for 2 weeks extra.