Someone just tell me what happened...

[Feelings]

Back story is DH works away, only back for two weeks, first time buyer, we rang solicitor yesterday asked if there's anything that needs signing or doing before leaving, solicitor says yes come sign some bits.

So off we trot, arrive to find she wants DH to sign all exchange papers ready so it doesn't need to be done at a later stage (DH can only get so much time off) he signs them. She then asks for completion date, we say we'd like to exchange end of April complete in May, she says no basically...
She gives some vague reason as to why that's a bad idea and says ideally exchange sooner rather than later. We tell her we haven't got the 10% ready she says no problem exchange on 5% and then pay the remainder on completion.

We had no idea we could even do this. I ask her a few questions about asking sellers solicitors about asbestos (recommended by a Mumsneter) she sarcastically says "well I won't know about that will I" at this point I'm starting to find her very pushy and rude..

Anyway she then says send money over today she will email seller solicitors and tell them the completion date we've given (8th May) and for exchange to basically happen today.

We left feeling sick... She gave us all details to make transfer.. we realised we haven't even received the mortgage valuation survey yet, just chased that up and it appears Barclays don't like to give out copies of the surveys. We've basically just sent the money and said fuck it... let's hope it all works out for the best!

I can't help feeling like we've been pressurised and I don't really understand why we couldn't have exchanged the full 10% end of April and completed in May either.

Does anybody know why the solicitor might be pushing?

The money doesn’t accrue interest for the firm

Client money is held to order in the client account. It won’t accrue any interest anyway, given the current interest rates!

If she’s got all of that then you are ready to exchange. What’s the problem? It’s normal to exchange when everyone is ready.

We exchanged in February for a July completion.

The building society valuation isn't a survey as such. It's a report (normally carried out by a professional surveyor) to reassure the lender that if you were to default, the property is in a good enough condition that they could recoup their monies if they had to repossess and sell on. It sounds like you are are getting a 90 or 95% mortgage so it must be in pretty good nick for the lenders to lend so much of the property's value so I wouldn't worry much about having your own survey or homebuyers report. Unless you are a worrier (in which case it's worth it for peace of mind) or have your own concerns.

When I worked in a BS for a high LTV mortgage the surveyor /valuer would basically make sure the property was actually there, pretty much matched the Estate agents details and had no glaring defects like holes in the roof, serious damp or subsidence. They would then calculate a rebuild insurance cost based on square footage and value it at the low end of comparable properties in the vicinity. Seeing that report wouldn't be much help to you at all.

As a rule of thumb I wouldn't get a private survey or HBR for a loan of 90% or more LTV on an old property. On a new property I would always pay for a snagging report.

The 5% deposit is not an issue either. It's quite common in London and the SE where even small, first time buyer properties are very expensive.

Is your solicitor independent , meaning is she from an independent firm nothing to do with the agents or sellers ? I find it's usually the agents pushing sales through quickly and without all the information rather than my solicitor

Well that's all I wanted to know ThroughThickAndThin
She was pushing for exchange and we had anticipated end of April which the seller already knew about, we had made it clear from the very beginning.

So for her to say today and completion in May I thought it was odd..

If it’s just a mortgage valuation you’ve had done, it won’t be detailed. Just making sure the market value is right. An agreement that they’ll lend you the money.

As far as the mortgage survey, it is not going to tell you anything you don't know from looking at the house. They basically just check the house is standing and has a roof on, check the value of houses on the street, and if the amount borrowed seems reasonable they approve it.

If they don't share if it's because there's nothing much to share and you have paid for it!

A full survey would tell you more (although in my experience they also limit themselves to stating the blindingly obvious).

I would guess there's nothing sinister going on, you just have an impatient lawyer who is planning a holiday in April.

Just to add, asbestos would be a serious problem so the valuer would definitely have picked up on that and asked for further checks if he suspected it was present, so I don't think you need to worry about that. It would make the property unsellable and no lender would want that.

So have you exchanged or not? Just because you've signed the contract doesn't mean you have.

Assuming you haven't, send an e-mail tonight and say that you are not yet ready to exchange so she is not authorised to exchange yet.

Loonoon that's extremely helpful. It is a 90% loan, and they offered the full amount.
I suppose we should stop panicking.

Ah I get what you are saying now. But it is normal for the chain to exchange as soon as everyone is ready to; with the completion date agreed between everyone whether it’s in two weeks time or two months. Most people want to exchange asap as then it’s contractually binding (possible to pull out after that but with a financial cost).

Thanks ThroughThickAndThin
I think we will just leave bothering the solicitor for now and let things flow.

If you are getting cold feet at all, now is the time to say!

Just to add, asbestos would be a serious problem so the valuer would definitely have picked up on that and asked for further checks if he suspected it was present,

Interested in this Loonoon, I'm looking at a 50s house and have just assumed it's probably in there somewhere...

I would be very wary of exchanging too if you're not expecting to - even if you decide to go ahead with it after the weekend or in a week's time instead of when you were expecting to.

If she is pushing you she needs to have a good reason or at least be able to explain to you nicely and show that it is in your favour.

If you are still waiting on anything to come back and she is insisting on you exchanging beforehand, at least make it subject to you being happy with the reports you receive.

I say this as someone who pulled out of the purchase of a new build - supposed to be a 'naice' house, bank survey came back as fine. Our survey came back with a list of red flags and we decided to step away. Been very glad ever since and now live in a much better place - but if we had been in your position with an impatient solicitor we would have committed our deposit money to a house that the bank would have made its money back on if it needed to but actually would have been a real money pit on things that should have not have been done badly in the first place.

If you are feeling rushed and discombobulated by the way your solicitor has treated you I would send her an email tonight telling her not to actually do the exchange until she receives further instructions from you.

I would also go further in your letter and say that the reasons for this are you feel her actions and list them out as you have on the thread, ending with the fact that you are not happy with the way she has not listened to your questions and concerns, it seems like she has a separate agenda in which you are an annoying cog in the chain rather than her paying client and the fact she wants you to commit a serious amount of money with no notice, no explanations and before you have had all the information you need back, potentially putting you in a very difficult position.

Hopefully she will realise that you are laying the groundwork for a complaint and that you properly from now on...

Do you have insurance in place on the property you're buying? If not, arrange it asap

StarsBrokenAgain. It's a while since I was in this industry but i think they have got more strict about asbestos, not less.

My understanding is that if anything has asbestos it becomes unmortagegeable. The onus would be on the vendors to remove it and make the property safe. If there was any sort of doubt about the presence or otherwise of asbestos the lenders would either decline to lend or require some sort of indemnity insurance that would cover any costs incurred by a later discovery of asbestos. As the OP hasn't been required to do this we can be assured that the chances of asbestos being present are minimal.

I was quite scathing earlier about the worth of building society valuations but they generally work locally and so are aware of any potential flaws in properties they look at. They also build close links with local estate agents who can be even more knowledgeable and are more inclined to be frank with their professional colleagues over a drink than they may be with potential vendors or purchasers.

Solicitors cannot profit from holding your cash, it's against the rules. Nobody profits anyway because interest rates are so low at the moment.

Do you think that she was pushing because it was last day of the month and she and/or the estate agent had to hit some target.

If you don't want to exchange yet then send an e-mail so your instructions are in writing.

If you have exchanged then get insurance.

You can commission a separate and independent asbestos check if you want to. It's less expensive than a survey or HBR. Perhaps the OP could do that after she moves in just to set her mind at rest. In the unlikely event something was discovered her buildings insurance (as required by the lenders) should cover a lot of any expenses incurred.