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Original poster

How long from having offer accepted to exchange of contracts on house?

29 replies

Esbm2015 · 28/03/2018 18:54

Hello

Can I ask buyers how long it took them from having their offer accepted on a house to exchange of contracts?

How long is usual?

OP posts:
user1488204592 · 28/03/2018 18:56

8-12 weeks

More likely to be over 12 weeks than under 8. Your solicitor should be able to guide you more.

ilovewinterpansies · 28/03/2018 19:01

I'm in the middle of conveyancing hell at the moment. We are (only?!) 7 weeks in and I'm losing my mind....it's the uncertainty that's the killer.

Anyway to answer your question, I've had a look at what people have experienced and most say about 3-4 months.

BirthdayKake · 28/03/2018 19:02

49 days for us :)

nomorespaghetti · 28/03/2018 19:04

About three months with our house purchase. No chain, we were renting and she was moving to a relative. There were a few hold ups, our first mortgage application was rejected, and we wanted a couple of extra reports done. And solicitors can be slow!

DelphiniumBlue · 28/03/2018 19:09

Yes, 8-12+ weeks.
But it depends on so many things : sellers need to get a package ready, both of you need to find and instruct solicitors, you need to get a survey done and probably be in receipt of a mortgage offer.
Once all that paperwork is done and the searches are done, your solicitor will review the paperwork and report to you. Problems may only come to light at this stage, and further info might be required, which may or may not be immediately available.
You can try to reduce the time by flagging up any potential issues now - so if there is an extension, tell your solicitor now so they can request the appropriate permissions.
If the vendor is selling because of a divorce, things can take much much longer. A probate sale can also take a longtime, unless probate had already been granted. If there are tenants, they need to vacate before exchange.
HTH.

Chienrouge · 28/03/2018 19:10

11 weeks here with no chain in either direction.

MonaChopsis · 28/03/2018 19:12

Nearly 5 months be cause of land registry delays. Luckily it was a problem 'caused' by the vendor so we could just take the time to sort it out without pressure.

Equimum · 28/03/2018 19:17

About 4.5 months for us, although that was only 3 months for the top buyer in the chain, and nearer 5.5 months for the FTC at the bottom!

Eggoispreggo · 28/03/2018 19:18

We were accepted on the 17th of Feb and exchanged on the 29th of May a couple of years ago.
No chain or anything, our solicitors just seemed to take a very long time and there were some paperwork hold ups

Solasum · 28/03/2018 19:19

6 weeks here, in perpetual fear of being gazumped. No chains involved

Caroian · 28/03/2018 20:31

12 weeks is the usual "average" that people give.

Our last house was exactly 12 weeks from offer acceptance to completion (10 weeks from offer to exchange). The one we've just completed on was exactly 18 weeks from offer acceptance to completion (15.5 weeks from offer to exchange).

In the first case the chain was short (3 people) and no issues arose. In our recent purchase the chain was longer (6 people), it took a while for our vendors to find a property and the chain to "close" and then there was a death further up the chain which meant waiting for probate. All things considered, 18 weeks was actually not bad going!

ShowOfHands · 28/03/2018 20:36

8 weeks first time round. 7 weeks last time. We had to push it as quickly as possible and it was extremely stressful. We had to move quickly though (DH deploying abroad) so the solicitors pushed hard. It would have been better taking a few weeks extra.

specialsubject · 28/03/2018 20:38

Depends. We had a spoilt princess in our buying chain who made the little people wait while daddy tried to save tax. Didn't work but cost us months.

Buying, the ' I will live with family or go into rental' is never true...

GoJohnnyGoGoGoGo · 28/03/2018 20:40

About 6/7 weeks. We were first time buyers and the house was in probate so it was very simple.

Cheekylittlenumber · 28/03/2018 20:40

3 months for us from having our offer accepted to completion. We were in the middle of a chain but our seller broke the chain when their new build got delayed.

AliceLutherNeeMorgan · 28/03/2018 20:47

13 weeks for the house we bought. It felt long but was quite complicated and is probably close to average

5 weeks for the house we sold. I’m still in shock!

wibblywobblyfish · 28/03/2018 21:18

It was only about 4 weeks, for us. First time buyers moving into an empty house with no chain.

PickAChew · 28/03/2018 21:26

Was 14 weeks for us. Not even a long chain, with only 3 parties involved but one of those parties was a separating couple, one flaky and one a good old fashioned arsehole who went incommunicado for a week when we were all ready to sign and exchange. Not helped by them having a notoriously useless online conveyancer. The agent did most of the poking into action, in the end.

teddybeargrylls · 28/03/2018 21:30

Nine months!! No chain, property was already empty, as far as we know it was their solicitor causing the hold up. I was 3 months pregnant when our offer was accepted, and we assumed we'd be able to complete before DD was born, in the end she was six months old when we moved.

teddybeargrylls · 28/03/2018 21:32

Oops, maths fail, I was six months pregnant when offer was accepted - dam baby brain Blush

NeverTwerkNaked · 28/03/2018 22:54

5 weeks last time (we were FTB and the sellers were buying an empty property)
This time we are in a chain of 4; am quite nervous how it will go! Doing my best to not be the weak link, we are only a few days in and I already have solicitors, bank and surveyor lined up and as much paperwork as possible sorted and returned to solicitor.

HelenTheHunter · 29/03/2018 09:21

We exchanged our sale yesterday, spot on 8 weeks. We have pushed very hard though and conceded stuff to make it happen.

Yolo2018 · 01/04/2018 20:10

Interesting thread, thank you OP.

We are exactly 6 weeks in. Our buyer has nothing to sell as renting out their property, and we are now going in to rented (having to pull out of our purchase). We are keeping our fingers crossed for an early May completion.

Angryosaurus · 01/04/2018 21:34

6 months. Chain of 4

ProjectMoose · 01/04/2018 23:35

Five months and counting Sad as with a pp we are having issues with land registry.

Had initially been told to expect to complete by the end of Feb but there still no end in sight!