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Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

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Property/DIY

How long does it take to move?

23 replies

doglover · 08/08/2007 22:46

We have accepted an offer on our house from a family in rented accomodation and are looking to buy from people who are moving in with family. A very short chain, I know! The survey on our prospective house is being done tomorrow and our buyers will be organising theirs for next week. We would really like to have everything completed by the end of September. Is this a realistic timescale? Thanks.

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PeachesMcLean · 08/08/2007 22:50

Could be. Depends on your solicitor and whether there are any complications I guess.

We accepted an offer mid June, but as we were on holiday at the time we didn't get a survey sorted until a month later. We're moving next week, hopefully, and an equally short chain. Good luck.

doglover · 09/08/2007 13:35

bump

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Verso · 09/08/2007 13:39

We're in a short chain - first-time buyers buying our place, and the people we're buying from are cash buyers on their place (a new build). Offer accepted 9 July. Hoping to complete 7 September - but a lot could happen between now and then!

(am I the only person who finds all the waiting very very stressful? )

RubyRioja · 09/08/2007 13:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

iwouldgoouttonight · 09/08/2007 13:44

Its definitely possible - but in my experience you have to really pester your solicitor to get things done quickly. Both my house moves have had short/no chains but came to a standstill once the solicitor was involved, so I rang them almost every day (they must have been so sick of me!) until we got a completion date.

I also found it helpful if you can talk to your buyers directly rather than through their solicitor so you can both agree on when you want to move and then pester your respective solicitors!

Tanee58 · 09/08/2007 13:45

It took us over 9 months, from first viewing to moving in, and oh, how grey-haired dp and I became! But that was due to having two properties to sell, dp's buyers being complete shits, and the people at the top end of the chain selling because they were getting divorced - hence a split in the chain and a lot of emotional acrimony up that end.

Hope yours goes more smoothly. Me, I plan to live in this lovely house of mine until I rot! Never again!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

MrsPuddleduck · 09/08/2007 14:01

Definitely possible.

Am solicitor myself and know it can be done easily as long as there are no major complications.

Tip - phone solicitor (nicely) quite often. I find that the people who phone up more tend to move earlier as you end up getting their file out more often.

PS - if you are a pain in the neck it usually has the opposite effect!

Fimbo · 09/08/2007 14:07

I agree about keeping in touch with your buyers/sellers. Our exchange nearly didn't happen because our buyers solicitor didn't keep them informed about vital bits of information, which in the end was sorted out by ourselves rather than through the solicitors!

Fimbo · 09/08/2007 14:08

Oh and currently we are living in rented accommodation whilst waiting for our new build to be completed.

It has taken 2 months to get to exchange on it and there is only us and the builder involved!

Tanee58 · 09/08/2007 14:15

We ended up homeless for 3 months - due to divorced couple being unready to move when we were. DD and I moved back to my parents, which wasn't ideal, and dp was either at his mum's or on tour. Ghastly time, we thought if the sale fell through, we'd have been really stuck.

Yes, keep in regular touch with the solicitors, agents and the people too, if possible, and keep it friendly. You need them all to feel that you're nice people and that they want to help you - also, that they want to get you moved so that they can get on with other work!

LIZS · 09/08/2007 14:16

Ours took about 12 weeks(beg of December to end of February) - cash buyer on ours, no chain above. However for 4 of those our vendors is nothing, not even instruct a solcitor and we had Christmas/New Year shut down, so could theortically have been quicker.

IdrisTheDragon · 09/08/2007 14:25

With our first house we put an offer in at the beginning of January and moved in the middle of March.

With our second house we put in an offer in mid November and (finally) moved in the middle of March.

Sunshinemummy · 09/08/2007 14:34

Definitely possible but you'll probably need to push regularly. We're about to exchange after accepting an offer on 2nd June and we've had to ring solicitors and estate agents every other day. On the house we bought we offered in Feb, exchanged in April and moved in in May.

doglover · 09/08/2007 17:39

Thanks, everyone. Just got in to find all your pearls of wisdom on the subject! We will follow your advice and keep in regular, pleasant(!) contact with our solicitor etc.

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LIZS · 09/08/2007 17:57

Remember your solicitor is your friend , EA's have an agenda to get the sale at all costs,but preferably not their own !

PeachesMcLean · 09/08/2007 19:08

"Your solicitor is your friend" ???

Is that why ours told us the wall ties hadn't been done when they had (cost me a lot of money in a further survey) and then today he swears no one has been able to get a response from our buyer for days now. And then my estate agent got hold of our buyer in five minutes flat.

I'm not casting nasturtiums on all solicitors, but I think they do vary.

NannyL · 09/08/2007 20:55

i had a very short chain that started beginning April 2006.
(i was moving inot a house and the person living in my hosue was moving into an empty flat)

I did not move in until about the last day of July 2006.

MuffinMclay · 09/08/2007 22:06

Certainly possible if your solicitor is competant and the local authority searches are done promptly.

The last house we sold was completed in 6 weeks (or maybe just under), selling to people in rented accomodation.

We then bought one from a couple who said there was no chain, and it took about 6 months (one complication after another).

doglover · 09/08/2007 22:38

Gulp!! I am not sure whether to be reassured or terrified!

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nooka · 09/08/2007 22:45

It entirely depends on the circumstances. When we bought our first home, where we were first time buyers and the people we were buying with already had a place to move into it still took over six months. The place I almost moved into this time around was very complicated too, because it had a bad survey and we were recommended to have loads of other checks. So it is possible, but I wouldn't build up your expectations too much.

PeachesMcLean · 09/08/2007 22:57

Just remember it's Supposed to be a Very Stressful thing to do. That seems to be the only certainty. Bit like a birthplan I guess, all very well to know what you want, but be prepared to go with the flow. And breathe deeply.

MuffinMclay · 10/08/2007 10:01

The one thing I've learnt from house moving is take everything you hear about a buyer or seller's position (whether or not they're in a chain, have a mortgage in place, have offers on their house, have somewhere to move to etc) with a very big pinch of salt. People will say anything to make themselves sound like ideal buyers or sellers.

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doglover · 10/08/2007 12:41

Great advice,all. Love the birth plan analogy!!

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