Moan moan, whinge whinge: why does it take so long??

[GorgeousLadyofWrestling]

Come and join me for a whinge!

Just so frustrated over how long it’s taking. It’s only been three months since offer accepted, which I know is hardly anything in comparison but bear in mind - we have no chains, at all! We’re FTB and our vendor lives abroad.

They won’t even give any indication of exchange. I’m chomping at the bit, vendor is keen, there’s no issues...why is our process here in the UK so SLOW?!

my winge is four months after moving in mu OH has so far stripped the walls of our bedroom, painted the ceiling and skirtings and my lovely new wallpaper is still sitting in the wrapper on the floor , but he has put new door knobs on the upstairs doors, knocked a chunk of wall down in the kitchen, booked my sons to build the patio outside, booked kitchen companies to come and measure up for new kitchen, had two blown windows replaced, instead of doing one job at a time he has done lots of part jobs all i want is a bedroom with wallpaper on the walls and nice new carpet to go with it and to not live in a house that looks like a building site am i too demanding,

I’m joining in too but to be fair mine is a pretty pathetic whinge as our offer was only accepted on 17/09! The mortgage went through very quickly and all searches are done. However, our solicitor has asked for more information from the vendors as some responses to their enquiries have not been satisfactory. Not sure which enquiries this relates to though.

We’re chain free too and initially were told we’d be complete by end of October. I’m probably too optimistic though

Whinge here too - we accepted an offer on our property in September, keen to get it moving - haven't even exchanged contracts yet. I don't understand WHY?!

Three months since offer was accepted with no upward or downward chain? I’d completed within 2 months when that was me. Put some pressure on or get a new solicitor.

@isseywith4vampirecats
I don't think your complaint is justified. 20 years on STILL a part decorated bathroom awaiting a new bath/shower, kitchen all done apart from the larder : no shelves, bedroom: built in wardrobe still not built so no clothes in it. Etc.

Adding to the first-world-problem whinge! My offer was accepted in early August, I'm a FTB, they're moving into rented. I'm trying to be sensible and think that it's all fiiiiine, we'll be in soon, etc etc, but I am tied up in knots really. Thing is, before contracts are exchanged, anyone can pull out- So whilst I want to get excited about the biggest purchase I'll ever make, I am also trying to protect myself from being totally gutted of everything goes wrong.

I’m calling and emailing my solicitors every few days but just keep getting fobbed off that “this is just how long it takes”.

I suspect cheap = in this instance crap. They probably have a ton of clients because they’re so cheap.

Joining in the whinge

Just waiting on one document which is basically holding up the whole chain and despite daily calls to the solicitor they keep saying they will escalate it and call me back soon....

Really fucking annoying. How long do I have to wait before the sellers pull out?

We’re currently at the point where DH and I have signed Mortgage deeds and we’re waiting for titles report? Until that’s done, they can’t give a date for exchange.

Knicker same here. I keep allowing myself tiny day dreams about moving in then pulling myself up sharply in case it goes tits up. I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for the last three months

Thing is, before contracts are exchanged, anyone can pull out- So whilst I want to get excited about the biggest purchase I'll ever make, I am also trying to protect myself from being totally gutted of everything goes wrong.

This x 10000. This is exactly the reason for my absolute stress!!

There are a great many variables involved in buying/selling houses, and the length of time taken to reach exchange is only as quick as the slowest component.

Speed could be greatly improved in a lot of cases if sellers were better prepared. Instruct their solicitor at the same time the estate agent lists the property for sale. Prepare a draft contract and complete the initial seller forms. Make sure building regs/planning/FENSA/GasSafe/NICEIC certificates (if relevant) are available.

In my case I think it’s my solicitor that’s the slowest part!

@Ariela OMG and i thought mine was bad

I'm 3 months in. Hopefully exchanging next week but there is no reason for it to have taken so long.

I have a new build in the garden that I have moved into and am selling the original house. The sale has fallen through twice so everything was ready and the TP1 to divide the plot was completed and with the solicitor.

My solicitor sent the wrong contract to me TWICE.

The first contract sent out included the whole plot - so they would have had my new house and garden as a freeby and I would have been homeless.

They then sent out a new contract which reverted to the previous buyers names - so the plot was split but the paperwork wasn't for my current buyers.

They sent the right contract out and I asked them to copy me in to what they had sent the buyer's solicitors (understandably I didn't trust them by this time).

When I received this I found they had sent the wrong land registry document (- it was updated in May this year as it had been wrong - the solicitors had the new information but sent the wrong one.) I contacted them and informed them of this.

A month later my solicitor tells me there is a query over the land registry as the land registry and TP1 maps don't match.

Despite me letting him know, he hadn't corrected it, so the buyers still had the wrong one.

He then sends them my copy of the corrected one and it takes another 2 weeks for them to say this isn't acceptable and they want a land registry original. Which they now have.

My buyers are on holiday in the US at the moment but hopefully we can exchange when they get next week.

Aaaarrrrgggghhhhhhhhhh!

I suspect cheap = in this instance crap

That's not uncommon.

"you get what you pay for" as the saying goes.

I’m just coming back to this to say that we exchanged today!! celebration! Keeping fingers crossed for anyone else having a nightmare

I’m in Scotland, and I’d say it’s usually about 6 weeks from offer to entry. This summer I bought a flat - less than 8 weeks from offer to entry, and it only took that long because mortgage broker and I were, separately, on holiday for the first 3 weeks.

Offered/accepted in July, surveys and title faff all sorted by September. Pretty much nothing but silence since then; the only thing we get is forwarded in when our solicitor asks theirs "Can you please reply to my previous email?"

Our buyers have the patience of saints, and we're honestly losing faith.

Yay Shirley! Hurrah, at last! When are you due to complete?

I feel like I am holding my breath constantly. Called my solicitor twice this week, she made promises about doing the enquiries? But would not commit to anything like a ballpark date for exchange. It’s so stupid.

GorgeousLady How can your solicitor give you a ballpark date if enquiries have not even been raised, let alone answered? They don't yet know anything about the property and have no idea what issues might come up, so asking for dates at this stage is meaningless. The only information they can give you at this stage is what the next step is, which they have. The fact you have no chain doesn't mean the property is problem free, it just means there are less people buying and selling connected to your transaction.

Also, bear in mind that the conveyancing countdown doesn't start until the draft contracts were received from the other side. Not from when your offer was accepted.

Spickle that is the most information I’ve had yet about this process so thank you! I keep asking my solicitor what does it mean when they do X or Y and how long will it take, what does it mean. I’ve no experience at all and all I have is people around me - friends and family - commenting that they can’t believe how long it’s taking. I’m just like 🤷🏻‍♀️

It would help enormously to manage expectations if they just actually explained what meant what. I’ve tried googling and informing myself but I think it’s just a lack of experience on my side.