Estate Agents and what to tell them?

[terriblyangryattimes]

We are purchasing a property (selling ours to do so) and this is the first time we have bought AND sold.

Estate agent is being shady about the vendors onward chain/plans (perhaps they don't know themselves, our offer was accepted 2 days after it went on the market) but is it the done thing for me to tell the agents we'd like to move in early January and aim for that as a completion date? I don't want to inadvertently put my foot in it (though not sure if that would be?)

Also it's okay to ask for a second viewing to measure windows and so on right? Do we need to wait till we have got the list of fixtures/fittings etc from the vendors?

Also any other tips for ensuring a smooth process on both sides welcome, we are a private sale on our side and have chosen a local solicitor so we can meet/take docs in person when necessary to avoid delays.

Fine to ask for second viewing (do it pre-exchange as they're more likely to say yes to keep you happy). Also fine to specify a completion date to aim for as long as you understand it might not be possible. Early Jan would be pretty tight inc the Christmas shut down and a lot of LAs having a backlog of searches atm

If the vendors haven't found a place to buy then early January is very unlikely. You'll need to wait until the chain is complete to get a gauge of when that might be. Unless your vendors are not buying? Have you appointed a solicitor yet? You can get the ball rolling your end, get a mortgage agreement in principle etc to be as ready as you can before the chain is complete.

Thanks all, yes we have a solicitor and have sent all our documentation back completed (so far anyway!) and our mortgage advisor has our agreement in principle and the actual mortgage has been applied for so waiting to hear on that.

Appreciate January might be tight, but wasn't sure if there was a reason why I shouldn't tell the EA that we're super keen to move or not!

Do tell the EA you are keen and you need to know the chain status. You don't want to be in a massive chain. January might be ambitious. We are not in a chain and it's taken 10 weeks not to exchange!

I don't think it is right for the EA to be shady about the onward chain. Really they should be transparent so you know where you stand.

I would push back to the EA and ask for more details about the onward chain to understand if your sellers are now looking for their own house or if they are downsizing, moving into renting etc. I don't think it is unreasonable to inform the EA that you are hoping for a quick turnaround.

However early January is unrealistic in my opinion, even if the chain is complete. I'm in the process of buying and selling at the moment and everything is taking much longer due to COVID. Estate agents, mortgage lenders, solicitors are all moving much slower than normal. I think nationwide took about 5 weeks to do our mortgage offer! Plus there is going to christmas in between now and then so that will also slow everything down.

I still think you will make the stamp duty holiday cut off though providing the chain completes soon.

What do you mean by the agent being shady? Have the vendors not found anywhere? How long has it been? Most people get a move on, some are slow but some want the perfect property and if the chain falls though as they haven’t found anything, they just relist and carry on looking.

And yes, do ask to go and measure up.

You are absolutely entitled to know the status of the vendors, I'm not sure why estate agents wouldn't tell you the truth.

I think it all depends on the status of the vendor’s onward chain as to whether January is realistic and the EA should absolutely be able to confirm one way or another.

We’ve just exchanged on the house we’re selling, so will be chain free by the time we exchange on the house we’re buying. Our sellers are moving into a vacant property as their sellers own another property they’re happy to move into to avoid holding up the chain.

According to our solicitor we’re on track to exchange by the end of November and be in before Christmas but that’s only because our whole chain is motivated to move forward as quickly as possible and we’re lucky to be in areas that don’t seem to have slowed too much due to covid.

If your sellers are buying a house that is not chain free - then your also reliant on them finding somewhere, chains can be short or long.

Go back to EA and ask what the situation is before you start spending money - it’s only fair to have knowledge before opening your purse