Buyers Sellers Roll Call 15

[MotherofHeathens]

Because we're nearly at the end of the other thread and still inflicting this torture on ourselves...!

Wow, new thread already.

Waiting to exchange on a BTL sale here, and just had an offer accepted on a purchase. Last week we had our seller randomly pull out close to exchange so it feels a bit bizarre to have found another house so quick.

Well I'm back sooner than anticipated and not in a good way. Mortgage broker called to say that mortgage is in question and unlikely to go through.
The valuation 'found' that the flat is freehold - something I'd been up front about since the initial enquiry as I thought it might cause an issue. They are also claiming the property requires significant works to live in (which I don't believe it does beyond a rewire) and the outbuildings ownership is confusing - it's not, the flat comes with a stone shed, coal store and detached garage, all of which the agent was clear about.
Now, I'm not at all clear what the situation is re the freehold and whether there is a leasehold arrangement with the other flat or whether they would be willing to set one up - I've been badgering the agent for more information since the viewing and they've been stonewalling. I'm not sure what, if anything, I can try to do to resolve this or whether we hat have to walk away. Has anyone encountered similar in the past?

I have no helpful advice @Balloondog, just wanted to offer a handhold. That's so shitty. It's so frustrating when other parties over complicate things and the radio silence :(

@mummabubs I think you're my hero! No way could I have dealt with a move and pregnancy. Here's hoping everything is on track now (and huge congratulations!!)

I think I'll start planning to find that diamond encrusted unicorn @ballsdeep mentioned. Heard back from our EA today, buyer apparently has finally got their mortgage sorted and we should be expecting a call to schedule valuation tomorrow. This is the second or third broker so I'm not holding my breath. It makes me really nervous that they are doing an in person valuation - does anyone have insight as to why that might be the case?

Going to view our new place again this week - hoping that seeing it again will get me out of this grumpy slump and worry.

Sorry that so many people have been on so long :( I am right at the start, our house hit Rightmove this evening.

Good luck everyone 😊
I am looking at RM and there isn't anything suitable is coming up. Anything that is suitable already has a lot of interest or even offers before we have managed to book a viewing 😩. I'm not sure how long it will take before our buyer starts to get fed up waiting for us to find something! Moving into rented is not an option for us. Nothing available to rent either. We're in limbo!

Argh Felicity, so frustrating! Seems to be a real lack of supply all over the country at the moment.

I am just in the process of gathering quotes from solicitors so we are ready to instruct as soon as required.

Good luck @Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear - hope you get lots of interest.

@FelicityElectricity try zoopla, not all estate agents list with both as there is added expense (usually smaller local firms). I found the odd property online listed onthemarket too x

Good luck everyone.

I had a lot of feedback on my listing which was useful, and some of which I'll be able to use. I'm going to look at listings for new build one beds locally and steal some tips around styling.

I'm also going to tell the estate agent to take me off the web for a couple of weeks so I can make some changes.

Just grabbed the window cleaner to witness us signing the last of paperwork for our purchase! Dropping it all back with the solicitor's office this afternoon and it's looking like our EA (she's acting for us and our vendors so is doing a lot of the chasing) has managed to get the vendor at the top of the chain to agree to complete on the 26th which works for the rest of us, rather than the originally insisted on 4 weeks between exchange and completion. Just hope all the solicitors are happy with that.

Ooh sounds like good progress heathens!

Glad you got some helpful feedback wrong. I love looking at new builds for styling inspiration.

Thanks searches, have two viewings booked for the 6th May so far.

Thank you @savemefromsearches I didn't know that so that's really useful. I'll keep looking 👀

Our first second viewing has been requested!
Both viewers from Monday and Tuesday are ‘hot’ according to the EA - now to wait and watch them fight over it and for our profit to go through the roof.... that’s going to happen... right!?

I’m now sooo nervous about proceeding any further 🙈 also, there is diddly squat out there to purchase for us 😫 so we could be here a while in reality.

I hope this is my last thread. Our buyers have exchanged on their sale to complete 1st June, and will be moving in with family if we aren’t ready.
We’ve answered all their enquiries, but found our boiler, fitted 2013, wasn’t on the gassafe register. So we had to chase the plumber to get that paperwork done, certificate hopefully with us in the next 10 days.
We’ve still not had a valuation survey done for their mortgage though, everything is very backed up according to solicitors etc. Fingers crossed that gets booked in within the next week or so.
Our purchase is ready to go pretty much, we just need to sign the contract.

Congratulations @HumourReplacementTherapy

@mummabubs oh my god your buyer must be driving you crazy! Hope pregnancy continue to smooth and uneventful pre completion! Bet you can’t wait to meet your baby.

We have movement! They deed have actually been located and should be with the sellers solicitors this afternoon! We had our offer accepted 12 March and it has taken them an age to locate and then extricate them from the bank. I’m so happy I might even have a mid week glass of wine!

Thanks @Didicat, really glad that things are progressing for you!!

I've actually snuck back into work as it's my last day before mat leave (but was forced to work from home after 28 weeks) so am trying to get everything tied up and use that as a distraction as I know our solicitor is attempting exchange again today and we really do need it to go through now. 😬🤞🏻

Hope it's ok for me to join! Although feeling slight trepidation just from looking at the pain most of you have had to go through - this market, combined with the crappy U.K. non committal process is insane.

Firstly, so much respect for you @mummabubs
to juggle baby no 2 with a house move. Your buyers sound exasperating and pretty naive!! The wifi tips the scale! The irony at how accommodating they expect you to be, but how unwilling they are to compromise to exchange in time for your CS!

Our house went on the market 3 weeks ago. 1 week in we got our first offer- a local buyer with a chain which fell through the next day! The following week we got two more, one from buyers in HK, and the second from a buyer here in London- both asking price offers and FTB.

The London guy pulled out the next day as he'd found something else. The couple in HK were qualified, they have a decent deposit, they had been emailing constantly about the house so showed genuine interest and are hoping to buy it as a BTL and then eventually move here. EA's Mortgage broker said mortgage wise they should be ok, but I know it's tricky.

We put an offer on a house that was accosted the same week, no chain above as they're moving into rented.

We've already got our mortgage approved. Both surveys are booked in for end of may but searches have not yet kickstarted.

I forgot how much I hate buying and selling houses! And in this market it feels like anything can happen at anytime, so it's hard not to be on tenterhooks. I know chains always feel like that - but the market atm seems to have amplified the market pace and unreliability

Shoot me now. Day 4 of trying to exchange and exactly the same situation - buyer's solicitor (1st in a small chain of 3!) just hasn't responded to even confirm that they'll try and go ahead. I don't relish having to tell my DH this as he lost patience with them on the second day this happened. We keep telling our buyers that they really need to get on the phone and literally tell their solicitor to engage in the process but so far this doesn't seem to have happened. 🤦🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

Hello everyone,

We're FTB's too.
We had our offer accepted on March 9th - feels like forever ago. We've done everything we've been asked immediately but the searches were only started last week by our solicitors. We went with the firm recommended by our mortgage advisor, I had hoped that would keep things moving.

The soonest we could get the house surveyed is May 14th. It has a gorgeous extension , loft and kitchen, and we've seen the building regulations for both on completion so we're really not expecting problems. Still it feels like forever.

We offered the asking price on the first viewing, naively we didn't ask for it to be taken off the market, and the EA took a week to come back to us. The single most stressful experience of my life.

So my husband and I viewed during lockdown and the kids would like to see it. I now have a viewing with the kids set up for Friday after school. The house is only a mile down the road.
The EA keeps saying what lovely people the vendors are, so we're going unaccompanied. I'm looking forward to meeting them.

Has anyone else done this? Met their vendors? I'm hoping that it might help with some of this nagging uncertainty that seems to accompnay these situations.

Yes @Ineedachange I've done it on both sides.

Met the buyers who bought our old house - they were so lovely and it really reassured me throughout the process that they seemed a reliable couple.

Equally met the owners of a property I ended up buying. Really lovely lady and it made the next 3 months of issues feel much easier, because it had reassured me that she seemed trustworthy and like a genuinely nice person.

I know that sounds crazy! But think it does help.

First time posting. I am so stressed out. We have sold to FTB who are incredibly slow and their solicitor is very hard to get hold of. We should have exchanged today to move next Wednesday but this isn't going to happen. The earliest we can exchange now is this Friday to move next Friday but now of course we can't get a removal company on that day. There is no chain either side so it should be relatively straightforward but of course it never is. We are moving to the other side of the country so our move will take three days in all. I have never seen my DH so stressed. I have got to the stage where I can't even talk to anyone about the move if they ask.

Hugs cornish it will soon be over and you will be in your lovely new home.

Quick question. I understand that you are expected to put down your deposit at exchange. But what happens if your deposit is the equity in your house which won't be available until completion?

@Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear I have the same question. My brain can't really compute it.

It's ok @cornishmylovely come and talk to us. I'm dealing with all the solicitors and the estate agents, so it does feel like the Spanish Inquisition when DH is questioning me for updates, and the escalating stress levels aren't helping.

Our updates from today: buyers mortgage valuation STILL hasn't been booked in, but I really don't understand why they are doing an in person? They do however finally have all the documents they need from my solicitor.

Our purchase is basically ready to complete from end of next week so we really need the solicitors to get their skates on, but I haven't even had a preliminary report yet, which I thought was standard once they started raising enquiries?

@mummabubs hoping that a late exchange has come through for you. Otherwise do you want us to go and frog March them into a meeting for you?

@Themostwonderfultimeoftheyear sometimes they just pass your buyers deposit up the chain, have you got any funds available to add to their deposit.

@cornishmylovely fingers crossed you are exchanged and completed soon.

@Ineedachange We met the seller and the sellers sons on the house we are currently buying and they are truly lovely, the old lady is moving within the village and her sons lives there too so not going to be able to avoid them.