Exchange date set in stone or just an estimate?

[ticktockticktock7]

Hi all, first time buyer. Recently purchased a flat (yay!). I've instructed my solicitor, got the ball rolling etc. I was told it would be roughly around a 6-8 week wait due to surveys taking longer than usual because of covid, fair enough.

Just had the memo of sale come through via email and exchange date on there saids 22nd of October which is a lot longer than I anticipated. No onward chain and the property is vacant.
I rent at the minute and was hoping to give my 1 months notice at the beginning of September and be out by the end of the month. I don't think my landlord will let me just pay for the weeks that I'm there if I have to stay until the 22nd. I will have to suck it up if that's the case, just a tad annoying.

Obviously I'm just impatient and want to get in there. I don't want to look like an idiot by asking the estate agent this question, but are the exchange dates normally set in stone or is it just an estimate? I'm praying it will all be straight forward and move quickly.

Exchange date isn't completion so you can't move on the 22nd even if you do exchange then. Hopefully you can complete a week after so you'll have the whole month of October in your rental.
It does seem quite a long way away to have an exchange date though! Mine didn't give me more than a week notice for exchange. Contact them to clarify!

Exchange date can change up until it happens. Thats the date Completion date is set and you are tied in to the purchase.

@CloseYourEyesAndSee I was hoping I would be out by the end of September, slightly gutted it does say on the memo of sale that the agent will contact me within the next few days to discuss so I might mention it then and see what they come back with.

As the memorandum of sale is sent by the agent to inform the solicitors of agreed price and contact details I’ve no idea why they have put an exchange date in there at all. It is usually discussed between solicitors after consultation with each side. And I got my (three as two purchases fell though) surveys arranged in less then a week, so not sure what that delay is all about either. Searches have been taking a while - are you sure you don’t mean that?
Regardless, I’d expect you should be able to get the process done in 8 weeks unless there’s some extraordinary reason why not. Discuss your preferred time scale with your solicitor. Exchange date is when all enquiries have been answered and both parties are happy to proceed and completion day agreed.

@Livingintheclouds I spoke with my solicitor on Monday to get her opinion on when I should give notice at my current property and she said it would definitely be between 6-8 weeks before everything is completed. She mentioned something about drainage surveys (?) and said they are taking longer than usual because of covid.

Don’t give notice until you’ve exchanged or you could find yourself homeless.

You can agree a longer completion period to compensate.

@Livingintheclouds unless the agent has spoken with my solicitor I think they've just come up with that date by themselves so I'm just hoping it's an estimate rather than it being set it done. I might give my solicitor a ring in the morning to clarify. As a first time buyer I have no idea what's the norm. I'm probably just being reaaaaally impatient aren't I!

13 weeks is average - covid is slowing things down.

@LittleBearPad really? That's sucks. The solicitor never mentioned 13 weeks. Oh well!

Thank you all for taking the time to reply. As my mother just kindly pointed out, I can't move house in a day hopefully it will be sooner but I'm just looking forward to getting in there

Things are taking ages, and even with a chain- free purchase timescales are dependent not just on search speeds but also the nature of the enquiries your solicitor makes, and how fast your vendors are able to respond to them satisfactorily.

We sold an empty house earlier this year. We were very motivated vendors who responders promptly to everything but it still took 16 weeks.

Definitely don't give notice on your rental until you've exchanged!

@BlueCherryBlossom I see what you're saying. I wouldn't want to make myself homeless of course. Just frustrating as if I give notice in the middle of October I'd still have to pay for the whole month of November. Landlord won't let me pay week to week, I understand why just very costly and I'm sick to my back teeth of renting tbh, hence why I'm buying now. Honestly thought I would have been in the new property by the end of September/beginning of October. Not sure whether to take the risk of giving notice at the beginning of October and just storing all items in my aunties garage if not completed by the end of the month.

Moved last week, we were cash buyers so no mortgage to sort and seller was going to rented so couldn't be more straightforward and still took 14 weeks. Your solicitor will let you know when all tje searches are back and if you are happy with everything they will talk to you about exchange and agree a date for this with the vendor. Do not under any circumstances give notice until you exhange, the vendor could pull out at any point before then with no penalty.

It took DS from 3.5 months to complete two years pre Covid 2019. This was FTB to empty chain free house.

DD had offer accepted 21st March, looks like completion will be 27th August, just three in the chain. October may be ambitious 😂

@SpeakingFranglais oh gosh your poor kids, especially your DD 😢

12-13 weeks is average, with leasehold properties taking longest. Nothing is set in stone until you've exchanged so nless you have somewhere you can move to temporarily don't hand your notice in until then. I had a friend who put their stuff into storage and planned to move into a travel lodge for 5 days to avoid paying an extra months rent and there was a delay the day before exchange. They ended up in the travelodge with 2 kids for 2.5 months. Most people factor in one month of paying rent after completion into their costs.

[quote ticktockticktock7]@SpeakingFranglais oh gosh your poor kids, especially your DD 😢[/quote]
Not really, this is fairly standard! You might want to do some research into the process, the money saving expert website has some good guides.

If everyone is efficient and motivated there's no reason it can't be done quicker. Obviously your solicitor would prefer to be able to take their time on it, but if you instruct them to proceed ASAP and keep on at them it can be done.

First up I'd speak to the agent and ask them to ensure the seller's solicitor get the draft contract and leasehold info pack over to your solicitors ASAP. Once your solicitors have it get them to submit the searches ASAP. Assuming you are getting a mortgage get that underway ASAP too.

Both our purchases have taken a little over 3 months, and these were five and eight years ago respectively, well before COVID introduced additional delays into the system. The first of these involved us, as first time buyers, purchasing a house from a developer, so there was no chain at all.

I'm afraid you are very likely to need to rent in October.

Our last one was 14/15 weeks and there was no chain. It’s frustrating process and all you can do is chase but the searches will take as long as they take.

We’re, hopefully, nearing exchange and completion. We had an offer accepted in mid-May and all the enquiries have just come back to our solicitor. They have to check they are satisfied with them and then they will sort of exchange and completion for us. Ours is a chain free sale, but we’re buying a freehold house. I hope to be in the new house by mid-August, so three months in total. Most property sales are taking 12-16 weeks, and leasehold usually slows things down. We’re also in rented and would like to give notice so we don’t have to pay anything beyond August but can’t risk it until we’ve exchanged. The best of luck with your purchase OP!

Just to add our first document from our solicitor had an estimated completion date of 8 August.

I would plan on being in your rental until the end of November. You could push to exchange by the end of September (9 weeks), which could allow you to give notice and then complete and move sometime in October - but no guarantees.

@ticktockticktock7

Hi all, first time buyer. Recently purchased a flat (yay!). I've instructed my solicitor, got the ball rolling etc. I was told it would be roughly around a 6-8 week wait due to surveys taking longer than usual because of covid, fair enough.

Just had the memo of sale come through via email and exchange date on there saids 22nd of October which is a lot longer than I anticipated. No onward chain and the property is vacant.
I rent at the minute and was hoping to give my 1 months notice at the beginning of September and be out by the end of the month. I don't think my landlord will let me just pay for the weeks that I'm there if I have to stay until the 22nd. I will have to suck it up if that's the case, just a tad annoying.

Obviously I'm just impatient and want to get in there. I don't want to look like an idiot by asking the estate agent this question, but are the exchange dates normally set in stone or is it just an estimate? I'm praying it will all be straight forward and move quickly.

First of all, the Estate Agent should never have put an exchange date on the memo of sale. How can they possibly know how long it will take - they don't do the legal work, don't see the correspondence and have no idea what problems might come up during the course of the transaction?

Exchange dates are not set in stone. Once the solicitors have received the vast majority of responses to enquiries and they are happy with the paperwork, they will ask you for your preferred completion date. The preferred completion date has to be agreed by all parties and once a date has been suggested, the solicitors will work towards it.

Exchange can take place at any point from when the solicitors are ready, right up to the agreed completion date. They will often make several attempts to exchange before they succeed (Solicitors need to obtain their clients authority to go ahead on the day, and the solicitors will need to speak to each other by phone).

You are buying a leasehold flat, so there will be more work for the solicitor to do. There is also another third party in the mix - the freeholder and/or the management company. A whole additional set of leasehold enquiries will need to be sent out and the seller will have to pay for and obtain the leasehold pack.

Do not give notice to your landlord until exchange. Otherwise you could be homeless for an indefinite period of time and this will be very stressful.

To be honest 6-8 weeks is very optimistic. It sometimes takes that much time for the seller's solicitor to send the draft contract pack and leasehold pack to your solicitor so that he can start working on your case.