So despondent

[MrsApplepants]

We are selling and buying. Found buyer 7th October and our dream home 26th October. Our vendors have no onward chain, we have small chain under us (our buyer 1, their buyer 2, FTB 3) We are all ready to exchange apart from buyer 2 in the chain(our buyers buyer) who we have just discovered is using Countrywide as their solicitors. We understand from our own solicitors and the EA that things are nearly ready but that countrywide are being very slow and uncommunicative. The trust pilot reviews of countrywide are so so awful, I am beginning to despair and am beginning to think it’s all going to collapse. Anyone had any good experiences with countrywide? Or should I expect to put the house back on the market and lose the dream house any day. So upset.

If your chain was only complete at the end of October then you're only at about 10 weeks. Everything to do with conveyancing stops over Christmas so you can take at least a week off there. You're not doing too badly in the grand scheme of house buying! There appear to be 5 parties that need to get everything in order to agree exchange/completion which takes time anyway regardless of who they're using. I wouldn't be panicking right now if I were you.

I agree with the above. Our timings are exactly the same as yours but chain of 3. We're not at exchange yet, waiting for buyers inquiries, contracts to sign. Our buyer is a PITA though. So I think you're doing pretty well.

Thanks both, I guess the thing that’s worrying me so much is Countrywide being involved. The FTB has been ready for months apparently, we, our buyer and our vendor have been very proactively hassling our solicitors to progress things so the difference with Countrywide is so stark.

5 properties isn’t a small chain and these things can take ages. In my experience people make noises about rushing and might threaten to put houses back on the market but if they are genuinely in a hurry it will be quicker to wait for your buyer chain than to relist into a new unknown chain. Another thing I’ve learn is that everyone blames each other’s solicitor for being slow and it’s not always true.