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Original poster

If you sold or purchased a house recently

88 replies

Thewayshetalks · 02/04/2022 07:42

How long did it take to complete from the day the offer was accepted, I know this varies, but approx timescale?

OP posts:
Cervinia · 02/04/2022 15:45

Six months to the day from seeing it.

Wideawakeandconfused · 02/04/2022 15:56

Sold 2 and purchased 1. 1st took 6 weeks (cash buyer), 2nd sale took 3 months, purchase 2.5 months.

UnnecessaryFennel · 02/04/2022 17:27

Just over 3 months (although it felt much longer!)

mid-April 2021, offer accepted
moved in last week of July 2021

MrsBirkett · 02/04/2022 18:45

6 weeks but in Scotland, think its quicker here.

BobblyBlueJumper · 02/04/2022 18:52

4 months, no chain on either end.

JangolinaPitt · 02/04/2022 18:55

Just over 4weeks.
Probate property and /cash purchase so I exchanged and completed on the same day.

CheltenhamLady · 02/04/2022 18:57

7 months, no chain on either side, but buyers who were a nightmare.

whoruntheworldgirls · 02/04/2022 18:59

About 3 months. We had first time buyers and we were buying a house where the owner were going to stay with family to speed things up.

Fedupbuyer · 02/04/2022 19:10

26 weeks

Roselilly36 · 02/04/2022 19:20

4 & a half months, 4 in chain all cash from sale.

Cathpot · 02/04/2022 19:21

7 months - only 3 of us in the chain. It was a nightmare and the last 3 months delay were entirely down to the buyer having accepted the estate agent advice to use their recommended solicitor. Turns out that wasn't a firm of solicitors but a jobbing panel of solicitors - no names on any correspondence and unbelievable lack of urgency or competence. Our own solicitors were so frustrated and I was tearing my hair out. We had two offers and went with our buyer as she seemed the most straightforward situation- I had no idea how awful this group of solicitors were- later I found out the reviews online are scathing. Most of us only buy or sell a few times in our lives and I think that puts us on the back foot - I don't even know if it's practical but if I had to go through it again I would be trying to check who the buyer was using for the legal side.

Chipsahoy · 02/04/2022 20:33

Two months. With Christmas in the middle. Scotland purchase.

Original poster
Thewayshetalks · 02/04/2022 20:55

After all the checks was done and pre contract info exchanged how long on average does it take to get a date to exchange contracts?

OP posts:
TheFairyCaravan · 02/04/2022 21:00

We had the offer accepted on January 25th and are due to move on or around 21st April. We signed our contracts 6 weeks ago. Everything went really swiftly until then, then it ground to a halt.

We paid the deposit and are exchanging next week. Originally we were supposed to move by the 10th of April

Kite22 · 02/04/2022 21:17

two ftbs over the last year. Both took 5 months.

wannabeamummysobad · 02/04/2022 21:27

5.5 months but we sold to a FTB - she held everything up. Didn't ask questions till the end, didn't get a survey and instead wanted multiple viewings etc....

RyvitaBrevis · 02/04/2022 21:48

We haven't completed yet and it's been 5 months. Everything just seems to take forever but there have been no particular major delays.

foodislife1 · 02/04/2022 21:56

Just out of interest - is it the surveyors that are causing the hold up?

Kite22 · 02/04/2022 22:03

Just out of interest - is it the surveyors that are causing the hold up?

No, surveyors were very efficient.
It is solicitors. Has always been solicitors that work at snail's pace

I don't consider this to be a 'hold up' though. 5 months has been the time span every time I have moved over 4 decades.

Frazzled2207 · 02/04/2022 22:31

@foodislife1

Just out of interest - is it the surveyors that are causing the hold up?
Almost always solicitors but mortgage lenders also caused some issues this end
ukborn · 02/04/2022 23:11

Five weeks. But cash, previous sales had fallen through so all paperwork was ready, my solicitor was on the ball. The local search took the longest and arrived two days before we exchanged and we completed a couple days later.
But back in the day (80s), you could view, offer, get your mortgage/survey/searches done and be ready to exchange in FIVE days. Properties were flying off the shelves then too - what changed (it's not all covid, surely)?

Kite22 · 02/04/2022 23:32

But back in the day (80s), you could view, offer, get your mortgage/survey/searches done and be ready to exchange in FIVE days. Properties were flying off the shelves then too - what changed (it's not all covid, surely)?

I know a LOT of people who bought in the 80s and 90s and have never heard of anyone doing this.
It really wasn't commonplace.

I bought my first property right at the end of the 80s and it took 5 months. Me, ftb, buying a flat where the previous owner had died. Should have been very simple.
Of course, at that time a solicitor would dictate what they wanted to write into their Dictaphone, then it would be typed up the next day. Then they had to post it. Then the other solicitor would respond in the same manner. It really would have been extraordinary for a sale to complete within a week.

MummyNWife · 02/04/2022 23:44

7 stressful months last year

Whadda · 02/04/2022 23:54

7 months.

Delay was entirely on vendors’ side. We had everything (full mortgage offer, bank valuation, survey engineer) arranged within two weeks. The delay was due to a boundary issue

Scbchl · 03/04/2022 00:09

Seven months! Finally completed last August. Ended up changing brother and lender and from then it took about four months and completed in August last year.

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