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Original poster

How long from offer to completion?

38 replies

SheilasLemonade · 13/07/2022 21:37

Sold ours and offered on new place last week. Ours are FTBs and our sellers are moving into rented so pretty small chain.

However, the mortgage on our place is tiny and, as such, we can save about £2k a month (£2.5 if we tighten our belts).

Is four months from offer to completion about right? I'm trying to ensure we've got a bit of a savings buffer for when we get in there.

OP posts:

Squashedraddish · 13/07/2022 21:39

Ours took 8 months but we were in a chain of 6 which slowed it down

nOvOn · 13/07/2022 22:03

We are approaching 9 months. Hopefully completing next week as the bottom of the chain’s mortgage is about to expire but we are still yet to exchange contracts.

siblingnames · 13/07/2022 22:06

Ours was a 'chain' of two houses and it took 5 months.

EmmaGrundyForPM · 13/07/2022 22:06

We are in a very short chain - our vendors, us and our buyers, so simar to you. We had our offer accepted in mid March, and are hoping to complete by mid September, so six months. It's crazy.

Candleabra · 13/07/2022 22:09

Short chain. Offer accepted early March, completed late June. So yes 4 months in theory but relies on everyone working towards the se goal and completing their paperwork and processes quickly. Our estate agents were good at driving the completion forward. Unfortunately you’re only as quick as the slowest part of the chain.

Mellowyellow222 · 13/07/2022 22:24

i did it in just over three months.

chain was short - I sold to first time buyers and the house I bought didn’t have an onward chain. I pushed for a quick completion because of the stamp duty holiday at the time.

Kite22 · 13/07/2022 22:37

I've know 4 lots of FTBs move into their first homes in the past year. They took
4.5 months
5.5months
6months
7months

All with seemingly very small chains.

Headbandheart · 13/07/2022 23:04

Mine took 3 months last year at height of stamp duty holiday. Just 3 in my chain. People I was buying from moving into parents. People buying from me cash, I was no mortgage in the middle
it was insanely stressful trying to get it through in that time scale as very one was trying to beat the stamp duty deadline. I was divorcing in a rush so didn’t choose to move at that point.
My solicitors did a crap job..missed stuff…still have never received hard copies off older documents not in electronic files with land registry. They’ve been lost
I am retired and at point was phoning them daily just to try and make any progress at all.
it was worse move I ever had. And I’ve moved 7 times.
I have young relatives who have waited over 8 months. Just moved this week. She’s a trainee barrister and still couldn’t get solicitors moving.

choose your solicitors wisely. Make sure you can go to their office in person and see whites of their eyes if necessary. Don’t get into chain with anyone using on line solicitors as these are the worst just now.

frankly 4 months is optimistic imho just now

gogohmm · 13/07/2022 23:06

Ours took 3.5 months no chain

YerAWizardHarry · 13/07/2022 23:09

We offered on the 4th August and got keys on 8th October, no chain though! House was empty and we were first time buyers.

spanishsummers · 13/07/2022 23:13

9 weeks. A while ago.

reno22 · 13/07/2022 23:21

How long is a piece of string? Ours has taken 5.5 months despite being a very small chain - we were buying from a old lady who was moving into an old peoples home. We didn't need to sell to fund onward purchase.

All the delays were due to the solicitor (she ghosted us for 8 weeks).

easyday · 13/07/2022 23:40

Did it in five weeks last summer but my solicitor was on top of it as it was the third house I tried to buy and was living in airbnbs.
I'd reckon three months as long as things are straightforward, four as a cushion.

SNAFU247 · 14/07/2022 06:21

Even with no chains it would typically take 3 months - 4 months

vroom321 · 14/07/2022 06:28

Next door accepted an offer in January. Madness.

Longdistance · 14/07/2022 06:36

Offered January, keys in hand March. Us, vendor and then last in chain.
Get on the phone to the solicitor otherwise they’ll drag their feet.

sarahc336 · 14/07/2022 06:42

Chain of 4, completed 3 weeks ago and it took us 4 months x

Roselilly36 · 14/07/2022 06:45

4mths is about right, but can of course be longer or shorter. Good luck with your move.

Frogpig · 14/07/2022 17:17

We had our offer accepted early May, exchanged this week and due to complete on 26th July so about 10 weeks but no chain and I harassed everyone!

Dreamqueen · 15/07/2022 06:35

We accepted an offer at the beginning of January. We had already purchased the house that we're moving to. Finally exchanged last Tuesday & completing next Monday. The hold up was due to our buyers mortgage company. They're self employed and their offer took far longer than they had anticipated.

hurtyb · 15/07/2022 08:36

@Frogpig did you phone your solicitors constantly?

ForcingSmiles · 15/07/2022 08:46

Offer accepted Mid May, hoping to be in by the August bank holiday.

Its us (FTB) and them (going into rented) so we don't have a massive chain

berksandbeyond · 15/07/2022 09:24

Last year our chain of 3 took 17 weeks from offer acceptance to completion. And that was with some aggressive pushing from me - it was basically a part time job for me.

carefullycourageous · 15/07/2022 09:26

9 months, it was so slow.... short chain (our buyer was FTB, then us, our vendor was buying something empty).

GreenPalmTree · 15/07/2022 09:55

All very frustrating at the moment - there was a hold up with ours connected to the lender’s (I don’t mind shaming them… bloody Nationwide!) for the FTB being so so slow with responding (now 4 weeks since they were due respond to a information submitted following a last minute query they made) this then meant we lost our onward purchase as the vendor was expecting to exchange in June (we had had our offer accepted at the end of March)

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