enquiries top of chain

[Hayleydobedoo]

Hi all,
we are in a chain of 3 houses - we are FTB. we are currently 6 weeks in, We have searches all complete, mortgage in place, signed contracts, when we contacted the estate agents last week for an update on the chain we was told there are a couple of enquiries at top of chain the EA said they would catch up with agent again this week, this update was received last Wednesday. she said once enquiries are satisfied at top of chain, exchange dates can be discussed - my question, how soon do I contact EA for an update? my partner is very relaxed and said give them till Friday this week for an update but I am eager to email and see if they have heard anything, just wanted some advice on that. Also if we do get told this week that they are no further to getting this resolved what do we do? we was told timescale is 8-12 weeks so I still have time but heard that other people set rough timescales for exchange

Thanks all

bumping

Mine took nearly six months for a 'straightforward' purchase- chain of 3 properties.

You can call again and check, and with your solicitor. Ultimately if there are delays there is not always a lot you can do. You could threaten to pull out if you don't exchange by X date, but then you can end up with no house and lost fees.

@Catipepo wow that is a long time :( so as we last received communication from the Estate agent on the chain do we liaise with them or the solicitor does the solicitor have dealings with everyone in the chain or just our purchase? sorry if this sounds silly this is all new to me

I have had enquires for really quickly. And then others take weeks and weeks. It depends on what they throw up. Personally I would leave it for a few weeks and see what happens. But depends on what the solicitors are like. Good ones will let everyone know. Bad ones u will have to chase.

Ours took 5 months and that was a first time buyer and us moving in with parents till our new build completed. Solicitors love to drag their feet in my opinion. Hope they get a move on for you.

6 weeks in is nothing. You really need to calm down.

I misread Your post and thought it said a chain of 13! 😵‍💫🤣
IME the shorter the chain, the better, but it's also very much dependent as others have said on the solicitors through the chain and the other people involved in it.
Try not to get too stressed about it, as it can take a long time. The system in England is not great and even a simple conveyance seemingly can take an eternity.
Good luck!

We were in a similar chain to you. Ftb buying ours, us buying an empty house. Took 6 months. No issues, just insanely slow. 6 weeks is nothing!

@creampuffs who said I was not calm? I am merely asking for others advice & thoughts on the matter.

Sorry, your post came across as quite anxious. Especially as you said your partner is relaxed, I took that to mean, you are not relaxed. You only spoke to someone last Wednesday, I think your partner is right to say give it until the end of the week.

we were cash buyer buying an empty house and it still took 12 weeks so 8-12 weeks is pretty quick for a chain of three houses just relax its not going to go any quicker

We are also 6 weeks in to a 3 person chain - our buyers are coming out of rented, we are in the middle, our onward property has a couple going into rented.

We are aiming to complete by end of October as that’s when our mortgage offer expires (previous sale fell through) and we are in a hurry to finalise this autumn because of secondary school applications.

Us and our buyers have had surveys and mortgage offers accepted. We have searches back on the one we’re buying. Searches on ours have only just been ordered as a missing piece of ID meant buyers solicitors couldn’t start work straight away.

We anticipate a list of enquiries from our buyers to be sent through to our solicitor once their searches are back. We are waiting for our sellers’ solicitor to respond to all our solicitor’s enquiries. We have seen a list of those and it’s been a couple of weeks now without a response to those.

Because I’m of the mindset that badgering all involved will only make them want to see the back of this transaction sooner, I’m asking solicitor for updates every few days/at least once a week. The same with our agent for the parts they’re involved with.

So in short, I don’t see the harm in chasing or asking questions and keeping your transaction at the forefront of everyone’s minds. But I’m summary, we’re a bit further behind than you in a chain the same size which started at the same time so I think you’re doing well.

We are 5 months in, a chain of just 3 6 weeks is seriously pushing it ! Unless you are paying cash outright?

@Hayleydobedoo Personally I had best communication from our solicitor, they liaised with our vendors solicitor via email so had things in writing.
Our estate agent was awful and just lied to us each time we spoke, false information, unrealistic deadlines etc.