Buyers/Sellers Exchange waiting room

[spidershavetoomanyknees]

Currently waiting for exchange, stuck in a never-ending loop of "there's been a couple more enquiries higher up the chain" and "we're nearly there now". Wondering if there's anyone else who would like to join me here in the waiting room of doom to vent into the void.

Next train for Exchange (line terminates at Completion) is currently delayed and they'd like to apologise for the delay.

[notsosoftanymore]

We are living with complete silence. Only three of us in the chain, the expectation was that we would exchange any time now and complete end of February. Buyers went off on holiday to a glorious destination several weeks ago, came back and called our estate agent wanting to renegotiate the price. We asked our solicitor to speak to their solicitor.... I think I'm expecting the worst. 😚

[spidershavetoomanyknees]

@notsosoftanymore oh no! Hope that no news is good news and they're quickly trying to sort their paperwork... 🤔

[Inapicklee]

Oh lord this is me.
My solicitor sent off enquiries in December. We’ve been chasing for weeks to find out the seller sent enquiries back same day but they were only partially completed and their solicitor did nothing?

Our buyers sent enquiries last week, mostly relating to the survey which was done 3 months ago.

We’re the middle of a chain of 5. Our offer went in in September. Desperate to exchange in the next 2 weeks as we are relocating 200 miles so I need to give 4 weeks notice to work so need 4 weeks between exchange and completion and I have a fixed start date of my new job but no one seems to have any motivation to actually progress this!

I’ve gotten into a habit of checking e-mails every 30 minutes and hating weekends as I know there won’t be any progress!

[thunderouslug]

@Inapicklee Similar situation to us! We are third in a chain of 7 (or 8...I honestly can't remember). Below us are moving locally where we currently live, then it's us relocating 200 miles, and above us who are all also moving locally. Everyone is ready except for our purchase - I have yet to even see the title plan! First our seller's solicitor took ages to reply to enquiries, then ours just went awol. Still waiting for searches back too. So really doesn't seem like we'll be ready soon but estate agents from both sides are constantly pestering me. Lots of pushing for same-day exchange and completion in two weeks but it doesn't seem to have occured to the rest of the chain that we need a little bit more notice because we are moving halfway across the country. I mean, I am very eager to get it over with and finally move out but surely it's not unreasonable that we'll need some time between exchange and completion.

[Inapicklee]

Yup. It’s a lot harder when your whole life is changing opposed to moving down the road!

I’ve told them if I miss the start date for my job, I won’t be able to start until June (I have to attend a transfer course so only select start dates through the year) which means a significant delay on the completion as I can’t afford to be out of work for months but it doesn’t appear to have motivated anyone.

Just had a call from our estate agent that our EPC has run out - surely the solicitor should have picked up on this?! We used her when we bought this house 2 years ago and she was incredibly efficient. Complete opposite to now.

[ShirleyValentin3]

Urgh, we're the ones causing the issue in our purchase 😬

Only 2 in a chain. We're buying, but are waiting for our mortgage offer. It's been 3 months and still no further in knowing.

Pretty much everything else has been done - surveys, solicitors work. They're just waiting for us and our hands are tied.

I have sleepless nights that we won't get the mortgage offer and we'll lose all of the money we've invested already, and we won't get our house. It's a nightmare on the daily!

I'm perplexed at why things take so long. It's wild!

[spidershavetoomanyknees]

@Inapicklee that sounds very stressful! I had a friend in a similar situation who ended up in an airbnb near to her new job for about a month or two just so she could start. Is that sort of thing an option for you?

[spidershavetoomanyknees]

@thunderouslug and @ShirleyValentin3 it must be so frustrating to be chased when the delay is not directly something you can resolve! I wonder if it's less stressful to do the chasing or to be chased 🤔

[Quizzed]

I'm just nervously waiting for my buyers to be ready. All my searches, mortgage application and surveys have been completed and I'm buying from a landlord so no upwards chain.

[Inapicklee]

@spidershavetoomanyknees not really, I have 4 horses as well and they will live at home when we move. Two of them are very young and uncastrated so would be nearly impossible to find somewhere to keep them (I rent a field at the moment and they’re like hens teeth!).

In reality we have a couple more weeks leeway that we’re letting on partly as there’s a lot of work to do to the property which I want to sort before starting new job so it’s not a complete disaster if it takes longer. It’s just the frustration that there doesn’t seem to be a reason for it to be taking so long beyond poor communication!

@ShirleyValentin3 that sounds like a nightmare! Why is it taking so long? It took our buyers 3 months too and I didn’t really understand it. We’re porting this time but when we first got our mortgage it was sorted in a week?

[ShirleyValentin3]

@Inapicklee

@spidershavetoomanyknees not really, I have 4 horses as well and they will live at home when we move. Two of them are very young and uncastrated so would be nearly impossible to find somewhere to keep them (I rent a field at the moment and they’re like hens teeth!).

In reality we have a couple more weeks leeway that we’re letting on partly as there’s a lot of work to do to the property which I want to sort before starting new job so it’s not a complete disaster if it takes longer. It’s just the frustration that there doesn’t seem to be a reason for it to be taking so long beyond poor communication!

@ShirleyValentin3 that sounds like a nightmare! Why is it taking so long? It took our buyers 3 months too and I didn’t really understand it. We’re porting this time but when we first got our mortgage it was sorted in a week?

My DH and I are business owners, so things have taken a bit longer than usual. They've come back to us for more details a hundred times, and then it takes days and days to assess the new documents.

It's super frustrating, as we're constantly told it will be within a few days, then the rug gets pulled again. Our broker is amazing, but we're slowly going bonkers.

Apparently, we should know tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath!

[spidershavetoomanyknees]

@Inapicklee hmmmn - tricky! Couldn't horses stay where they are now until you move? So you'd still be waiting on exchange and completion but you'd be in the right place for work?

[RooBear9]

We are due to exchange this Friday and complete next Thursday but our vendors solicitor is not engaging with our enquiries. They won't provide any more info on the gas and electrics and won't provide an indemnity policy either, so they're just sending the same emails back and forth, requesting the same info, and refusing to provide more info, and have been for weeks now. If we don't exchange this Friday at the latest we have no choice but to pull out as our buyers will need to redo their searches as it's been 6 months, and their mortgage offer expires next Friday too.

[pfb12345]

Waiting anxiously to exchange and complete as mortgage offer runs out on Tuesday. Yes this bonkers process has taken the full 6 months (and more) with us no chain and our vendors no onward purchase! How?! Solicitors have been so so so slow. They have had to hash out legalities relating to the sale but I still don't see that it should have taken this long. And even until yesterday they were still arguing about 1 thing between themselves. For the last 6 weeks at least, before Christmas, I have been chasing and chasing and it is just impossible to get anyone to do anything. And now we are right up to the wire with it. I am angry and anxious but with nowhere to put all the nervous energy apart from here! I can see why people say they won't move again.

[RooBear9]

Our vendors are already having to break the chain also and move in family, as the top of the chain only decided to tell everyone else further down the chain that they don't plan on moving out until the end of March, last week. So that was fun trying to negotiate that.

[pfb12345]

@RooBear9 gosh yours sounds even more stressful than ours!

Why is the house buying and selling process like this in England? It is crazy. My sister in law and her husband also completed last week on their last day of their mortgage offer. So stressful for so many people.

[mrscotton]

Can I join. We are waiting on exchange, got told at the weekend that everyone is ready. Got an email yesterday thag our buyers solicitor has pulled out more stuff to check, one is about a hot tub we had in 2020 but sold.

We have 4 in our chain but also a 10 month old so packing hasnt gone well either 😭

[Mildura]

@RooBear9

We are due to exchange this Friday and complete next Thursday but our vendors solicitor is not engaging with our enquiries. They won't provide any more info on the gas and electrics and won't provide an indemnity policy either, so they're just sending the same emails back and forth, requesting the same info, and refusing to provide more info, and have been for weeks now. If we don't exchange this Friday at the latest we have no choice but to pull out as our buyers will need to redo their searches as it's been 6 months, and their mortgage offer expires next Friday too.

May I ask what sort of enquiries on the gas and electrics are being raised?

[Inapicklee]

@spidershavetoomanyknees not really, they need care twice a day and definitely can’t afford that on top of an air b&b! I have faith. And I’m capable of being extremely annoying so I’m making full use of that. The top of the chain is emigrating to New Zealand and my buyers are desperate to move as they’ve just had a new baby so family of 5 in a 2 bed so I’m sure no one wants to have to wait until June for my next start date if they don’t get a wiggle on!

I’m sure I can find a solution if worst comes to worst, I’m just not advertising it to the solicitors as they clearly don’t need an incentive to do nothing.

@RooBear9 and @pfb12345 what a nightmare! I don’t understand what takes so ridiculously long.

Ironically I’ve had an email from my solicitor. Only to say that it appears the bottom of our garden isn’t in our title plans so more paperwork to prove no one cares that we have apparently stolen a bit of land. The ironic thing is we bought this house with this solicitor 2 years ago, this land is within the boundary of the garden fence and she didn’t notice so evidently isnt very competent!

[AlwaysGinPlease]

Oh yes the " few more enquiries" " we are nearly there" sick of it all

I've cried today as it's all just so draining. Our buyers had a full structural survey 3 weeks ago. We figured no news is good news. Today they announce they have more enquiries on the back of that. It's an old house but it's in very good condition.


To top that off, our estate agents, that we will end up paying a bloody fortune to for selling our house, are behaving more like they work for our buyer than us.

Our seller is dragging their feet. They are moving to another property they already own so no onward chain.

It's a really short chain. It should not be this hard.

[RooBear9]

@Mildura

May I ask what sort of enquiries on the gas and electrics are being raised?

They haven't answered the property information form where it asks if there has been any gas or electrical work done within the last 10 years, with enough information. They've said they've had some gas work done but won't say what or when. They haven't had electric work done and can't comment on whether the previous owners did either, despite only buying the property 3 years ago. My own solicitor is questioning this, and asking them to provide what information they were provided by the previous owner when they raised their own enquiries, but again, they have refused. They won't even explain why they won't provide the further information either, it's just a flat no we won't be doing that.

I'm thinking of getting our own indemnity policy just to get things moving but I don't see why I should when they could just answer the questions!!

It also took them 2 months to provide a warranty document for some patio doors they had installed less than 6 months ago!

When our buyers solicitor sent enquiries to us, I provided as much information as possible and as a result didn't have any follow up emails with further enquiries as I'd answered them so thoroughly.

[superdupernova]

They haven't had electric work done and can't comment on whether the previous owners did either, despite only buying the property 3 years ago.

Well that's rediculous. We bought our house in 2016. The sellers had a full rewrite in 2003 and we have the paperwork. Thanks to the use of email, we have copies of everything sent to us for the purchase. Even if we didn't, we could ask our solicitor for a copy of our file. It would still be in storage after 3 years.

[Karmatime]

We should have exchanged over 2 weeks ago, I’m at the top of a chain of 3. My buyer’s sale is delayed as there is an issue with the lease on the flat they are selling. We don’t know yet if an indemnity policy will fix it or if it will need a deed of variation. I’ve already moved 250 miles away into a rental and wasn’t expecting the house to be empty for long. It’s really hard getting any updates on what is going on and I’m getting to the stage where I don’t believe it’s going to happen! My buyers are apparently equally as frustrated.

[Mildura]

@RooBear9

They haven't answered the property information form where it asks if there has been any gas or electrical work done within the last 10 years, with enough information. They've said they've had some gas work done but won't say what or when. They haven't had electric work done and can't comment on whether the previous owners did either, despite only buying the property 3 years ago. My own solicitor is questioning this, and asking them to provide what information they were provided by the previous owner when they raised their own enquiries, but again, they have refused. They won't even explain why they won't provide the further information either, it's just a flat no we won't be doing that.

I'm thinking of getting our own indemnity policy just to get things moving but I don't see why I should when they could just answer the questions!!

It also took them 2 months to provide a warranty document for some patio doors they had installed less than 6 months ago!

When our buyers solicitor sent enquiries to us, I provided as much information as possible and as a result didn't have any follow up emails with further enquiries as I'd answered them so thoroughly.

Some people are so gobsmackingly unhelpful and disingenuous, I really will never get why property transactions make some behave in such an irritating way.

on the indemnity front, for something like this it really is an absolute waste of money and paper. The only thing it covers is in the event the local authority come after a property owner for not having the appropriate paperwork. Chances of that happening are precisely zero. It doesn’t cover substandard work. The only thing that will give you that assurance is having it checked by appropriate people, but time isn’t on your side, obviously, although just about possible.

I hope you manage to get everything sorted.

[Nonamenoplacetogo]

Can I join please, waiting to exchange and still some outstanding queries.
Offer went in early Oct, I'm in rented, vendor moving to empty house and it's now 4 months. We are both 'motivated' and estate agent helpful but it's dragging now. The mini budgets means I got a slight discount on the house but my interest rate is high. I'm buying on my own, single parent and it's taken years of saving to get to this point but I'm petrified