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.

Thanks, I will start getting quotes and seeing if I can pencil anyone in. I know the date I want to move and don’t seem to have any pushback from anyone else in the chain but also have no idea what’s happening at the minute.

I’ve put in a complaint but it says it will take 2 weeks for someone to get allocated and then 4 weeks to investigate which doesn’t help us much! I will get back onto the estate agent as he said he would contact their head. I can only find generic office contact details on the website.

Euuuuurgh. Found out this morning some of the enquiries aren't resolved. Although the EA made it sound like it should be simple to fix because the purchase is a newbuild, honestly I just feel like I can't trust them any longer. I want to put a deadline on completion but what if they just can't make the deadline? Really want this house and don't want to lose it! But a year is ridiculous and it really needs to be sorted.

Welcome @CoffeeWithCheese! A pre-exchange lookaround sounds sensible - hope it goes well tomorrow. I think if I could handle the stress of seeing "our" house again when it's not yet ours would stress me more than reassure me! So we're risking it.

Anyone else fed up with the silence and not knowing whats happening?

There are only four in our chain but nothing seems to be happening yet a completion date was suggested for the 24th. Our buyers solicitor is now querying some work that was done to our house 10 years ago before we even lived here! I have so much to sort once the date is confirmed.

Getting moaned at my husband for not packing but dont want to pack for it to fall through and have to unpack.

My mum suggested giving a deadline or pulling out but i really want to move. Never moving again!

The not knowing drives me crazy! I did have a bit of a rant at my solicitor yesterday- not about her but the situation - shouldn’t have ranted as I have laryngitis and it bloody hurt! Anyway she must have taken pity and pushed harder for an update so I now know that we are a baby step closer to the elusive exchange date. However no idea when that might actually be and I think I’ve used up my digging quota for the week!

It's gruelling - I tentatively arranged my diary working on one date - and now the solicitors have deposit funds ready to go and we're looking at another date. I'm trying to plan client visits, some of which have taken a hell of a long time to set up with difficult to reach clients and safeguarding investigations on the go... and I can't bloody plan much!

Reading this thread from the POV of an (ex) estate agent is painful. I used to work for an (independent not chain) estate agency and slow solicitors used to drive me bananas. Selling/buying a property is the biggest investment people will probably ever make emotionally as well as financially (excluding professional investors) and while solicitors are there to do a professional job, they should earn their money on the customer support side too.

I really feel that even when a sale is referred to the solicitor from the agent, a good agent should still take some oversight. Even if there was nothing happening eg waiting for searches I would always cast my eye over the file and still ring/email my clients weekly to update them. Even if there was nothing to say, people still just want to know what's going on! And some reassurance that someone is doing something. Especially close to exchange/completion. So many things depends on timescales - jobs, schools (particularly important in my area!) removals, deliveries, locksmiths, utilities etc. A good agent should be able to chase up surveyors/contractors and nudge solicitors etc. Also if a vendor or buyer is dragging their feet, it shows a problem just waiting to happen and you want to unpick it now not six weeks down the line.

Estate agents have such a shit reputation as so many just think of their fees coming purely from viewings that result in a sale. It's not just the viewing, it's the sales process and you earn your fees from helping the process. I don't think it's good for estate agents to just wash their hands once solicitors are involved, especially ones who have two speeds - slow and stop. Agents and solicitors who are non contactable the day before or on exchange day particularly need a kick up the arse. People are literally waiting by the phone!

I actually think agents/staff who have only been working in the market in the last few years (when properties pretty much sold themselves) are in for a rough ride. A good agent is worth their weight in gold in a falling market, they understand and can deal with shit like gazundering and big differences in mortgage valuations etc, and the desire of clients to go joint agency (not worth it, always fucks stuff up and vendors think you're desperate). If agents have no experience in these aspects, they're in for a big shock (especially the ones who are used to "pricing for listing not for selling" so they get the business in the first place). They also need to think about referrals from happy clients, when they'll be chasing for business in a sparse market. And they need to be able to write a fucking good listing not just bullet points, shit photos, a crap floor plan and no EPC (very important these days).

I hope the adjusting market will slightly redeem estate agents' reputations as their behaviour is going to have to change. The cliche of the 21 year old "flashy but shit at their job" male estate agent with a BMW should be replaced with sensible and professional middle aged women who have dealt with previous crashes, understand the stress of schools etc, perhaps have a people carrier but more importantly just take some fucking responsibility.

Apologies for the rant but I thought it may cheer stressed people up slightly (I feel for you) and encourage you to badger your agents into earning their fees!

@IndyAgent it's heartening to hear some frustration from someone who knows the inside scoop as an EA!

@Karmatime are you me? Although I think mine might be tonsillitis I shouldn't have talked so much either 😂I'm not sure my chasing quota is sufficient, judging by how my EA suspiciously only ever gets news the afternoon after I've called, or the next morning. I honestly wouldn't mind a daily call at this stage - just to know that our file hasn't been put down and forgotten about.

Just reading the thread @spidershavetoomanyknees made me feel stressed and frustrated for you all! The system needs to change.

I’ve just had a call asking for a pre-exchange visit for my buyers. Is this a thing? I can kind of understand it as it’s been a while since their last visit. I’m going to have to make a trip to check the house out before they come as we moved out nearly a month ago. I was going anyway this weekend I’ll just need to go a day earlier.
I just have to hope it’s not an exercise in last minute price reductions.
What are peoples views on picture hooks? Leave them in or remove and fill?

@Karmatime definitely a thing, but not a thing I've ever personally experienced. Not sure what that says about me/previous buyers!

@IndyAgent Thanks for your insight and I agree. I must say though, our EA is brilliant. The only person I am reliably able to reach and who has at least some idea of what's going on.

@Karmatime Yes, definitely a thing. Some solicitors even advise their clients to do that. No idea on the picture hooks, though asking myself the same question. I think personally I am going to go with leaving them in. We have movers come to pack the day before, so don't really have time to then run around and fill holes. I think I'd also prefer our sellers to not fill them. I am excellent at patching up walls and would probably be annoyed if they didn't do it well.

I think I’m going to leave them in. It would be me patching up and I’m not that good at it. I just hope my buyers are not freaked out by the house now it’s empty. It is spotlessly clean but a few things like worn carpets were hidden by furniture when they looked round. (I didn’t know myself until we moved out.)

Ps I don’t have any actual dates for exchange - how far in advance do these pre exchange visits usually happen? I’m hoping it’s a good sign?

Pre-exchange viewing is a thing. You don't want to find out the bath has leaked and the ceiling caved in shortly after your survey was done. We didn't bother with our last purchase because the sellers were really good and seemed the type to tell us if anything happened. They contacted us through the agents to say the oven had died and they were going to replace it with whatever model (standard oven) to give us the chance to choose a fancier one if we wanted to pay the difference. They did similar with some side lights they were taking (wedding present). I had asked if they'd let us know paint colours of the rooms because we liked them and didn't want to change them. They found the half used tins in the garage and asked if we wanted them to leave them. They let us come back to measure up all the rooms early on. Lots of little things that made us feel safe exchanging without putting them out with a visit.

Nearly made it over the line today. I contacted the customer care partner (thank you @PleaseJustText ) and that did the trick with the solicitors. We had a completion date agreed by everyone and we were all go to exchange then there was a problem with confirming someone mortgage funds will be available on the completion date. We have to wait till tomorrow now so one more night of uncertainty.

@IndyAgent my estate agents have been very good to be honest.

Well my complaint meant we got all the documents.
Unfortunately bad news. In December the searches flagged high risk of contaminated land due to a historic landfill site nearby.

Solicitor said she was doing further checks. I did some research and I pushed to find out what these were and asked if I should arrange soil testing. She responded saying she would let me know once she had more information. I left it in her hands as I trusted her back then (!). Turns out those further checks were an indemnity insurance policy.

No use to me whatsoever as this is a problem with the value of the property not to mention I will be grazing my horses on it.

So this is going to cost us several thousand and delay us at least a month. I’ve been in tears all evening.

oh no @Inapicklee its annoying that indemnity insurance is the answer to everything regardless as to whether its actually appropriate.

I suppose it’s my own fault really for not continuing with the soil testing back in December. But based on her response and the cost, I wasn’t overly concerned and thought she’d essentially dealt with it especially as we’ve been getting closer to the exchange.

Still furious about it as well though as I specifically asked for advise and I can see now I was fobbed off.

From what I’ve worked out about it, I think it’s an incredibly small chance that it will be contaminated (local searches all fine, no issues raised in 30 years, it wasn’t commercial, post waste legislation and he bothered to get a licence) BUT this will definitely rear its ugly head if we ever look to sell it and I’m not sure I could truly relax and graze my horses on it without knowing.

Oh @Inapicklee I hope it's just searches being overly cautious. We had "contaminated" land for our current property. I'm a keen gardener so did a test. I used Safe Soil and the test didn't cost too much.

I'm glad you contacted the client care partner @StillNiceCardigan. It's not something you want to do when you're solicitor has been alright but needs must. It really is a magic bullet.

Hope it's OK to join the thread! I had an offer accepted the first week of January. My mortgage is agreed and we are waiting for the LA searches. I've been given very different timescales of when we can expect them to be returned. I've said I'd like to complete by Easter weekend. As I'm chain free I've been told that's a realistic aim but my solicitor won't commit yet. Although looking at lots of the horror stories here I'm wondering if that's wishful thinking?

The house I'm buying is a bit of a doer upper as it belonged to an old couple. It was built in the early 70s so I think I am going to commission my own survey for peace of mind as the lenders basically just confirmed it was a house and was worth the sale price!

What level surveys has everyone else had on 1960s/ 70s houses?

We had a level 2 survey even though the house we are buying is only 20 years old. We don’t have a mortgage and just wanted a bit of a second opinion especially as there are some quirky features to the house. We discussed what sort of survey was appropriate with the surveyor when we were engaging him.

@PleaseJustText
do you think that is sufficient? Please can you tell me what the context of your land contamination was?

Something like that would be far quicker and cheaper. Probably enough to put me at ease but would it be enough to reassure future buyers 🤔 I went straight into looking at big companies who come and dig holes and stuff. But maybe that is excessive and a test like that would put me at ease and it wouldn’t necessarily delay us if we can agree 2 weeks between exchange and completion instead.

Essentially the environmental searches came back as ‘further assessment needed’ and that it was high risk for contamination.

The local searches say nothing has ever been reported etc but there is a risk of contaminative activities. There is a small section of land that previous owners (before current vendor) had a licence for waste disposal for back in 1992 and it says it was non biodegradable non-construction waste. Although the historic landfill registry has it listed as 1970.

@Inapicklee Ugh that's annoying. We had a mine come up on our searches and I did a lot of research to really assess the risks. Even spoke to some friends who are geologists, which ultimately put my mind at ease. Funny that the solicitor recommended an indemnity - what's that going to do? Hopefully the cheap/easy test will be enough.

I am yet again trying to reach my solicitor. I am giving it until this afternoon, then I will also have to contact client care. I hate that being kind, polite, and considerate means I am receiving a worse service than someone who is constantly pushing and nagging.

@thunderouslug it purely protects us if we get issued a notice to fix the land (if it becomes known it’s contaminated) so not particularly helpful.

We have managed to find a guy who is getting samples today (!) and should have results in 3-5 days. Fair bit more expensive than yours but given how far away it is, this is by far the quickest option, so we are steaming ahead getting everything ready to exchange pretty much the second the report comes back with a view of completing on the intended date.

stressed does not cover it!!

If it helps, since I complained yesterday morning, my solicitor has been wonderful. I felt bad for doing it but it worked!