The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (continued) thread

[sweetpickle2]

New thread!

I’ve been told by my family and our mortgage broker that it’ll go quiet for a few weeks now and then it will be all systems go to exchange and complete!

I think I’ll start to declutter this weekend and pack away items we don’t use daily so I can get a head start before the rush.

When can completion dates be discussed? I feel like it may be too early at the moment and we already told our solicitor in the onboarding docs that we want to complete asap.

@MrsB94 we went under offer middle of December and had our offer accepted in our purchase a couple of days later. Got to the enquiries stage by second week of jan and here we remain. We're selling and buying on newish build estates so there's management companies involved with both properties which has added additional work. We were aiming for completion by Easter but now I'm hoping for April.

Feeling annoyed today. I thought I had a good solicitor and I called last week to check up if anything was happening because it was all quiet. Got told there had been nothing through from either side. But the estate agent I'm buying through told me over a week ago that my vendors had filled all their property info forms in and returned them a few days previously, and today my estate agent has emailed me because my buyers solicitor is chasing her over the fact they haven't got any response to their enquiries. Yet I've had absolutely nothing from my solicitor about the sale or the purchase. So tomorrow it's going to be trying to find out what the hell's going on with my solicitor and probably then apologising to everyone because I had no idea I was being a problem!

I think that’s sensible @MrsB94 I would make a start this weekend. I would also look at your diary and think what date would work for you and propose it to your estate agent, no harm in being the first to say what date works for you.

Looking back now, I didn’t speak to our sales progressor enough to keep tabs on when dates were being talked about. At least if you suggest a date it gives something for everyone else to think about and whether it’s achievable or not. Our chain lurched into serious action last week because it was proposed we would exchange last Monday and complete next Monday. Our solicitors suddenly pulled together the title report, finished off all the last enquiries, sorted out all the contracts in a couple of days. More contact/action this week than in the previous 5 months! We didn’t exchange Monday but we are due to exchange today.

@MrsB94 'I think I’ll start to declutter this weekend and pack away items we don’t use daily so I can get a head start before the rush.'
If my experience is anything to go by you can't start too early. As completion day loomed things got more and more rushed - so I've no doubt kept things I could have sold/charity/tip and thrown away things I should have kept.
Good luck with it all and fingers crossed you get a date soon.

We proposed exchange/completion dates on Monday, as we're now ready for the sale/purchase. I've just chased as we've not heard a peep since!

Gosh, finding it hard to concentrate, I keep checking my phone! I’ve got a sinking feeling it’s not happening today 😬

@Usernameisnotavailable0 I feel your pain! Doing the right thing though taking the initiative and chasing/following it up 😊

Belated congratulations to @sweetpickle2 and @PC96 on exchanging!

We completed today and it hasn't been as stressful as I thought weirdly enough. I just can't believe we finally got here! It doesn't feel real!

Good luck to everyone I hope the end is close and your moves are hassle free.

Oh wow. Congrats @ShittyGlitter !! 🎉 Great to hear it hasn’t been too stressful, you must have been very organised! Enjoy your new home, all worth it in the end!

Congrats @ShittyGlitter ! We got enquiries from our buyers. Honestly some of the things are so stupid. A council tax bill when they can look up the council tax online! They asked us to dismantle our sheds, I've refused!

So in a wild turn of events there's now talk of completing next Friday. Final response to enquiries are now being reviewed and I am crapping myself.

Congratulations @ShittyGlitter !

We have exchanged and moved on Tuesday!

Been two years in the making and now I'm feeling a little misty eyed about leaving, even though we have outgrown the place! Two kids and one proposal in the kitchen while living here.

Good luck to anyone waiting, it's worth it in the end!

So I emailed the essay agents with the information that I had found out and could we renegotiate and they did not respond to my email but they rang me this afternoon and they have said that the seller is a solicitor himself (interesting) they have said the seller said it's not in the management pack and the management agent is lying to me because they shouldn't be allowed to tell me that she shouldn't have told me that information but she did.

The estate agents also said that the quote she has given me is wildly expensive and I said clearly you don't know nothing about leasehold as I work in housing and this is part of my job so I know that these issues come up all the time where managing agents list high service charges and section 20s and they are wildly costly and not justified but they get away with it.

He's saying I should get my solicitor to pay to look at the management park which doesn't list these costs, but the management agent has told me that these costs are coming up this year. The estate agent was incredibly rude.

*estate

@Mrscharlieeeee Sounds like our situation! 😅 The only good thing is it does spur you into action!

Well just had solicitors on the phone and exchange not happening today as not enough time left to organise, not all links had their ducks in a row. The question now is, can we still complete next Friday if we exchange tomorrow as all week I have been told that the council (at the bottom of the chain) and another link need 6 days between exchange and completion.

Next Friday was the only date everyone could do before the end of the month. The .council have said they will not go ahead if we don’t complete before the end of March/their financial year. Will they really break the chain, surely they can do something to roll the money over to the next financial year?

Feeling very helpless and still not doing much packing!!

Enquiries have started to happen. I forgot all the silly language they use instead of just asking in plain English.

Good luck to everyone else going through selling and buying.

Congrats to all those who have exchanged!

I’ve just emailed the estate agent asking for a reduction in price, the total repairs after the survey are over 10k and we’ve asked for less than half that as a reduction so I’m hoping they’ll agree, or at least be open to some negotiation. I hate feeling like I’m slowing this process down

Congrats to you too! 🎉 I think I will feel similar when/if it finally happens. You will create lots of lovely memories in your new home too 😊 I want to have some sort of house warming party quite early on to make it feel like home. 😀

Congrats @ShittyGlitter! Great to see people getting to end of this process!

Can I ask you all a question - I have an enquiry on whether I'm planning to get the boiler serviced before completion. Is this something I should do? Boiler's working fine and I'd rather not bother if I don't have to.

@Tupster , yes I had the same enquiry. If you have had it serviced in the past 12 months there is no need to do it again. Mine hadn't been, because I was leaving it as long as possible to coincide with moving. I've since had it done and sent the service record to my solicitor. I'm not sure if you are obliged to do so (probably not - it's really up to buyers to ensure everything they have concerns about is checked), but I thought for such a relatively small amount, and because I'd planned to do it anyway, it wasn't a big deal.

You're not obligated to do it @Tupster- if the buyers want it they can pay for it.

Congrats @ShittyGlitter and @Pleaselettheholidayend!

Have spent the day sorting out all the various logistical bits- finalising movers, suspending parking bays outside so they can access, booking a pet courier (who knew that was a thing). Feels real now!

The boiler question slipped off our radar but i picked up on it this week when i was double checking everything before exchange.

I noticed the service was due this week. With the house having been empty for over 18months we were a bit worried we’d move in and it wouldn’t work, so asked if they could arrange the service for next week before we move in. The executors still had the service contract running so they have arranged for next week which we are pleased/relieved about.

Can you ask the managing agent to show you some written evidence of these planned works? There must be a proposal, consultation or schedule of work (if it's confirmed to go ahead). If the block is ex council you could always check with the council themselves what work is planned? Because your seller doesn't live in the flat, there's a chance she's missed proposals being sent through the door. In my block the managing agent would just post it through the door rather than send it to the leaseholder's correspondence address- means leaseholders who were landlords living away sometimes missed out on important comms.

If they aren't open to negotiating a price reduction, and not even accepting these works are in the pipeline, not much you can do - it's a buyer beware situation.

It's not ex council, the MA have broke GDPR rules so are refusing to put it in writing.

Broke GDPR by telling you major works would be carried out to the building...? I'm not sure I'd believe that. Major works are not personal information, they would have to be shared with the leaseholders and also would need to be disclosed to a new purchaser. There's a section in the TA7 form that asks if it is known whether major works will be carried out in the next 3 years - that managing agent/vendor need to fill out. And works take months to get agreed and confirmed so a notice would be sent months before it starts.. I can't imagine there's GDPR attached to those comms.

I think you have a difficult seller who won't negotiate a price reduction, who you can't trust. And can't trust the managing agent either. Dangerous combination. Seems a lot more trouble than it's worth.