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

[sweetpickle2]

New thread!

If you go into your bank, they can do a chaps payment. It costs (think it cost me £25 back in 2003) but gets it all there in one go and not needing you to do multiple transfers across multiple days

Our survey came back with no surprises. All systems go!

Thanks for that chaps info, we are using funds from my wife's house sale a few years ago as well as my house sale now as our deposit and I didn't know about that. I've never needed to move so much money around before!

Contracts exchanged today! 😃I can hardly believe it as it has been a long journey. It was right down to the wire with the obligatory last gasp trivial query, at which point I had to have a lie down (!) but it got sorted. My solicitor and EA have been brilliant throughout. Final cleaning and clearing to be done, but I will have more energy for it now. Completion set for next week.

@MotherOfRatios , glad to hear you found somewhere else you liked, and hope the EA sees sense.

@MovingToPlan , I've transferred bigger amounts than £25K before. I called the bank to explain what was happening and that sorted it. I still did it in a few chunks, but it wasn't too painful at all, and easier than going into a branch.

I asked the EA a question to which he rang immediately and stated he'd known all afternoon the seller had rejected my offer then proceeded to tell me the property had since received 5 offers at asking price or above which rang alarm bells.

The search continues pretty sure the EA didn't put my offer forward

Well everything seems to have gone totally to pot for me. My purchase has essentially fallen through - the estate agent is trying to revive it because he wants his commission, but I won't continue if the vendors don't budge, and they won't do anything unless I continue, so that's pretty dead in the water. Found out today that my buyers have found issues in the survey that was done well over a month ago and I thought the danger had long since passed. Don't know exactly what has come up because estate agent has said they are "reviewing it" but that sounds to me like FTBs getting fussy over small niggles. I like my house and don't need to move if I don't get the house I was trying to buy so increasingly think I might just pull out of everything and stay in my nice house.

That EA sounds awful!!!
Using all the horrible old tricks to try and drive up the price.
It's maddening.
I know by law the EA has to pass on all offers made, but it does sound like they sometimes 'game' the system.
If it makes you feel any better, a rather snooty EA once told us sniffily that our offer was 'too low'.
So we backed away.
Didn't hear anything for a month, then the snooty EA sent us a crawling letter (obvs they'd been blasted by the vendor) asking (begging!) if our offer was still available as it would be accepted.
LOL. We didn't go for it.
I hope you find something soon @MotherOfRatios

I emailed my vendors solicitors about the 2 damp areas we noticed on Saturday after going for another viewing. I attached the 2 photos I took. I'm still waiting for a reply. I'm presuming she is waiting for her client to decide what to do.

I really don't want to move into my new house and have to get tradesmen in to start messing with walls, plaster etc. I have no idea what it is or how much it would cost to fix.

She also needs to fix the front door lock, as it's dodgy and we can never get in through the front door. Even the EA on Saturday struggled.

I've also had searches etc back and loads of enquiries still haven't been answered by my onward purchase. The EPC has also lapsed (in November) and needs renewing.

I have a feeling, things are going to stall now.

It's an odd market in London at the minute, lots of overpriced flats.

Chain still not complete (headline every week!) but my buyer started searches a few weeks ago so I’ve instructed mine to go ahead for my purchase. No surveys yet but if we’ve done what we can (as hopefully up the chain are too) then when it does complete, I’m hoping it’ll be quicker. Possibly a bit of a risk but I think it’s best to do what we can.

Well done @ClematisBlue49

@Tupster - why are they reviewing well after a month. It makes no sense to me.... sounds like they may be just going for a reduction late in the game. Hopefully your seller will also engage a bit to prevent the chain collapsing.

I'm beginning to think a lot of solicitors are either useless or sadists.

Due to exchange Friday but once solicitor up the chain not available so exchange today... Nope. One of my vendors is buying a flat and the management company legal person started arguing about some fee apparently agreed months ago. And by the time they'd capitulated my solicitor wasn't available <sigh>
It also turns out the main delay in recent weeks has been over a demand for an indemnity on a property that was bought out of leasehold decades ago. For who knows what reason my vendors solicitor insisted, even though the leasehold rents around here are like a £1 a year.
So exchanging and completing tomorrow, or so we hope..... really really hope

How ridiculous, @Laughingravy. Good luck today!

I think they are all egotistical and have superiority complexes thats for sure.

My solicitor always types communications to me and then gets them sent by a secretary, assistant etc to me on behalf of the solicitor. All communications are super passive aggressive from them if a question is asked as though I am challenging their knowledge or should know what something means.

The amount of stories I've read on here and other sites where one solicitor wants to do X and another wants to do Y and neither backing down is insane.

So exciting, I’ve been on this thread for awhile and made a few posts but we exchanged on our sale in early February and finally exchanged on our purchase yesterday so we’re in the same boat. We have four weeks until we complete, what day is your completion set for? ours is set for the 13th but can be earlier if both parties agree. congratulations again x

@fromtheshires Even with all the modern ways to communicate it still ends up like a weird version of Chinese whispers and a simple question can take several days to get an answer at best and often weeks. Then if outside agencies are involved, like the Land Registry, you can add months onto the process for no really good reason.
And in every transaction so far this year (three and counting) a trip wire has been set right near the end of the process which has added weeks or months.

And as I write this we have exchanged and completed and I have a set of keys but we've been asked to wait until 6pm as the vendor is struggling to get clear and still getting no help from the adult child it seems.

@Laughingravy omg 6pm???? That is my nightmare! Can't you charge them for time over 1pm? I'm sure I read that somewhere. Or perhaps that's only to your buyers...
Meanwhile we are stuck waiting for probate for everything to move. It's shit because you can't set a date in stone. Could be tomorrow, could be weeks from now. How are you supposed to plan anything?!

@Turniptracker Fortunately we aren't sat in a truck with all our worldly goods and no bed for the night. I don't think there's a set time but it can be specified in the contract. So in theory yes we could make a fuss legally but we're more concerned the place is cleared of all their junk and there's no cost implication for us in waiting. They could have asked to delay the completion day but often if people have more time to do a task they still stretch it out to fill the extra time.
When a friend moved her vendors weren't out, she was sat waiting and paying the removals company overtime. So when they tried to pull a stunt over the shed they'd left behind she just threatened to send them the bill and they went quiet.
Time to saddle up and see what we've let ourselves in for.

Rar! We are now looking at the week after now. Apparently our buyer can't move on the agreed date.

Still no word on when we are going to exchange. So who knows if the dates suggests are even a reality.

I am so done with it all! It really spoils the new house vibe!

@Laughingravy you have the patience of a saint! (It wanted to autocorrect to snowman.)

@Laughingravy I hope you manage to get in ok and they've left it clear for you.

I've been in to the solicitors to sign the contracts today. My solicitor thinks around 3-4 weeks to completion now so definitely not turning it around before my mortgage offer expires as she suggested last week. Have called mortgage provider and have to wait for a call back. Just hoping they don't have a problem with extending the offer (again).

congrats to those who have exchanged and/or completed and good luck to those still waiting!

we’re hoping to exchange soon, after the survey the seller agreed to get some aspects fixed so we’re viewing the house tomorrow to check that everything is good. I have a suspicion that they haven’t done one of the repairs though so I’m not looking forward to the next few days. I’m hoping it’s all been done, but if not should I raise it with the seller directly tomorrow or wait and do it through the solicitors? Would appreciate any thoughts!

@fingerscrossedplease with your EA as well if you can? Especially if you don’t trust the seller.
At the end of today, I was told people the top of chain had had offer accepted and it was therefore end of chain. Hooray! Finally. We still have a long way to go with five of us in the chain but I’ve authorised searches to start and my buyer has started with enquiries and searches too. We have had some queries we will need to consider getting indemnity insurance for or retrospective certificates which may be tough but I’m glad we past the starting line.

Movement on the thread, huzzah! I hope @Laughingravy is in their house laughing and drinking a well-earned glass of fizz.

I got confirmation today that everything is ready for exchange on the sale of my house, and we are very close to being ready to exchange on our purchase as well.

We need a long gap between exchange and completion to allow us to apply for schools for my youngest with an EHCP, but with luck everything will work out.

Congrats to @ClematisBlue49 and @NikiNacki on the exchanges.

I hope you got in OK last night @Laughingravy and the places was cleared. Thank goodness you weren't waiting in the removals van with all your stuff!

I need to make lots of calls today to schools post Easter holidays and removals - still no actual date.The survey has been done by my buyers and I have had a couple of queries through directly via my EA. They want to come and view again, they said "over the coming weeks" so doesn't look like they are feeling like they might be exchanging on the next week or two as I was hoping!!

That's good news @MovingToPlan
Can you start putting feelers out to the schools now? By the time you have the application forms and have completed them, they will help by putting you on their waiting list and can potentially give the nod if they have spaces when you need based in a rough idea.

I set my date up for my youngest 3 months before my expected move date, but the sale fell through so had to cancel it. They have actually kept an extra space open for her. My eldest is at senior school and is top of the waiting list after having a spot and us having to let them know the sale had gone. I am still in conversations with them, sadly the school is full for her year group, but if there is a vacancy on the horizon, they will hold it for us.

I have found the school spaces the most stressful thing of the move tbh, good luck with that part of it all...

We need a long gap between exchange and completion to allow us to apply for schools for my youngest with an EHCP, but with luck everything will work out.

Is the whole chain on board with this, @MovingToPlan? Can you do what @noodles44 says and start the legwork now?