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Original poster

How much time does the average property sale take.

14 replies

MehgaLegs · 11/04/2008 11:19

We have a one bed garden flat in nearby town that I bought 10 years ago.

We have been planning to sell for ages and as out tenant has just given us notice have decide now is the time.

I realise that the property market is going a bit pear shaped at the moment so we are hoping for a quick sale.

Am a complete novice at selling - how long doe sit take on average?

OP posts:
Original poster
MehgaLegs · 11/04/2008 11:20

Oh I missed the ? in my title - v. annoying.

OP posts:
clam · 11/04/2008 11:29

Lucky you're not in Pedant's Corner!
Do you mean how long from offer accepted to exchange of contracts? About 10 weeks (average). I know it'd be a short chain but I've done that before and been promised a quick turnaround, but it's never been quicker than that. But others might be along in a mo to say that they've done it in less.
If, however, you mean how long is it likely to be before someone puts in an offer, then I would think it's impossible to say at the moment. Too many variables. If it's realistically priced. If it's in a good location. If there are others similar on the market too (in better or worse condition). If someone can get a mortgage together at the moment.....
Sorry, prob not much help.

Jojay · 11/04/2008 11:33

IME, from offer accepted to completion, about 3 months.

But as to how long it will be on the market - how long is a piece of string??

Sorry to be vague, but the market's very odd right now.

Original poster
MehgaLegs · 11/04/2008 11:37

Thanks clam - that is helpful thank you.

There are 12 flats in the building. Two have recently sold fairly quickly. It is a good location. It is being valued today. It's been good, we have made quite a bit on it so we are not too worried if it doesn't sell for the full whack as it were. we just want to sell really.

It will most likely be bought by another buy to let buyer.

My main worry is taht if it is empty for too long I will not be able to cover the mortage payments that easily.

OP posts:
sparkleymummy · 11/04/2008 12:58

We've just taken 11 weeks to exchange despite there being no chain at all, our buyers only needing £30k mortgage on a £420k house and my husbands law firm doing the conveyancing. Everything is taking a long time at the moment.

PixelHerder · 11/04/2008 13:00

Our agents told us to expect 12 weeks from offer accepted to completion in a sale with no chain.

Though what it is that makes it actually take that long is hard to fathom!

chuggabopps · 11/04/2008 13:07

sorry if this sounds a bit thick but what is conveyancing, and why in the age of e-mail and fax etc should it take so long? Surely the sols would want it done quick so they can move on to the next one and get it out of the way. What is it that takes the time?
Am up for sale too.
Have had a quote for about £400 to convey the sale (if anyone wants to buy) does this seem reasonable?

fairylights · 11/04/2008 13:10

i would say about 10-12 weeks for an easy time, anything less would be quite amazing.. It is hard to fathom what takes so long, seems to be solicitors faffing around a lot - i am training to be one at the moment and property law IS complicated..but not THAT complicated!

sparkleymummy · 11/04/2008 13:16

Domestic conveyancing is easy and most is done by paralegals nowadays who are not qualified. It takes a long time because they work in bulk, quote low fees (£400 is about right but actually not very profitable at all for the law firm)and have no interest at all in speeding things up because they will be paid anyway in most cases. Conveyancers like to use snail mail because it gives them an extra few days to do things. The thing that used to take the time was the searches but they are now done up front anyway.

My best advice (as a solicitor) is to agree in advance that they will use phone and email as a method of communictaion and be on to them every day nagging because otherwise your work will get done if they happen to get around to picking up your file that day.

Conveyancers give the rest of us a bad name and its very annoying. Given that most of the general public only come across solicitors in this context I'm not surprised you all hate us.

clam · 11/04/2008 13:17

And weren't these Home Information Packs supposed to speed everything up?

chuggabopps · 11/04/2008 13:41

thanks sparkly

If you don't need to be qualified then is there a way that you could do your own conveyancing (takes away the working in bulk aspect) by some kind of web transaction with the land registery?

Yes- I think that the time taken aspect does probably colour our view of legal people, but am not v chuffed with the sol doing my divorce either for this reason- its soooo slow, 6 months so far (and £1100), and x-dh hasn't even seen any paperwork yet.
Plus there is the added factor that we only need legal help in stressful situations- so forgive us clients if we get a bit het up with you.

NorthernLurker · 11/04/2008 14:13

Hmmm yes - it has just taken my solicitor (well her secretary) two days to put something in the post which they failed to enclose with the two letters they sent me earlier in the week We should be ready to sign so and I've told them to call me when the papers are ready and I'll go in and collect them and return them the next day - save waiting for the post. We are at week 5 no so going quite well - but I have pushed as much as I can and it's a very short chain with only us needing a mortgage offer - which we've now got.

sparkleymummy · 11/04/2008 15:32

It wouldn't be advisable to try your own conveyancing unless you had experience. And if you had a mortgage then the mortgage company probably wouldn't allow it anyway. Whilst it is easy and is really just following the same process time after time, there are somtimes complicated issues that crop up. Although the paralegals and secrtaries who generally do the work aren't qualified they are always supervised by someone who is.

mypandasgotcrabs · 11/04/2008 15:40

It varies totally on the solicitor/buyer/buyers solicitor. My house is sold (for the 4th time since it went on the market!) With the 1st buyer, it moved really quickly, from accepting her offer to exchange date was only 2 weeks, and we were hoping to complete within a fortnight after that. The surveyors called us on the same day we accepted offer, and were round the next, solicitors were really quick, hers had no questions, but the cow pulled out 2 days before exchange. As I say I'm now on the 4th buyer! Accepted his offer at the beginning of March, he's a cash buyer so was expecting it to be really quick, but his solicitors are asking loads of pointless questions & I have a different solicitors to last time, they are slower, so currently don't even have a date for exchange yet.

So IM(limited)E can be anywhere between a month from offer, to probably looking at about 3 months.

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