The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (continued x4) thread!

[TheEnglishSystemSucks]

As @fromtheshires is in their new abode, and we've almost filled up the last thread - hope people don't mind me starting a new one.

My situation: waiting on survey reports before enquires/searches can start - so expect i'll be here for all 40 pages.

Hope exchanges and completions come quickly for all and no-one has the christmas 'will we won't we'.

Old thread here: https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/5105250-the-all-new-buyerssellers-waiting-room-continued-x3-thread?page=40

Oh god you’re all filling me with dread. I feel like the solicitors all round for our situation are being super slow? I just don’t get it. We are selling to FTB’s who seem really proactive, the person we are buying off is also on it and she’s moving into a no chain bungalow. So advice is to hound the solicitors? I feel bad contacting mine too much she’s very stern.

@iloveyoubutilovememore I suppose the best way to think about it is that they are working for you, they don't get paid unless you're happy (and moved), so they'll just have to suck it up on the emails 😂

Is a contract pack the same thing as a draft contract does anyone know? I’m still not 100% on the process of all this. So far we have -

accepted an offer on ours
had our offer accepted on house
instructed solicitors
surveys done both sides
id checks
mortgage offer
sent back pack to our solicitor for our sellers

awaiting on pack from our seller as our solicitor can’t request searches without this.

Two second viewings booked in (tomorrow and Saturday) and an increased offer which is about £15k too low. Hoping we are getting closer.

Stage 3 survey on Monday. We are about 6 weeks into the sale I think now. Bit annoyed the buyers have waited so long. Our onward house are ready to exchange as is the rest of the chain. We are nearly done with all queries etc. Hope this doesn’t set us back ages. Hopefully it will be done quickly so more time isn’t wasted. They haven’t even done searches yet!

Never moving again! Hope you’re all doing OK. I keep dipping in and out of the thread.

So sorry to hear about people losing buyers, honestly I can say I would never make an offer if I wasn't serious about buying a house, it just seems bonkers to me and so very frustrating.

We sold our house in Feb.... hoping to exchange tomorrow! Solicitors seem very blasé while I am a nervous wreck since we move Fri!

I have heard about another chain collapse today due to buyers pulling out, so that's 4 in a week I know about!

Starting to feel very overwhelmed by this whole process and we've not even had a decent offer yet. I'm not sleeping well as I'm constantly thinking about the house we might well end up buying which is equal parts exciting and terrifying as it's a 'project', fear we might get a good offer today and we will have to kick the whole process off, bored of tidying and cleaning for viewings / second viewings, estate agents pushing us to accept an offer that isn't good enough. Urgh. I can't even wash any clothes because they're taking ages to dry and we have no idea of when viewings are going to happen and it's constantly bloody raining!

@kirinm yes feel exactly the same

Loads of viewings

Zero offers

Requests for viewings on same day meaning I'm constantly trying to keep house spotless with full time job cat dog dc

Took a punt and did shit loads of washing yesterday then blasted the heating to try and actually dry some,

Then it's the cycle of trying to put it all away....

Then if someone wants to view at 6 you can't cook before hand so routine is out...

Yes we've had some very late notice viewings this week. Feel obliged to allow them and tbf two have ended up with a other offer (lower than the slightly too low offer we've rejected) and another person is having a second viewing on Saturday and apparently loves it.

I'm hoping today's second viewing offers £10k more than the last offer and we are done. Our estate agent is also selling the house we are buying and it's odd that it's only is they are hassling to accept a lower offer when they aren't doing the same for our vendor.

I actually am getting pretty pissed off with the EA hassling us to accept an offer.

They also suggested that we accept an offer but then keep on doing viewings which I thinks really shitty and don't understand the thinking behind it at all.

Well we got our answer after holding our offer for weeks, someone came along and gazumpt our offer by offering over 30% more than asking... feels set up that they kept us hanging. The house isn't even worth that value wise (was already priced 10% over other recent sales despite houses being identical and needs full modernization and the roof fixing).

At this point we have failed to be successful at Corporate Sale, Auction, Private Sale, Probate and Traditional EA routes. We have been trying to buy for a year and a half and had 2 houses fell through (a year has been wasted on that alone as they strung us along for 6 months).

Offered asking price or above every time and made no demands or requirements. Even willing to proceed with structural issues (I have building background so not scared off by virtually any issue and not going to scare or gazunder over silly little things like damp) and all sorts. We have lost lots of money on surveys, checks, fees etc...

We are non chain, first time, cash in hand, ready to go buyers... We could literally exchange right this second (actually want to, I'm frankly not willing to wait 6 months and waste money on surveys which have frankly not told me anything I didnt spot myself at viewing and such again) so why the fuck is this so hard?

People always told me the hardest thing you will ever do is buy a house but I had no idea it could actually be this insane. People now keep saying we have just been really unlucky but I'm just over it... its effecting my MH at this point.

Bloody hell @housethatbuiltme I'm so sorry. It's absolutely not going to be worth 30% over asking price though so I guess you'll have the last laugh on that front at least. I really REALLY hope you find something better soon and no more messing you around.

I noticed a few comments above about hoping to be in by Christmas. We feel the same however our EA has just said looking at 12 weeks possibly 16! Draft contracts going out today and searches to be ordered. I feel we have a loooooong way to go.

That's terrible luck. What area are you trying to buy in? I'm not surprised you're over it, it should not be this hard.

We got gazumped - someone offered well over the value. They got a survey and immediately tried to reduce their offer by £100k and we are now back to buying it (if we get a decent offer on ours). They purposely gazumped us. Gradually increasing their offer until it was over ours. The vendor was stupid enough to fall for it and it's just wasted everyone's time (we stopped allowing viewings because there's nothing else to buy).

Yeah the problem is lack of houses to buy.

Most are very small 2 or 3 bed pit terrace houses and we either need a 4 bed house or a large 3 bed house. We aren't wildly fussy about anything else, we are willing to even do building work or reconfigure the layout if needed (but can't afford to extend though) but it just needs to be big enough.

Another wasted day moving meetings to facilitate a viewing which hasn't happened. Not the EA's fault but so infuriating.

Should have been exchanging today but low and behold my solicitor has yet more outstanding queries which need to be answered by possibly the slowest vendor ever.

We've even suggested we pay for indemnity insurance to speed things up. Literally been ready to exchange since September 1st! Completion agreed for 14th October so at least that's decided but I'm desperate to exchange before someone lower down the chain gets cold feet.

Baby due in 5 days! I do.not have the head space to be dealing with this nonsense.

@housethatbuiltme im so sorry its.been a.nightmare. we put ours on June '23 and due to to two chain collapses, one vendor pulling their house after they accepted an offer from us and making 5 offers on different houses which were not.accepted, we're finally nearly there! It's extremely tough and absolutely takes a toll. Try and be kind to yourself.

Omg crazy vendor has accepted the revised offer! I had lost all hope, perhaps we will get this one over the line after all.... wine tonight 😬😂

Congrats @Cheeseandcrackers40 hope everything is smooth sailing from here in for you

Coming up for 16 weeks sold. We are buying from a divorcing couple and he still hasn’t found anywhere to go and isn’t at all apologetic. We expect to lose our buyer this weekend. This will be third time we have sold and lost our onward purchase and it’s so soul destroying.

sorry to hear about everyone's trials and tribulations. The English system really needs reform. Was talking to a friend from the US and their system seems much smoother (completes within a month from offer) but needs a financial system to support it (as far as I can tell everyone basically uses bridging loans- maybe an American on here can confirm if that's correct??).

We now have a completion date agreed for our sale, but not for our purchase. Packers are coming tomorrow to do the survey and I have my storage unit reserved.

@Cheeseandcrackers40 that's fantastic news!

Thank you 😊😊

Yay, some much needed good news!!