The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (x 7!) thread

[JoyfulSpring]

Starting a new thread so we can continue the conversation...

Checking in! Hoping to exchange this week- we're meant to be completing next Friday!

Another one joining from the previous thread. I think I'm on thread number 4 now. Still waiting on bottom of chain and getting nervous about it going tits up.

Lots of chat on the boards recently about how long to wait for a chain to be complete. My thought here is that it would be good if people could set expectations at offer stage. Yes, a lot can happen during the conveyancing process, but it would be good if people could at least start on a similar page. Our buyers were quite clear with us regarding expectations. Ironically, we ended up being ready way ahead of time and it's their sale that is holding everything up. However, it was helpful to understand their desired timescales and rationale. If you think it might take you 3 months to find a place, I think it's best to say so at offer acceptance. Better to have them walk then than after you've spent money on conveyancing and surveys.

I also share the view expressed by a PP above that the longer the process goes on, the more you worry if you've made the right decision. We are also buying a house that isn't what we expected to buy. However, there wasn't much on the market and we didn't want to drag out the search. TBH, even if we'd taken longer to view it wouldn't have made much difference as very little has come on since. We've gone for space and location over character and we will need to do some work to make it how we want. Excitement over doing a bit of work to it has been giving way recently to concern over costs. We've ended up increasing our mortgage and taking on a bit of a project, when the plan was to pay off our mortgage within the next 2 years and move to something already done. We really need to get over the line on exchange now so I can stop worrying about everything!

My solicitor has not heard anything from my vendors solicitor in 2 weeks now with regards to the final couple of enquiries and proposed completion date. I'm/my solicitor is getting worried there's an issue they're not telling us about and don't know what I can do about it other than wait. The remaining enquiries are things for the vendor to answer, simple questions. We're in a chain with the top of the chain being the house my vendor is buying. We were told they were ready to exchange over a week ago and now apparently they're waiting on something from the land registry. I just have no idea on a time frame as no one above us will discuss dates. My buyers have been ready to exchange for a few weeks now and I'm scared they'll pull out if this drags on.

Can the EAs help? We've found that the solicitors are very transactional and not very good at chasing. Getting the EAs in the chain talking to each other and chasing solicitor and client updates has been the only way we've found out what is going on in the parts of the chain where we have little direct visibility.

The EA is the issue. My solicitor keeps asking to get a timeframe and agree provisional dates and the EA working for my vendor keeps replying saying she doesn't think it's a good idea to discuss dates as it can lead to disappointment! She refuses to contact my vendor or her solicitor more than once a week. So we are just hitting a brick wall with her and not getting any replies from the solicitor themselves. She was asked last week to contact my vendor directly and get her to ask her solicitors to reply and she just came back saying that my vendor isn't easy to contact due to her job blah blah so no further forward. Getting the same answers today when I've asked. Should I contact the vendor myself?

Hmmm we just caught ours in a minor lie. Been chasing as she said hadnt got offer from the lender so called our broker. They called our lended who replied via email saying they could see the download was done a week ago and the name on the form (you have to sign before download) matched solictors name

I'd love to join to stop me going stir crazy.
Brief timeline. House on market April, offer accepted on our house and house we offered on within a week. Chain of 7, few days off simultaneous exchange and completion chain collapsed. We kept the house we were buying but our buyer needed to find new buyers, then they pulled out so had to relist September, new offer 2 weeks later, and have now reached the point of close to exchange ( have had two failed attempts at exchange with a completion date set of 14/2).
My frustration lies with the complete lack of communication between sols and EA. Never know what the truth is, constantly getting our hopes up and dashed, coupled with a side of sheer terror it will go tits up again.

@JoyfulSpring we had this situation. EA for our buyers wouldn't chase them/ sols for a date more than once a week, always on a Friday afternoon so no one answered and then would say, will try next Friday. Had to be very firm with our agent who liaised with her and eventually got some resolution.

@Lemonyfire that sounds exactly like what's happening. I'll ask my estate agent to contact her but I honestly don't think he'll get any further. I wish there was someone else dealing with the sale, I'm starting to feel very nervous.

She has literally just responded to my solicitors pleas for her to chase saying 'I have not chased today and don't chase the file regularly as I don't have the bandwidth'.

That's all she's said. I know from every other week she seems to send a message on a Wednesday only. There's nothing I can do is there? My mortgage offer expires the first week of March, we can't extend it until 2 weeks before (we've checked). They know this anyway and it's not making any difference. The laughable thing is this person's job title is 'Sales Progression' 😳.

@JoyfulSpring before our sale fell through we were with a high street agent and the sales progressing agent was appalling. Now we are with an independent agent who does it all ( from viewing to progression) and is fantastic. But the issues still arise when dealing with a chain as the below agents aren't available.
We ended up in a stalemate a few weeks ago and I just had to almost ultimatum to get any progress. It's a risk though

Yes, what is this always doing things on Friday afternoons about? Important emails delivered at 5pm, so there's little time to actually speak to anyone and you spend the weekend in limbo.

Ah there you all are 😬. Well, my solicitor is ‘raising enquiries’ today. As with most on here I expect, the aim is to be completed by 1st April so I really don’t know if that is realistic or not. Chain of 3 all wanting to be in by then. Many things now have to happen by the end of next month. Next month sounds extremely imminent so fingers crossed eh. I’m bottom of the chain with nothing to sell.

Thanks for starting the new thread - I really hope this will be the one i graduate from. There's more of my house in boxes now than isn't and I've got a date provisionally booked with my removers - but not with my buyers, so anything could happen! Which reminds me, I really need to take my signed contract back to the solicitor this week!

Same situation here, with a few key documents requested in the enquiries. No idea how long it will still take! There are also a few indemnity policies that might be needed, so it could take a while 😆

They probably deliberately choose Friday at 5pm to schedule emails and then immediately leave the office so they don't have deal with any responses until the following week.

@Lemonyfire Your chain and process sounds like it's been very stressful. I hope you get over the line this time.

Unsurprisingly, no final report from the solicitor despite them saying I'd get it today. I suggested the completion date for in 2 weeks time last week, but there's been no feedback on that date. It's all so painful!

Well, we STILL haven't bloody exchanged 🤬 no idea what the hold up is but the removals company we were going to use is now fully booked on what was meant to be our completion date because they wouldn't confirm us until we'd exchanged. Going to try and push completion back from the Friday to the Monday to give us more time.

Removals company are coming out to quote next week, wanting dates - which I do not have. Lady on the phone said they are incredibly busy with everyone trying to move before 1st April. I haven’t got a plan B on how to move everything if I can’t secure removals which now looks a possibility.

We're very close to exchanging contracts and our buyer is now insisting on getting an electrical safety certificate. The electrics have always worked fine but as it's not a new build flat, we're realistic and know such an inspection will most likely throw up some issues ! Anyone got any advice on this? Waiting to speak to our solicitor tomorrow.

Get several quotes so you have options. They will all tell you they are really busy as they want to lock you in, but you shouldn't confirm a booking until you've exchanged. Quotes can vary massively so another reason to get quite a few quotes.

It appears my documents I've sent back to solicitors are lost in post despite sending them 1st class recorded. So no further forward with exchanging and getting a date to complete. Really thought this would have happened at the beginning of this week.
I guess I'll have to go to solicitors tomorrow if they don't arrive and get new copies to be witnessed. No reply to my conundrum from solicitor today, obviously 😅

Oh no!

When you're in the thick of it you feel as though your transaction is complicated/lengthy etc, reading all these posts makes me realise it's the norm to have complicated messy sales/ purchases with last minute changes/ delays/ non responsive solicitors etc. It's ridiculous.
Hoping today brings some positive news for all, we are hoping to exchange today- third time lucky!

We had the same question our lawyer replied is not a legal requirement and if they want they can do it themselves and occur the cost