The all new buyers/sellers waiting room (9) the one where we start to wonder if we'll move by Christmas..

[NeverGoingToMove]

Huge apologies if I have missed this thread, I have searched high and low but don't think another was started after number 8 ended in May.

After a seriously stressful encounter with building control, I think we are almost ready to exchange. After going on the market last July, I'm hoping we'll move before our year anniversary!

How is everyone else doing?

It’s weird knowing there’s not much for us to do. We still don’t have the fixtures and fittings form but other than that everything is in the hands of others. Our local search (which took 8 weeks last time) is meant to be back next Monday. I assume pre-contract enquiries start then?

@kirinm Thank you for your reply. I've checked and the bank is happy with it being so long ago. I'm waiting to hear back from my surveyor on what he suggests the next steps are, I suppose another survey to check that the house hasn't moved since the underpinning. The EA and seller are completely minimising it as if it isn't a problem at all.

To be fair, 1992 is over 30 years ago and it isn’t a massive problem (assuming it hasn’t moved since).

I guess the only issue is the potential for other buyers to be put off / concerned in the way you are.

@kirinm exactly. I think I'll feel better once the surveyor has got back to me!

Sorry to read you're in that weird waiting limbo time. I was like that for weeks and that suddenly all enquiries/issues came at once from both sides!

It’s never a good sign when one part of the chain goes quiet is it?

3 house chain - no chain buyer > house 1 > house 2 (ours) > house 3 which we’re buying is already empty

We signed our contracts 2 weeks ago in preparation for exchange - assumed rest of chain were in the same position.

Now it sounds like EA / solicitor haven’t spoken to the bottom of the chain buyer in a few weeks, we were aware there was a query on land boundaries back then but it’s been over a month since we had an update.

So frustrating this system, can’t even chase anyone as our sale and purchase is ready to go. We’d all hoped for a September completion date but no chance now. Just praying that there’s not more going on that we’re unaware of

I think we're getting there, just getting to the point to agree a completion date. I'm nervous to get the exchange in before the end of this month so we can give notice at our current rental property and not have to pay for another month's rent.

I can't concentrate at work whilst trying to sort all this out at the same time.

I’m the same - completely unable to focus and refreshing for updates from EA or solicitor all day

We’ve had some progress. I couldn’t take a call from our estate agent earlier but she called my husband and said that everything is signed and funds sorted on our buyer’s side so we can complete on Friday. As in two days away. Nothing much is packed so we’ll go with the date being thrown around over the last week which is Tuesday 30th. I’ve emailed our solicitor to confirm as we’ve had nothing from them regarding exchange yet.
We paid all fees, deposit, stamp duty etc to our solicitor yesterday.

It’s very frustrating isn’t it. I’m selling my late mum and dad’s house. Was in a chain of 3 below me. I don’t live there, have spent an absolute fortune on house clearance, skips etc. Been paying monthly utilities and high council band tax for months on an empty property . Due to exchange first week in September, repeated attempts then failed - I must have been asked to authorise exchange at least ten times.

Bottom of chain pulled out two weeks ago. This was hidden from us, by poor solicitors further down the chain. My buyers buyer then pulled out last week. My buyer has been active since, had a few viewers after switching agents, but no offers. Before this they dithered, went quiet, didn’t respond to emails or phone calls.They have now reiterated that they really want my parents property. When the chain first started to collapse my DD and her partner who are in rental wanted to buy it, and could afford to, but they then changed their minds, sentimental reasons. My DD is a doctor, was very close to her granddad and nursed him prior to his passing, and she said she couldn’t live in the house he died in, which I understand totally. We’d agreed when they initially wanted it that we would give my existing buyers every chance to buy, to be fair.

So now the property is back on the market, whilst my buyers try to sell, so that I can find a reserve buyer if need be. I’m swaying between accepting this could go on for months and pulling it off the market for the winter and starting again with new agents ready for early Spring. Mainly because I’m just done mentally with it consuming my thoughts so much. I totally empathise with everyone of you who is struggling too.

It’s just a shitty process that you can spend so much money and have it all fall through at the end

Bottom of our chains boundary issue seems to be still ongoing, looks like they’ve taken adverse possession of some land at some point and now an issue with mortgage lender. Half our house is packed up and now got the fear that the chain could fall apart

Currently packing like a bat out of hell, due to exchange and complete on the same day tomorrow, few niggles but all in all, just under three months from offer which is great. The new house has smaller rooms (well, until we get in there and start knocking it about) and I’m not confident all of our furniture will fit at the moment.

Our solicitor has requested exchange today with completion on Tuesday. As of an hour ago she was still waiting for confirmation of this from our buyer’s solicitor, just as she was waiting yesterday too. Meanwhile we need to book removals, arrange internet, set up mail redirection etc but can’t do any of that until we have a completion date set in stone. And also pack!

So jealous of you both! We’re just in limbo - thought we’d be in the same position

This process is aging me now! Everything is in place and all agreed a completion date but our buyers solicitor is useless, and never contactable so we are yet to exchange. Hoping it’s not an exchange and complete on the same day situation but I’m manifesting that’s all going to be ok. Removals booked and psychologically I’m ready to move if not quite practically!

We exchanged yesterday afternoon so completion is confirmed for Tuesday.

@Trying81 It’s a really really crappy process. Surely by now some kind of change should’ve been made so that buyers and sellers aren’t in such a precarious position - and for so long!
I hope that things work out for you, and soon.

@moving300m Our buyer’s solicitor was like that too, either out of the office or not replying to emails. Ours was fantastic, so attentive and quick.

We’ve been incredibly lucky in that our buyer is a cash buyer living in rented accommodation and we’re purchasing a new build as cash buyers and it’s ready to move into. The whole process between accepting the offer and the completion date is just over 7 weeks, but even so the worry of it all going wrong and falling through was there right up until our solicitor emailed to say that exchange had taken place yesterday afternoon.

I reckon it's like nursery fees, absolute shit at the time and another system that's broken. However, because it's a (relatively) short time in an individual's life, there's no real motivation for those in power to make changes.

Good luck for those close to exchange.

So much for our quick mortgage offer! Valuation isn’t happening until next Friday. Apparently our local search should be back next week which I’m highly doubtful about but we shall see.

we're just in thr process of accepting an offer and our onward offer is provisionally accepted This is round 2. we previously got to the day of exchange when the chain collapsed. No idea how far we'll get this time. It all feels so precarious.

new buyers asked a "timely response" to their offer but are now away for 4 days so can't produce proof of funds. Fun and games already. I've told the agent we can't accept their offer without proof of funds and they need to understand the lack of timely response is due to their lack of paperwork.

here we go again - in by Christmas? 🤣

Congratulations @MadisonAvenue ! Really hope Tuesday goes well.

I have some good news, following my seller’s old solicitor leaving the firm and no one having looked at the file for the past 6 weeks, there is now a new solicitor up and running!

I've been lurking for a few weeks but posting now for moral support. We've had to plan to move suddenly because we need to take on my mother's cats following her move to a nursing home, they won't cope in our existing flat with our two cats, and we want mum to be able to come in visit which means somewhere on the level. Everything happened very quickly and we saw a property that would be perfect, and had an offer accepted subject to us getting ours sold within a month.We're in Scotland and estate agent assured us ours would sell quickly so we scrambled, got ours on the market and had accepted an offer within a fortnight. Our buyer unfortunately also had to sell so our seller agreed a month extension. Three weeks in the buyers have sold but have withdrawn from buying ours for personal reasons, we are back on the market and of course viewings have slowed right down and I'm constantly going round and round in my head trying to think of things I could do to make it happen. People keep telling me to be patient but I don't seem to have much resilience at the moment. We're on at a fixed price £20k below the home report value, there are no 3s on the home report, we're in the catchment area for a popular primary school and our area is supposed to be one of high demand. Someone cheer me up!

Sorry to hear this, it’s so stressful. You sold in a fortnight before so you clearly have a lovely saleable property and hopefully it will quickly this time! But it is a nightmare and losing a buyer is horrible. I wish you well, and we here in this thread are all right there with you despising this whole process!

Thank you! I have loved living here, but just at the moment all I can see is the problems. It is such a horrible system. At least In the old days in Scotland you could go for a long entry date to give yourself time to sell and then take it a bridging loan if you had a gap. I don't think bridging is really a thing these days is it? And if it was a book I was reading, I could turn to the last page and see how it all turned out before going back 😄. Sending all my sympathy to everyone else stuck in limbo.

I'd like to canvass for opinions if I may as I'm tearing my hair out with out situation. My solicitors have been very poor and I'm debating whether to get rid and get new ones. They're a big national firm recommended by my (very good) mortgage broker. Everything is done on an app, which is fine, but contact outside of it has been difficult. Two weeks ago the estate agent rang me (I'm buying a place for my mum and it's a probate sale so no chain), she relayed that the sellers were concerned they hadn't been asked any search/survey questions yet. To my knowledge that had been done on the 2nd Sept, as I'd been told by my solicitor. Long story short, no response to my chasing my solicitor, then my case handler changed three times in less than a week with promises things woumd be picked up. I threatened by email to put a complaint in on Thursday, was sent a message telling me to ring a different person. Spoke to a very disinterested guy yesterday, who told me he was 'just an onboarding guy' and promised a new case handler this coming Monday. I told him if this didn't happen Monday I would be looking elsewhere and asking for all the money I've paid so far to be returned.

I'm not hopeful they will follow through on their promise this Monday, so have been looking up new solicitors to contact this weekend. I know this process is slow, but this feels too slow to me and I was hoping to get this house by Xmas. I'd be really interested to know what others would do in my position?

Life is too short, ditch them.

I've always gone for solicitors local to me so if the shit hits the fan, I can turn up in person. Saves a lot of time with postage as well, as I just drop everything back into the office.

Same here. However, in your circumstances @fromthechandelier it would depend on how much money I'd paid them so far, because I wouldn't be certain of getting it back. Much easier to bin them if I hadn't paid them anything already.