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 hard to guess, ours took about a week. ours was structural survey but limited to roof and structure (not windows/boundaries etc) so a partial Level 3. depends on how big the property is and how busy they are i'd assume. could be a bit longer?

waiting for surveys is horrible. hope it goes ok.

Seller of a probate property here. Went on in Sept, just 2 I think viewings & that's it.
This wk reduced it by £10k, which on the low value is a quite a lot at 10%

Over 55s retirement place so a limited market anyway. It's a lovely appealing place in a great location. It's in Newmarket & overlooking the gallops, so if it could be on interest to anyone, have a look at Rightmove!

I appreciate most people I was on the thread with have long gone give how long this transaction has taken, but just a quick message to say that the best part of 11 months after my offer was accepted last February, I FINALLY completed today and am in.

Can’t believe I get to graduate the thread at last! Wishing everyone going through this awful process luck and strength

congrats @YetiRosetti so pleased for you

March marks 1 year since we went on the market. we originally sold within 3 weeks but our chain collapsed in July. Now we're on round 2. hoping to exchange in the next couple of weeks.

Joy for you @YetiRosetti
Hope you are walking around your new rooms with a smile on your face

I joined the thread last year but lost track.
Went on the market last May changed agents in September after very few viewings and after slight improvement with new agent received an offer in November. Fingers crossed seems to be proceeding well.
Offered on property in late November and currently waiting on a couple of queries and last of searches. An issue has come up which may affect purchase so we are planning on waiting before getting level 2 survey as have spent enough so far. House is only 6 years old.

@VioletandPurpleFlower thats been a long time. Hope the issue de-escalates.
I concluded missives in Scotland today and hope to exchange in England on Friday. Removal people due in 11 hrs time.
@nonevernotever how are you doing?

We moved in yesterday. Move out of old flat was so smooth (apart from finding a list dig on the way back from the inevitable trip to the tip and having to detour to the vets to hand the little sweetheart in for scanning - she'd apparently got spooked and bolted several miles from dog walker 😯) that I should have expected the trouble would be at the other end. We got the keys late, then discovered the kitchen floor was underwater where they'd unplumbed the washing machine and left it dripping. We had to take up the vinyl and the hardboard underneath was saturated too even after six hours of running two dehumidifiers and has buckled/ will need to be replaced. There's sockets that don't work , the marble surround around a handbasin has been snapped in two since we last viewed and most importantly we have so much stuff that I had to send a pallet back into storage until we've got rid of some furniture to make space. And the doorway and turn between front and back of the house meant that the removal men couldn't get some of our furniture through. Oh and the tv appears to have been left on the supposedly empty lorry. BUT we still love the house , my sister, niece and niece's partner took the door off and have manoeuvred the big chest of drawers through where the removal men couldn't. The three of them have measured and are coming back on Sunday to do the same with the wardrobe, we have a bedroom and sitting room that are useable, and the neighbours are wonderful, so it's worth it. Here's hoping for progress for the rest of you too. 🥂

God @nonevernotever that sounds awful!!!

We'll get there! Lovely sister removed the crappy fitted wardrobe yesterday, (lovely neighbour removed all the bits to the tip for us!) built the spare bed and the kitchen underfloor had finally dried. So we've put the vinyl back as a temporary measure which makes it instantly look and feel better. I've got a snagging list as long as your arm, but they're all things we can fix and it's beginning to take shape.

Our buyers are also really happy which is good. I still need to reduce my possessions, but I knew I needed to do that anyway 🤣. Fingers crossed for everyone else.

Hats off to you @nonevernotever for being so positive about mishaps and furniture difficulties. Not everyone can channel ‘the bigger picture’ and I suspect I would have found all that v dispiriting. Sounds like you are well on your way after just 48hrs.

It's my family not me🤣 I came home from visiting DM in her nursing home today to find eldest niece with DH as her apprentice labourer has dismantled and rebuilt the wardrobe in the right room which instantly changed the whole feel from overwhelming pile of boxes to a home that just hadn't been completely unpacked yet. Our buyers seem really happy with our old flat too.

New to this but wanted to check with Mumsnet hive mind if this scenario sounded credible - had an offer on a house accepted in December, proceeded with surveys and just a few minor issues which needs resolving. The vendor has now come back and said that someone else has come in offering £20k more on the house (we had £750k accepted), are cash buyers and happy to go ahead without a survey (it's a listed house). The house isn't their main residence and they told us that purple bricks had hosted the viewing without them knowing. I can't work out if this is legitimate or a negotiation tactic to get us to offer more. Anyone had a similar gazzumping experience? Losing my mind as we're in a chain and had schools etc already lined up.

Wow that’s awful but sadly hearing more and more of these “shake down” stories. They just want more money. Are you prepared to offer more? That would put me right off.

That’s so shittt @Scottantarcticnot sure what I’d do , can the EA help?

Quite apart from my resentment towards the vendor now burning with the heat of a thousand suns, there's not a lot to do. Definitely don't have an extra £20k to add. I understand that it's a transaction at the end of the day and people do what's right for them, but we visited the vendor three times with family and had several phonecalls so thought that at least a rapport had been established. Also deliberately communicated directly with the vendor rather than going through purple bricks because of horror stories I've heard.

@Scottantarctic I’d be really disappointed into the seller’s solicitor, too. Have they now jumped ship to the other people? Just rotten. My DD had a bad experience with Purple Bricks and a later higher offer but not so much cash involved

Actually, it was Yopa.

Our solicitor is doing a great job chasing, but they've gone completely silent for nearly a week now. I suspect they're checking the credentials of the other buyer before binning us off.

Well I am still here after accepting an offer last May. Yes MAY!!!!!! In that time we have lost two onward purchases and are on to our third and are on our 3rd solicitor with our second one who we switched to announcing that she is now leaving the company and passing all her files to someone else.

We have had issue, after issue due to us owning a very old terraced house with the title not representing what is actually as it is on the ground and it all needing to be altered with the Land Registry, and the access road at the back being unregistered. Its been one long nightmare.

Now we have just found out that the property we are buying, which was built by the vendors in 2004, doesn't have a certificate of completion (owners owned a prefab which they demolished and replaced with a brick bungalow) It is also in an area with a high risk of radon and is in an area with moderate to high risk of natural ground subsidence as it was built on clay.

I mean, you couldn't make it up. We have had the worst luck. The only saving grace is we have buyers who, up until now, have been happy to wait as most of the Land Registry changes and applications have been at their request.

Solicitors on all sides have been a nightmare. Slow, unresponsive, and we never have a clue if they have done the things we have requested them to do, or if they have received any communication back from either buyer or seller solicitor so we are constantly chasing for information and updates which take us weeks to get.

The whole process has been one long piss take and we have been ready to throw the towel in MANY times over the last 8 months.

Now we have these new issues with our purchase and we are nervous to buy because of these issues. We have asked for advice from our solicitor (new one) and yes, you guessed it, we are still waiting for a sodding reply.

Sorry for the rant/vent but this whole shit show has taken years off my life and made what should be an exciting move, anything but.

16 months later and can today I can finally graduate a buying / selling thread. Cannot believe it has taken so long..wishing everyone a much smoother experience!

Congratulations @bigblockofcheeseday! Hope it’s a lovely moving in experience for you! And @YetiRosetti I remember you, glad it’s finally happened!

Sorry to hear it’s still dragging on @ErlingHaalandsManBun. Your poor nerves must be shredded.

I just had the photographer come round for our old house. It was such a strange soulless experience, it made me really sad even though I don’t know what I was expecting. It was all just really quick after weeks of cleaning 🤣 I burst into tears after he’d gone. I’m over it now 😁 I hope the photos look okay.

Still waiting for our seller to find a purchase here and praying it’s not going to end up with a horrific chain above us

DH is being annoyingly casual about how the house should look in our photos. We're very early in the process, and I'm starting to declutter before the valuation next week. We know the photos will be next. He's of the opinion that we 'just tidy up a bit'. I am of the opinion that people do not want to see his entire fragrance collection on display so get it packed away and in the garage please and thank you.

I'm hopeful that the estate agent will knock some sense into us both.

It's already emotional and we've not even started🤣

Thought I would comment here as the thread seems to have got left behind. Anyone have any updates?
We are finally at the point of waiting for exchange after pulling out of our previous purchase after survey. A house we loved came back on the market at the end of January so we have pushed to get things in place and hoping to complete at the end of March.