Any idea when we will move please?

[Travelcrazy]

We are top of the chain and the house we are buying is now empty, the couple who are buying ours are mortgage free and selling to a FTB and are 3 weeks ahead of us with their sale.
I chased the solicitor yesterday who is dealing with both our sale and purchase and she said that our buyers solicitor is currently dealing with compliance (not sure what that is!) and have been for at least a week but they are going to fast track the case when the compliance is done. She said she will advise as soon as the enquiries come in (again not sure what that means) and she will be sending us the enquiries for our purchase this week.
Please can anyone advise how long it normally takes from this stage, a rough idea would be great!
Thank you.

What number would you like to hear?

I would say that if you are not sure what is happening yourself, then it is impossible for someone here to guess when you will move.

Sorry I have just read my comment back and it sounds a bit arsy and I don't mean it to be! If you are just starting enquiries (questions about your house) then it depends what happens with those. I would email your solicitor and ask her to explain everything to you.

Too many unknowns here.
When you say 3 weeks ahead, what do you mean? When were all the offers accepted and solicitors appointed? ......??? The standard time frame is 12-16 weeks but 4 is possible with the right legal people in place.

Its how long is a piece of string!

I was in a similar position but not needing to buy anything, and my buyer after 8months decided they wanted a significant price drop and I just couldn’t afford it!

I would say enquiries are the queries pulled together by the solicitor based on the draft contract. We’ve been told 8-16 weeks from draft contract and our solicitor generally allows 2weeks for these enquiries before chasing so I’d say best case 4weeks worst case 14.

our solicitors are rammed with people wanting to complete before Xmas everyone progressed to solicitors at the end of August and we were told back at the beginning of sept that it would be after Xmas.

Sorry if I have annoyed anyone by asking, I just thought someone who understands the process may have a better idea than I have.
@TMMC1 When I say 3 weeks ahead they sold there house and appointed a solicitor 3 weeks ahead of us accepting their offer.

@Sugarcube84 thanks for explaining that, I just don't want to pack too soon plus we are going away for 2 weeks at Christmas so trying to plan things but based on what you say it seems unlikely I will be able to. I guess I will just have to go with the flow.

Ok. In reality that’s not really ahead, only if they have a super efficient and on it solicitor. The process is frustratingly slow and so many parts have to come together. Even with a small chain and so on it’s likely to be 10-12 weeks unless every single party is pushing.

I’d ask your solicitor to ask the others what date they are aiming for, that will give you an idea. But also put forward a date/time frame that you would like and see if the others can meet that.

@TMMC1 thanks that seems like great advice, I appreciate your help.

As a rule of thumb, it's about 12 weeks from when your conveyancer receives the draft contracts from the sellers solicitor, IF everything runs smoothly.

Also, do bare in mind that most solicitors will shut down for two weeks over Christmas as well so you lose this time too.

Let your solicitor snd estate agent know the dates you are away.

You can always speak to your solicitor and give them dates that suit, we’ve said to avoid the end of jan as it’s my sons birthday so it would either have to happen before or be pushed to Feb. I’m getting Xmas out the way before packing although we are declining the garage/lift etc and it sounds like I’m only 1-2 weeks behind you and I’m thinking we’ll end up moving early Feb.

Contact the agent and solicitor and ask them for an estimated exchange and completion date, all things being equal. Tell them when you’re away and not able to complete, although I don’t know if it would affect exchange, which is the solicitor contacting everyone to ask if they’re ready to do so.

Some very helpful advice thanks, the solicitor has now told me she has put it in the November completion file but I can't see that based on what you have all said.

The thing is you could complete in November if everything falls into place! Get quotes for removals and start sorting out your stuff as it takes ages to go through it all.

@canyon2000 We have flexible removals sorted but mountains of stuff! I had better do a bit then. Thanks for your help.

The call must have gave the solicitor a nudge , she sent through the purchase enquiries at 5pm last night and said she has chased buyers solicitor for theirs. Hopefully things are moving forward well now!