Spring house selling/buying support thread

[PyjamasForever]

After quite a lengthy time on the market I finally have an offer on my house and have had an offer accepted on a house I want to buy. I’m feeling a bit uncertain it will happen with the current financial situation and wondered if anyone else in a similar position wanted a thread for a bit of moral support?!

We’ve instructed solicitors, filled out our TA6 and TA10 forms, applied for a mortgage and have some documents to send them… I then find the next bit the hardest bit about buying and selling when you have all those uncertain weeks with searches/surveys etc and it could all fall apart at any minute!

Funnily enough, my mum sold her house last year to a couple relocating. They had never seen it - their son had viewed it. Apparently they disliked it on first sight when they moved in! ( they are still there though, in their 80’s I guess they didn’t want to move again)

Lots of positive things happening for everyone in the last 48hrs. What a rollercoaster.

We exchanged today and will complete in a fortnight! Yay!

That’s so exciting @PyjamasForever get packing!

We got our file through today. Noticed covenants over 100 years old which say no buildings to be erected. There is a lean—to erected which although doesn’t need building regs (or doesn’t because it was put up many years ago) but does breach the covenant. Apparently sellers don’t want to provide indemnity as the covenant is so old and other properties have similar too but I feel uneasy and want it.

Anything know anything about this or have a similar experience?

@Downsizerboomer sorry if I have missed an update but wondering what you decided to do in the end with your move? I recall you were considering a seaside property?

I made an offer and it was accepted so it’s with the solicitors now. I just had the report from the survey this afternoon and will have a good look at it tomorrow. As long as my buyer doesn’t change her mind it looks like I will be on my way. I need to get busy getting rid of stuff.

Fantastic news!!!

Our vendors solicitors and our vendors are painfully slow. The rest of our chain have been ready for months now, so we've agreed to break the chain and move out in a couple of weeks time. Gonna pack this weekend and put our stuff into storage next week. Not sure where we're going to live yet as we don't know how long the delay will be. We have two dogs and two cats, which is a faff. Fortunately I can work remotely so I might just take the dogs back to my family in Ireland and work from there for a while. My DP can probably take the cats to live with his family. It's been two and a half years of trying to buy and sell, with a couple of them falling through. I really don't think it should be this hard! Looking forward to just getting on with my life without all this hanging over us, hopefully in the next couple of months. I never want to move again!

We were hoping to exchange tomorrow, but looks like we're going to be in an exchange and complete on the same day situation next week due to someone at the bottom of the chain! Having to press "go" on the removal company when it still feels up in the air is scary.... fingers crossed!!

I had to do this and it does feel terrifying- I had a problem with exchange at the last minute sitting in a packed up house having nowhere onward to go is horrific. Luckily it got sorted at the 11th hour

We are due to complete soon but will go into rental as we had to break the chain. We just couldn’t find anywhere in the end. It’s taken the shine out of moving for me. I just hope we find somewhere soon.

Lender wants a second survey even though the current one is only 8 weeks old 😟

Our enquiries came over today which has resulted us having to purchase an indemnity policy. It’s not a problem and the ‘issue’ hasn’t ever been an issue in the whole time nearly 30 years we’ve been here.
All answered and returned so we just sit and wait now.

@Grghf DC circumstances not too dissimilar. Are you with Halifax?

Yes!!!! Why is this happening 🫠

We had a positive call from our agent today. We are in a 5 person chain and 4 of us have been ready for a while, but our buyers solicitors were painfully slow.
but…. The solicitors are in receipt of a signed contact…. So looks like we may be able to exchange next week!!!! Eeeeek!

Update

I think, touch wood we are approaching the final stages.

The offer was accepted, out mortgage was accepted, currently signing the deeds/forms/etc (sooo much paperwork 😳)for solicitors and estate agent think we could have a completion date within the next few weeks!!! And I've given notice on my rental.

😬☺️

I got a phone update from the estate agents the other week apologising for no movement on things...turned out the sellers solicitors sent the important details to the wrong email address!! 😬🫠 Thankfully was sorted quite quickly and has progressed well from there!

Does the lender do the survey or are they wanting sight of the survey you’ve had done? Are lender surveys normal?

The survey was done 8 weeks ago by the seller via an independent surveyor as is normal in Scotland. Survey looks completely normal.
Lender now wants another one done (???) or they have given me the option of paying 100 quid for a "valuation" done by them

What the heck is wrong with the one done 8 weeks ago? Are they not trusting the seller? Think I’d pay the £100 to do the valuation but what a palaver!

I know its irritating. And the worry is they downvalue it, in which case I wont have the cash to make up the difference 😔 also I still dont know whether my mortgage application is successful which is really stressful to me. Does the fact that they're asking for a second survey means they have given me personally the greenlight??

@Grghf im in England do different system but why bother with a survey if they hadn’t approved your mortgage. Can you ask them?

I haven’t got any answers either @Grghf and having moved from Scotland to England in Feb, I straddled both systems recently. DC’s broker said in their experience the lenders give a 5% wriggle room. DC’s down value was over 6% (SE Eng) In Scotland the survey is valid for 90 days but when the 90 days span the war in Iran and a change of PM, an election in Scotland then maybe the lender is being ultra cautious for good reason.

This is a what would you do question. I don’t know what I’m doing really but don’t want anyone in real life to realise that.
I have had my offer on the flat accepted and have accepted the offer on my house. They are both cash sales and no mortgages needed.
I had a survey done and there are more structural issues than I realised. The electrics need urgent attention, old fashioned to the point of dangerous. There is water coming in at the sliding double glazed doors. Repointing needed.
I want the flat now but I have had to reduce the price of my house to the point where it will be a stretch to get the work done. I already knew there was redecorating etc to do.
I have forwarded the survey to my solicitor as there are enquiries to be made.
Would I be unreasonable to try to get a bit of a reduction on the price of the flat? Every few thousand would help. How would I go about it and would I risk losing the flat.
I want it really so might be being cheeky.
What do you think?

@Downsizerboomer absolutely ask for a reduction! The whole point of having a survey done is to see if there's anything that reduces the quality of the property. Before we lost the house we were going to buy, we were told it needed repointing and lintels put in. Negotiated splitting the costs with the sellers but then it all fell through.

Send someone round to estimate how much it will all come to and ask for 50-75% of the cost of the agreed price!