Still waiting for buyers’ survey questions while trying to sell house

[Bulbsbulbsbulbs]

We are currently selling my husband's house which he had before we met. 3 weeks ago the EA told us the buyers had some questions for us arising from the survey. Despite hassling our solicitor (who says he hasn't had the questions) and asking the agent to chase we still haven't had anything.

I feel like I'm banging my head against a brick wall. This is costing us £1200 a month in mortgage, council tax and insurance. If it takes another 3 weeks for the answer to the question to get back to them this is going to drag on and on! Or is this normal?

I suggested to the agent that they ask the questions via them but is there anything else I can do? Thanks

3 weeks is more than long enough for the survey questions to be raised. Im not sure how you can further push to get the information. Something has spooked your buyer with either the survey or the valuation - or its equally possible that another property they like is being checked out by them. Best to prepare for renegotiating the price or them possibly pulling out for another property :/
Wish you luck

Could you offer them a discount to speed things up, the quicker you get out from under those costs the better?

I’d email your solicitor ( cc to EA) to confirm as you haven’t had any questions from the survey please advice the buyers solicitor to move on to the next phase and not delay the sale process

Put it in writing

Their solicitor has said that they are waiting for the searches to come back before they submit the questions as there might be questions that arise from them too! I find that ridiculous.

.Solicitors usually raise enquiries in stages, so they do not always wait for all searches to come back.

They often raise initial questions based on the draft contract and title deeds and any questions already known by the buyers

They don’t have to wait.

Sounds like they are lining things up for a re-negotiation :/

Not really. They are potentially making an expensive purchase, why shouldn"t they be cautious?

No the solicitor is saving all the questions up to ask at once. But if something has arisen from the survey I could answer it right now. And if it's a deal-breaker then I could put the house back on the market.

Just tell them it is going back on the market then, focus their minds.

I ended up waiting eight weeks for my buyer’s solicitor to raise enquiries, despite my solicitor and my agents chasing. When there was a chance of further delay in the air I threatened to pull out because I’d had enough.
Is it a first time buyer by any chance?

Yes, first time buyer with a cheap conveyancer! If it's going to fall through from the survey I'd rather it did so now rather than wait another month.

@Bulbsbulbsbulbs, same here! And the solicitor was notorious for causing delays. Between that and the endless questions I’d reached the end of my patience.
I think you need to put your foot down - maybe say that if enquiries aren’t raised within (insert a suitable timeline after discussing with your solicitor) you’ll go back on the market.

Why not just tell the solicitor to tell them that
You are well within your rights
Give them a deadline
The solicitor is being too slow

That’s what I’ve done in the past.
On one occasion they moved quicker and got their act together
on another I put it back on the market.
Both got the scare of their lives and pushed the sale through quicker