How long does it take to buy a house?

[elliejjtiny]

Asking for a friend who is homeless and desperate.

They are elderly if that makes a difference and also on the council housing list.

How long is a piece of string?! I sold one house in 17 weeks and one in 9 weeks last year. My daughter has just exchanged on a house and it has taken 5 months.

Why are they homeless. Can they afford to buy a house. Are they a cash buyer. Why can't they rent while waiting for purchase to go through.

Just to answer your thread title, my experience (all our houses, my dcs' houses, my siblings houses, my nieces and nephews houses, loads of friends, over years) all seem to take around 5 months from when offer is accepted.

Yes, people will have stories of it only being 2 months, and equally 2 years, but that seems the most common amount of time.

However that is from offer being accepted.
All of @Iloveeverycat 's questions are valid.

There is so much variation it once took nearly a year for me to buy the flat I was already living in/renting, the house we live in now we offered in February and moved in November. I have two friends who offered on houses one just before Christmas and she moved end of may but she really had to push solicitors etc as mortgage offer was expiring and would've increased massively due to rate changes. The other had offer accepted SSTC in January and she hasn't moved yet, she's downsizing (divorce) but there is an issue with the freehold of the place she is buying, so it looks like she's going to have to break the chain. Luckily her parents have a large house and are willing to accommodate her and her DC for a few months while it gets sorted.

Relationship break down. Yes they can afford a tiny flat (but they don't want/need anything bigger anyway). They have savings but not much income so if they have to rent for long their savings might go down fast.

Expect it to take 4-6 months, less if you're lucky and persistent, more if you're unlucky or there are bad/ slow solicitors involved

Maybe something new build (but finished) might be faster, no chain. Or look for property stating 'no chain' and means it. You used to be able to pay solicitors more for a quick completion. I suppose auction properties have a quicker completion but not likely to be the 'best' choice. Speak to the biggest local estate agent and see what they say. :)

Plenty of flats struggling to sell at the moment and a large proportion are chain free, landlord exit sales ! She should be able to negotiate hard and find something empty already ! Good timing for her unfortunate circumstances.