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Welcome to Scotsnet - discuss all aspects of life in Scotland, including relocating, schools and local areas.

Original poster

13 Days until removal vans arrive....No missives concluded yet

29 replies

NanaPurple · 17/02/2025 23:35

Scared and anxious. What is happening with the housing market in Scotland these days? Have bought and sold many times. Always had missives signed at least 6 weeks before the moving date. 13 days to go and no sign that anything is coming to a conclusion. We have provided everything the buyer has asked for. Their offer was made in September last year and they agreed the moving date so far in advance that we felt comfortable everything would proceed as before. In the past we could comfortably pack up our home, inform everyone of the moving date, get a postal redirect etc etc.. but this time we are thinking that we have to do all of these things and may have to undo them. Why are things so different nowadays? Do house buyers not realise the amount of time it takes to pack up and move? Sorry, just feeling extremely stressed out and don't know why anyone would move ever again if this is what you have to suffer.

OP posts:
Redglitter · 17/02/2025 23:49

My missives were signed on completion day.

lassingd · 17/02/2025 23:50

Apparently it's increasingly more common to conclude missives on the monday and complete on the friday. for better or worse!

So i wouldn't rely purely on past experience. I would trust your conveyencer

Motheranddaughter · 18/02/2025 06:18

Most Missives are only concluded a few days prior to the entry date

Upsidedownimturningit · 18/02/2025 07:04

My missives were only concluded a few days before moving too.

Classicstripewastaken · 18/02/2025 07:16

Our last move was the same. Our seller's mortgage offer took ages to come through, as well as copy deeds. Those things are out of your buyer's control so it's often not that they don't realise, just that they can't do anything about it. If your solicitor isn't anticipating any issues, you have to just take the risk and start getting organised on the assumption it will go ahead as planned.

weareallqueens · 18/02/2025 07:37

My missives were Wednesday. Keys on Friday. Lawyers made clear that if we hadn't heard from them to assume all was progressing as it should be.

Stanley44132 · 18/02/2025 07:44

Iv moved a lot in the past few years and on all but one occasion missives have been signed generally the day before or the morning off the move. My last move I insisted the sellers sign the missives within two weeks of offer as a condition of accepting and that went ahead fine. I think because now you get chains in Scotland it’s pushed it to this whereas you never used to get chains.

Original poster
NanaPurple · 18/02/2025 13:52

Why do we get chains in Scotland nowadays? My lawyer tried to tie us in to both buying and selling. I suppose that is effectively creating a chain. I told him to delete that clause as is was not needed.

I will never do this again. How can you organise the move if it is not finalised until the entry date? Apart from packing up, there is insurance to sort, change of address, removal companies etc...

The last time I moved we had a weeks holiday a fortnight before the entry and exit dates. Everything was smooth and gave all parties time to breath.

OP posts:
bettermam · 18/02/2025 14:29

We moved in last year and also concluded missives on the day we moved. Which was not the day originally planned due to paperwork delays. Last minute panic change of removal company and childcare amongst other issues. You have my sympathy, it's incredibly stressful.

Reidypark · 18/02/2025 14:37

Same happened to us a couple of years ago - missives concluded 2 days before moving. Was so stressful.

Stanley44132 · 18/02/2025 15:52

NanaPurple · 18/02/2025 13:52

Why do we get chains in Scotland nowadays? My lawyer tried to tie us in to both buying and selling. I suppose that is effectively creating a chain. I told him to delete that clause as is was not needed.

I will never do this again. How can you organise the move if it is not finalised until the entry date? Apart from packing up, there is insurance to sort, change of address, removal companies etc...

The last time I moved we had a weeks holiday a fortnight before the entry and exit dates. Everything was smooth and gave all parties time to breath.

I think now people find it hard to have the couple of weeks between entry and exit dates because you would need to pay second property tax. Although you would be able to claim it back, it’s a hefty outlay that would prevent some people from otherwise buying their homes. We have always exited and entered on the same day for that reason.

Motheranddaughter · 18/02/2025 17:10

Lack of bridging finance is the main issue

Cottagecheeseisnotcheese · 18/02/2025 18:08

our missives were concluded at 11am for moving at 3pm

Dearg · 18/02/2025 19:07

Like a pp, last time we sold, we put a time limit on concluding missives, on the clear understanding that we would show the house again if it didn’t happen We were lucky enough to be selling in a much wanted area..

The buyers solicitor was late, and came up with a number of spurious reasons.

I have heard of too many people being let down at the last minute and my own view is that solicitors / agents need to manage this better.

Motheranddaughter · 18/02/2025 19:44

If people want missives concluded quickly they should accept an offer that is not subject to sale,but mostly they don’t ,they go for the top offer
Accepting an offer that is subject to sale gets you into a chain and can mean a long wait to get missives concluded
There is absolutely nothing the solicitor can do about that
Post 2008 ,and with no bridging loans available,no competent solicitors will advise a client to conclude missives of purchase until their sale missives are concluded

Original poster
NanaPurple · 18/02/2025 21:46

Sorry. I should have been clearer. In the past (and now) our exit and entry dates are the same day. But as missives were concluded around 6 weeks before that date we were relaxed enough to take a one week holiday before moving. We could not afford a bridging loan and would never consider one.

I would never accept an offer which is subject to another sale. In fact I have refused two such offers. My current buyer is not in a chain and the person I am buying from is not in a chain. So why are we talking about chains in Scotland? That is surely part of the English system? Or have the systems morphed?

OP posts:
PurpleThistle7 · 18/02/2025 22:03

I moved in 2021 and 2014 and both times the missives were completed a day or two before we moved. It was super stressful but nothing unusual amongst my friends - barring the odd horror story everyone did move house.

It was a confusing system for us all the way through - nothing was finalised for ages and anything can change at any time. Then your mortgage is just whatever the rate is every few years. Very different to where I'm from in the states and took us ages to get our head round!

Motheranddaughter · 18/02/2025 22:35

Yes chains are very much part the system here
There is not much difference between the Scottish and English systems now

Willowback · 18/02/2025 22:46

We've bought a few times in recent years and missives were concluded day of keys, this is why I would never move on Friday, your 3 days to sort any issues if it's over the weekend.

Classicstripewastaken · 19/02/2025 09:05

Your buyer and seller might not be in a chain but if you want simultaneous moving in and out days then you've created the chain because one move depends on the other, regardless of whether there's something in the missive or not. You mentioned you wanted the chain wording removed from your missive. If you need money from the sale to complete your purchase and both are happening on the same day, concluding a purchase missive without being conditional on your sale is risky as it's designed to protect you if your sale falls through which might be why no missive is concluded yet. Personally, I'd conclude a missive conditional on buyer funding/your sale going through then at least everyone is committed and the only reason they/you could walk away (without penalty) is if funding doesn't materialise whereas now, anyone could pull out at any time for any reason. Otherwise, you just need to take a leap of faith that everything will come together and start packing.

Original poster
NanaPurple · 27/02/2025 00:33

So only a few days left until we are meant to move. We are all packed up. Still no missives concluded. Ours is a three day removal due to the size of our house and distance the removal company has to drive to get to our new house (nearly 400 miles).

Would you allow the removal company to uplift all of your possessions and take them 400 miles away on the off chance that the missives might conclude on the sale and onward purchase?

OP posts:
Stanley44132 · 27/02/2025 00:45

What is your lawyer saying? I’m surprised they haven’t pushed for them to be signed before now if you are going to be incurring big costs. If it’s all running all as the lawyer is expecting then probably will be okay but if the buyers have gone MIA for weeks then I’d be more hesitant. Your lawyer really needs to advise you here

Original poster
NanaPurple · 27/02/2025 01:20

The buyers lawyers are MIA and uncontactable by our lawyer. We are already looking at over £2000 to cancel the removal. As it such a big removal we had to pay a deposit by a certain date and the contract with the removers has deadline for cancellation clauses.

OP posts:
Motheranddaughter · 27/02/2025 04:14

Get the estate agent to speak to the purchasers
No I would not allow the removal co to pack up

EBoo80 · 27/02/2025 12:30

We had two transaction in Edinburgh fall through - once our buyer went AWOL entirely, and once the sellers hadn’t got the right paperwork and so we had nowhere to go.
Both times the same crappy big Edinburgh law firm said ‘no news is good news, if you don’t hear from us assume everything is fine’ and were wrong. Most sales it turned out are handled by inexperienced trainees in too high a volume for them to notice things going wrong. I would always use a small solicitor for future transactions.