The nervous wait to exchange....

Soldato
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1 Dec 2011
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SW3
How long should it take to get to exchanging contracts?

All mortgage offers in on chain. Searches complete. Our buyer was told 8 weeks.

Everyone in the chain is using the same solicitor firm with separate solicitors.

8 weeks seems excessive as surely contracts are fairly standard?
I viewed, signed and got the keys within 30 days because i had very good solicitors. 8-12 weeks is the advertised period for completion.
 
Caporegime
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Llaneirwg
Wondering what our situation will be like. Searches started last week.

We are the first time buyers but the other party are waiting on us (as they've been ready for ages)

Id hope before end of Feb!
Its a short chain but not really any idea of the speed.
 
Soldato
Joined
11 Feb 2010
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England
In terms of completing it varies greatly and having a good solicitor goes along way but even then you will have to chase somewhat.

1st house was done and dusted in 6 weeks and my most recent house 10 weeks.

On a separate note for anyone who has recently purchased, is anyone worried about the impact of the GE?
 
Associate
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I will be joining you lot soon, hopefully. Luckily the house we are putting an offer in are happy to get out whenever we require as they have alternative accomodation, and the people who we have offers from are FTB, so hopefully it might actually be quite a simple affair, though knowing my luck that's definitely not how it'll go!

I'm being hassled by our estate agent to use their legal services, but it's about £400 or so more expensive than alternative quotes i've had so far, is their any advantages to keeping it all in house? They seem to think so!
 
Soldato
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Starting to get ready to find somewhere in the new year, need to explore areas a bit more though, been away from the UK for so long! FTB with a big deposit so I don't expect any problems, will get a mortgage approval and solicitor sorted out in Jan and then start keeping an eye out.
 
Soldato
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r, is their any advantages to keeping it all in house? They seem to think so!
Not really no. They most likely aren't their in house legal services anyway just one they have a referral agreement with.

It could make a difference but in reality there are so many other factors at work that whether or not the agents have a good relationship with your conveyancer is unlikely to matter
 
Associate
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Not really no. They most likely aren't their in house legal services anyway just one they have a referral agreement with.

It could make a difference but in reality there are so many other factors at work that whether or not the agents have a good relationship with your conveyancer is unlikely to matter

Cool, thanks for that. Looks like it's probably better to save £400 rather than keep it all in one place.
I see a lot of people talk about solicitors before finding a house, but since conveyancing charges are generally done on a specific property isn't it better to wait until you have an offer accepted?
 
Soldato
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Cool, thanks for that. Looks like it's probably better to save £400 rather than keep it all in one place.
I see a lot of people talk about solicitors before finding a house, but since conveyancing charges are generally done on a specific property isn't it better to wait until you have an offer accepted?
A quote will generally be dependant on purchase price, whether its freehold/leasehold/new build and whether you're getting a mortgage. Prices will be banded so if you get a quote for the type of property you're looking for it will be pretty much the same
 
Caporegime
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Llaneirwg
Cool, thanks for that. Looks like it's probably better to save £400 rather than keep it all in one place.
I see a lot of people talk about solicitors before finding a house, but since conveyancing charges are generally done on a specific property isn't it better to wait until you have an offer accepted?

In ours waited to have an offer accepted
Then chose solicitors

But didn't start any work until had the mortgage and home buyers survey done.

Day the survey came back OK was the day paid for the searches and properly started the conveyancing.

For me I was very unsure of the house value (over valued) so didn't want to burn more money if had to start again

Mortgage advisor was great I have to say
 
Associate
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A quote will generally be dependant on purchase price, whether its freehold/leasehold/new build and whether you're getting a mortgage. Prices will be banded so if you get a quote for the type of property you're looking for it will be pretty much the same

Cool, thanks!

In ours waited to have an offer accepted
Then chose solicitors

But didn't start any work until had the mortgage and home buyers survey done.

Day the survey came back OK was the day paid for the searches and properly started the conveyancing.

For me I was very unsure of the house value (over valued) so didn't want to burn more money if had to start again

Mortgage advisor was great I have to say

Good to know, thanks!

Have made the offer today, but I think it's going to ride heavily on whether the offers we've had can be converted into a sale as we're currently not in the best position for the seller to take us seriously, and I don't want to pay fees for stuff until they accept our offer on their place! Have read some stuff on hoa.org.uk, is that a fairly reliable source of info for processes?
 
Soldato
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UK
Well there might be a Christmas miracle after all.
After the solicitor said it was extremely unlikely we would be completing before Xmas, as we were walking out of our home demonstration, they emailed us and said we might be able to complete tomorrow....

We exchanged contracts, sent our deposit, now we wait to see if we can complete sometime tomorrow.. the last working day before xmas...
 
Associate
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Well there might be a Christmas miracle after all.
After the solicitor said it was extremely unlikely we would be completing before Xmas, as we were walking out of our home demonstration, they emailed us and said we might be able to complete tomorrow....

We exchanged contracts, sent our deposit, now we wait to see if we can complete sometime tomorrow.. the last working day before xmas...
Fingers crossed for you!
 
Caporegime
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23 Dec 2011
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Northern England
Saga of my new build continues. Was initially due to be ready last week then slipped to mid Jan and now they're saying early Feb.
Our buyers are kicking off wanting us out mid Jan. Frustrating that they won't wait just two more weeks.
Also frustrating that our new house is complete minus a footpath outside.
 
Caporegime
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So found out on Friday that our sellers are buying an empty property .. Buuuut...that property isn't coming off the market until exchange!

This leaves us in a Vulnerable position. Much more than we thought. From what I gather if the house was bought by a cash buyer sneaking in at the last moment we lose out as well.
 
Soldato
Joined
9 Mar 2003
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14,203
That’s unlikely, any cash buyer would need to do all the same checks as a mortgage buyer so it’s not a time thing. Its a money thing, my guess is they are buying a repo, that is fairly standard practice, the banks want the max they can get from it.

Banks should be able to turn round a mortgage application days after the valuation is done, it should be one of the first thing to be finalised it done promptly, you are normally waiting on searches and queries.
 
Soldato
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UK
We had the home demonstration on Thursday, fully expecting to complete in the New Year
Had an email from the solicitors Thursday evening saying we should be able to complete the next day
Thursday night, paid the deposit & fees
Friday 3pm, had phone call confirming everything had gone through
Friday 4pm, picked up the keys
Saturday - started packing, rented transit van
Tuesday 5pm - finished unpacking everything. House is done.

Such a lovely feeling to be in a brand new, massive (for just the two of us!) property in a relatively affluent area, no scrotes around, all in time for Christmas.

For those still waiting for exchange, may your wait be short and painless!
 
Associate
Joined
20 May 2009
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1,857
Wondering what our situation will be like. Searches started last week.

We are the first time buyers but the other party are waiting on us (as they've been ready for ages)

Id hope before end of Feb!
Its a short chain but not really any idea of the speed.

We were the same. First time buyers buying a holiday cottage, took us nearly 9 months
 
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