Yay, completed today.
Just the 8 months of faff as a cash buyer and an empty property with no chain. Persimmon Homes, their agents and solicitors are utter muppets. Now the joys of Scottish power and prepayment meters begins, two wasted trips to top ups that don't work and the call centre is now closed for the night. I'll be getting the meter swapped to a credit one ASAP.
Glad to hear you're in @midlifecrashes
We have been looking at a Persimmon new build site. Their communication has been really poor, not answering phones or emails. And they have nobody available to do viewings this weekend as their staff member lives in Liverpool and it's too far to travel....
A new build site shouldn't have the boundary issues we had, so you ought to be better off than us.
Ours is an existing house Persimmon bought to use a chunk of the garden as access to their new estate, a new bridleway subway under the railway. Once work was completed they sold it on again (to us) but didn't have their ducks in a row for the land registry or anyone else, or seem to have heard of ducks, or telephones, or have access to the plans used to build the underpass.
So the stress has already begun. We found two plots (new builds) that are currently available that we really really like. However, we can only reserve once ours is sold and they wont be ready until March next year. So, if we sell quickly and they are still available, it is likely we get hit with early repayment on the current mortgage and then into short term rented accommodation.
Unless of course we get unbelievably lucky and find a buyer willing to wait until then. Estate agents saying 3-4 months for completion at the moment.
We've just started looking in Sheffield as first time buyers. Thought maybe the viewing/offer process would be a bit calmer than renting, but it seems just as mad so far!
Good luck to everyone, wherever you are along the process. We've been in for around 2 months now, the stress finally starting to ease.
Took us just over a year from selling our flat to moving into the new place. Selling and buying in Bristol, our place was sold in a couple of weeks, took us 2 months to find somewhere but properly lucked out. Then had to wait 6 or so months for our sellers to find somewhere. In a complete chain our buyers then decided they wanted ££££ off the price at a very late stage (despite them being in at a very good price and everything going up in the meantime), and so we called their bluff, politely declined and sold again to someone else within days for more.
I still can't get over what a terrible process it all is, the unprofessional attitude of some solicitors bordering on malpractice, and just how much work/chasing you have to do yourself despite paying out for a supposed service.
I will say that Ocean estate agents in Bristol were well worth their commission. Not perfect by any means, but they stepped up to the mark on a couple of occasions when it looked like the sh1t was about to hit the fan.
Still can't quite believe we got through it, and where we've found ourselves, but my advice to anyone about to start the process is ensure your resilience levels are properly topped up!
Well we’re due to complete our sale on the 1st of August. Found a place to buy, surveys all done, mortgage offer received. All great.
We were planning to break chain for a couple of weeks. Condition of which is that we’d have exchanged prior to chain break so nobody could back out on us in either direction. Except…
Spoke to our solicitor (chocolate fire guard made of m1 service area chocolate coins remelted) today who suddenly revealed they’d done absolutely nothing on our purchase as they’d not received the legal pack from the vendors.
So now our chain break is looking like a 3 month unknown with the risk that it all may fall apart again.
Why is this process so unbelievably cr@p?
Oh and our mortgage offer will expire on 30th September.
Seriously considering jacking it all in and trading in on a new build.
So a bit of an update on this. I'm relucntant to start talking about it as I feel it will just jinx it all. We accepted an offer for the asking price around 2 weeks after it went on the market, great! At the same time we'd viewed houses, including new builds. We lucked out and found a great house that is all but finished and will be ready in September. Our buyers are chain free, I believe they are currently renting.
We're now about 2 weeks into the process, mortgage application got approved really quickly, about a week and solicitors instructed. We have the contracts for the house we've bought and will hopefully be signing them and returning them tomorrow/Tuesday. We have a few things to check with them first which we found in the contract. So, it all seems great so far.
I was very nervous at the start as the buyer of our house viewed and agreed on his own and then brought his family back the following week. I was really worried she wouldn't like it and the offer would be pulled. But they viewed and all was good.
I'm now constantly worrying it's too good to be true and that the buyers will pull out. We appear to be in a great position, I really hope it all works out.
We could be new residents of Congleton very soon.
I’m now constantly worrying it’s too good to be true and that the buyers will pull out. We appear to be in a great position, I really hope it all works out.
Same here, it’s been a right pigs ear of errors and delays including 10 weeks of Barclays sitting on our buyers mortgage and it being paused by an underwriter and not being able to ‘un-pause’ it?? ended up with our seller re-listing her property due to the delay, our mortgage deal ending in 12 days time, promises and deadlines came and went with no resolution. All this has meant 8 months of stress which came to head on Friday when the plug was about to be pulled on everything and the mortgage gets approved!
Now it’s a mad rush to exchange tomorrow or wednesday and complete on the 25th.
We still expect it all to come crashing down like a house of cards and have not celebrated as it’s wrung out any emotions we had long ago.
We still expect it all to come crashing down like a house of cards and have not celebrated as it’s wrung out any emotions we had long ago.
Hope it all ends well! It's sad that such a positive thing should be dragged down by the incompetence of others.
We have friends who move every 2 to 3 years. I don't know how they have the energy to do it. Once in 25 years was enough for me! 🙂
Urgh @MrSmith, that fills me with more dread now. Hopefully it works out. We're just about to sign our contracts and send them back today. Couple of small errors which have been sorted quickly.
Thought I would update this. Things have progressed, but the radio silence is deafening. Everything is good at our end, the new build is due to be finished end of next week. We now have a completion date of 23rd September, but just need to buyers solicitor to confirm they can meet that. All we are waiting on are the searches to come back for our buyer. I can't see it throwing anything up as this is a new build, only 6 1/2 years old. We now have just under 4 weeks to go, but a date for exchanging isn't confirmed. We need to book a removals company and start sorting the house. But this all seems like it could be in vein.
Welcome to that dead-zone time where nothing seems to be happening!!
We ended up booking a removals company as we were as certain as we could be that things would go OK. We did take cancellation cover out though - just in case! 😬😱
We did have a date pencilled in that we were working towards though. Have you got that?
Yea, the 23rd September is the date everyone is working towards.
We have a couple of removal companies coming to quote us in the next few days, so will ask about cancellations or moving dates.
I am also constantly worrying that the buyers will still pull out, even though we are this far on mortgages have been approved etc.
Sorry to say - that worry won't go away until you get the phone-call on moving day to say all has gone through!!
We’ve had a 23rd September deadline today also. A date when our buyers mortgage offer runs out and the chain potentially falls apart.
We’ve been waiting on a grant of probate for ages which we’ve told is ‘NOW….NOW! Being looked at.
Crystal ball anyone! Will it won’t it all fall the f apart!!!!
Our mortgage offers runs out in October….who knows how much less we’ll get this time with changes in rates etc
So...close...
Almost there now. Final contracts signed, all searches completed. Just waiting to exchange now. Removals company booked, boxes for packing arriving soon. I haven't had a drink in about a month, I'll be having a few when this is all done.
stcolin if you dont mind me asking did you go with a Persimmon house? If so does it have a garage and have you had a good look inside?
No, we didn't. We breifly looked at a Persimmon development near Buxton, but the build dates didn't quite suit and it wasn't our first choice for location.
Well, here we are, 3 days before completion and silence. Not exchanged, our buyer 'forgot' to send back the signed contracts last week. Everything else we're told, is done, searches etc. They paid their deposit last week, again, so we have been told. We have chased everyone today, left messages for our solicitor, the EA, and nothing. Utter incompetency. We have removals booked, broadband ordered, and the majority of the packing still to do with 3 days to go.
You're bringing back memories I'd buried! 😬
Amazing how something that occupies your every waking thought can be parked to the back of your mind.
Signed contracts thing isn't major though if everything else is in place.
Fingers crossed for you. 🤞
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Sorry about that @the-muffin-man!
There's only us and our buyer in the chain too, so I would have thought things would have been easier. This is obviously going to the wire.
Sorry to spam this thread now. A completely sleepless night last night. Spoken to the removals company who have given us until 4pm to either cancel or move our completion date. I think I've just resigned myself now that it wont happen, even at all. This basically feels like one long panic attack from yesterday. Nobody is giving us any reassurance that this can and will happen by Friday. Our solicitor has zero empathy, even failed to acknowledge that we'd sorted the buildings insurance yesterday.
The house is half packed, we have a dog sitter to organise, a van to book, and time off work for tomorrow and Friday. Yet everyone who is now in control seemingly couldn't care less. It's going to be a very long very stressful day.
Jebus, that sounds awful. Sorry for you stcolin, I've only done a move once and our purchaser was also our seller so it was pretty easy, still not a process I'd like to repeat again.
That sounds utterly shit. I know you said you'd checked everything, but have you rung the buyers conveyancer? The buyers themselves? Just asking that because you said "we're told". Chinese whispers.
I hope it all works out.
Been there Colin, felt the stress. As you say it is a proper game of whispers, with no-one taking charge of updating and making something happen.
Horrid for you.
As Rich_s says - I'd be on to your buyers solicitor straight away.
If your solicitor is so shit I'd not be believing a word they say. They may not even have all the details to proceed.
Where is your solicitor? A personal visit may help. It's harder to bullshit face to face.
Again good luck! 😬 😱
Is there a Stamp Issue thing going on here. With rumour about stamp duty being lowered, ae buyers holding back in the hope they might save some money?
Doesn't help you at all though, the system shouldn't be allowed to (not) work like this.
Is there a Stamp Issue thing going on here. With rumour about stamp duty being lowered, ae buyers holding back in the hope they might save some money?
Not impossible I suppose, but any buyer buggering about like that with a couple of days to go risks loosing a whole lot more if their purchase falls through! There are some real idiots out there though.
...they paid their deposit last week...
Be nice if they were non-refundable. 😁
Thanks everyone.
I'm pretty much reduced to nothing at this stage. Lots has happened since my last post. To cut a long story short, we got an apology from the buyer, everything is in place now. Got emails from the buyers solicitor and ours to say everyone is ready to complete on Friday, but there is an issue with the buyers lender that needs resolved ASAP, although they have stated something about funds requested and approved for release on Friday. They are hoping to get an answer today. And...the buyer doesn't know what the issue is. So, it's all up in the air again with about 3 hours to go with nobody knowing what the issue is with the lender.
Last minute stresses with lenders is relatively routine though, sounds like you are in a much better place now
Be nice if they were non-refundable. 😁
Only if they'd exchanged contracts! Which it sounds like they haven't.
Mortgage rates are due to go up again tomorrow. They may have tried another mortgage company to the original one they were approved with and now it's causing issues?
Can you push for exchange today?
But what could it be though? Nobody is giving us any idea of what it could be. I'm stressed a lot about the movers too, I need to let them know by 4pm otherwise I'll lose part of the booking cost.
Didn't get that impression from our estate agent. It was my partner who spoke to him and he said the buyer seemed miffed at what it could be as he was assured all was fine. I couldn't care less about stamp duty, I just want this done.
We still expect it all to come crashing down like a house of cards and have not celebrated as it’s wrung out any emotions we had long ago.
Hope it all ends well! It’s sad that such a positive thing should be dragged down by the incompetence of others.
We have friends who move every 2 to 3 years. I don’t know how they have the energy to do it. Once in 25 years was enough for me! 🙂
Thanks for the sentiment but it didn’t work unfortunately.
Got hit with a double whammy after 12 weeks of waiting the buyer finally got mortgage approved only for our seller to drop an undisclosed section 20 (external works on the block) for £10k 2 days before exchange (i had proof from management co they had known about this 2 months previously) then our buyer pulled out day before exchange.
we are used to the disappointment though so didn’t have the energy to be upset about it, it’s the waste of my time over the last year and 3k down the drain that’s doing my head in.
luckily we found a new chain free flat on same development the very next day and had an offer accepted and partners flat under offer after 3 days and 3 offers with queue of 20 people wanting to view.
now we (both buyer and us) have been told there are long delays with valuations taking 6-8 weeks. FFS.
any emotion has been sucked out of the process now and it’s just a thing you have to throw time and money at with no guarantee it will ever resolve itself.
It's shite
Didn’t get that impression from our estate agent. It was my partner who spoke to him and he said the buyer seemed miffed at what it could be as he was assured all was fine. I couldn’t care less about stamp duty, I just want this done.
It could be simply a form not signed in the right place, or they were on the edge of affordability before and the mortgage company are getting nervous.
If that's the case, it definitely wont be happening tomorrow.
My buyer tried to pull out after i'd emigrated. Unless i took several thousand quid off the selling price.
I told the estate agent to relist it.
He came up with the readies the following day.
Hope the house fell down.
My buyer tried to pull out after i’d emigrated. Unless i took several thousand quid off the selling price.
I told the estate agent to relist it.
He came up with the readies the following day.
Hope the house fell down.
Funny how people feel they should ‘get one over’ i often feel it’s the solicitors pushing this.
we had an offer that was fine with us but certainly not the highest (decent deposit, no chain, no rental contract) asked them to come up 2.5k (on a £400k+ property) to "match a middle offer and it’s yours”.
He said yes but wanted the freehold extended?? it’s 126 years so not low and would require 2 other co-freeholders to pay for theirs at the same time, not expensive but the other 2 are part way through their own refurbs/kitchen/bathrooms and they are just going to say “why do we need to do this now?”
he got told to jog on, he really loved the flat as well, might work on a property on the market for 6 months but this was 3 days with 3 offers and another 15 viewings booked in..
Buyers lie - sellers lie - estate agents lie - solicitors lie. The whole process is based on lies.
If you can afford to take the hit - I'd probably still give the removals company the go ahead. It does sound like you're not far off getting things sorted.
Can you phone the buyers solicitor to find out what the issue is with the mortgage. They're the ones who should be driving it and asking questions.
I'm tempted to just take a gamble to make sure it happens on Friday if it can. It would be my luck that I'd cancel and 10 minutes later get a call to say it can go ahead.
Unless my hand is forced, I hope to never move again.
So, another update. Issue has been resolved, and we are ready to exchange, either this afternoon or tomorrow.
It was brilliant buying here (Sweden) more like buying a fridge than a house.
Make sure you've got the financial coverage, find a house, agree a price (usually open bidding), pay the deposit, get someone to check it over/survey, if all is ok you then wait until moving date, when you pay the balance/sign the final contracts.
If the survey comes back with an issue, you can either renegotiate or pull out (and get your deposit back), we got 50000 sek off because the drainage needed redoing. If you pull out as buyer you lose a percentage of the deposit, pull out as seller you'll end up owing the buyer some extra cash.
Then when you've bought the place you even get a warranty of sorts from the seller as well if any other mayor faults come to light.
But what could it be though?
I've experience of two things:
1) someone, deep in the lenders organisation, just didn't sign the right form or click the right button.
2) (and I apologise) lender after we had exchanged changed thier mind on lending on a Buy To Let. That got twitchy....
