New House

[RichardSanderson]

I have recently had an offer accepted on a new house. Being a first time buyer, I'm not familiar with the procedures and time it takes to complete the whole transfer of money.

i have a mortgage advisor doing all the paper work for me, but have no idea what timescales I should expect.

How long did it take you homeowners to get from putting an offer in to receiving the keys?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I'm going back about 10 years but I think it was about 2 months or so. I guess it depends on the length of the chain above you

 

[RichardSanderson]

No chain either way. Both us and the seller are renting already. Hopefully that will speed things up a fair bit!

 

[HTL]

Took us a month and we were in the same situation as you.

 

[RichardSanderson]

Thats good to know!

 

[vig]

Ours was a vacant posession but our solicitor said that we could speed things up for a small fee. Screw that, 6 weeks in total.

 

[flandango]

I sold and brought privatly so took a little more time as I had to deal with both ends of the chain myself. Solicitor took care of paperwork etc.

The people I was buying off were getting divorced, one wanted to sell the other didn't. They accepted our offer etc and I hand to sell mine and move in with my parents with my wife and daughter (wife 7 months pregnant).

They then started to drag there heels so i had to kick some ass. He was a police officer and she was a PA. It's suprising how stupid and awkward people can be!

Luckily I kept on top of things as the place needed work before my 2nd was born.

They say 6-8 weeks but don't let anyone fob you off. Your in the boss, especially in todays climate!!!

good luck.

 

[GB72]

I am a partner in a conveyancing firm so this is an area that I am familiar with. Problem is that the question of how long a transaction takes is pretty much on par with asking how long is a piece of string. The average transaction takes 6-8 weeks but I have seen them take a lot longer and I have seen cash purchases completed in 24 hours. The main issue is as to whether there are any problems with the legal title to the property, if that is OK then you are probably looking at around a month. If there are minor issues, add a couple of weeks and if there is a serious issue that needs correcting then add a couple of months or more.

On the basis that the property has a home information pack (and that was compulsory on all transactions after October of last year so it should have) then there will be no delay whilst waiting for searches to come back.

The other issue to look at is your mortgage. Whilst offers were coming out in a couple of weeks 12 months ago, they can now take an age to be issued as lenders are more cautious.

My best advice, keep on top of it but do not set your heart on a date and let it take its course. Work out how long you need to move or how much notice you need to give on any rental property and agree to leave that amount of time between exchange and completion.

If you have any queries, PM me.

 

[Basher]

No chain either way? Shouldn't take too long Richard.

Keep your eye on the solicitor though, they'll try and screw you for as much as they can get!

 

[brendy]

We sold a house recently inside 6 weeks, we needed a fairly quick sale to get things done round our house before the new arrival is due (approximately 12 hours from now). Harass and keep in contact daily with all parties involved, its worth it in the end. This was here in NI though where home packs arn't required as far as I know.

 

[viscount17]

GB, forgive my ignorance but home information packs and searches - weren't HIP invented to remove the necessity and to speed up the process?

Richard, my experience has been that the mortagage lender is usually the primary cause of the longest delay.

Factor in a 4-day week, anything sent on a Friday won't be seen until Tuesday; anything sent Thursday not 'til Monday.
use your Estate Agent - he's not just there to flog the house and he doesn't get his cut until completion.
There is a business 'fast mail' system (can't remember what it's called) that the Estate Agent should be plugged into (maybe also the Solicitor but they will charge extra), if papers need to be sent urgently it's worth trying them (worked in my case).

 

[RichardSanderson]

Thanks for all the input!

I have a mortgage advisor doing all the chasing for me, and he seems to be doing a good job of it so far. He thinks we should be in in 2-3 weeks from now providing all the information is present and correct!

Thanks again,

Rich

 

[GB72]

GB, forgive my ignorance but home information packs and searches - weren't HIP invented to remove the necessity and to speed up the process?

Richard, my experience has been that the mortagage lender is usually the primary cause of the longest delay.

Factor in a 4-day week, anything sent on a Friday won't be seen until Tuesday; anything sent Thursday not 'til Monday.
use your Estate Agent - he's not just there to flog the house and he doesn't get his cut until completion.
There is a business 'fast mail' system (can't remember what it's called) that the Estate Agent should be plugged into (maybe also the Solicitor but they will charge extra), if papers need to be sent urgently it's worth trying them (worked in my case).

You are right, no need for searches with a HIP hence my comment as to there being no delay waiting for them.

The post system you are talking about is the DX or document exchange. Should be used by solicitors as a matter of course at no extra charge (it is cheaper than post).

Seems to be a pattern appearing here suggesting that all we do is look to rip clients off. Not everyone in the legal profession is like that and the fees charged for conveyancing are pretty low considering the man hours some transactions take.