mortgage query

[mauvais]

Keep getting calls from the Estate Agent now. Apparently the vendors have been asking when we want to complete and move in. I gave an ideal date of mid April at the latest .... Estate Agent seemed to be certain everything would be sorted by mid March... It's in the solicitor's hands now though and the companies providing the search results, so not sure how the Estate Agent can be so certain about such a short time scale (of, like, 2 weeks!!) He recommended I get on the phone asap and start chasing the solicitor. I really don't want to do this yet - they only sent off for the searches a few days ago.

Estate agents do this. We keep getting pushes from their 'sales progressor' who is really there to keep everyone involved moving everything along, ultimately in pursuit of their commission. Just tell them what they want to hear, some sort of progress update.

 

[hash tag]

There is of course the fact that solicitors are not the quickest responding people in the world. With something I have been doing, all the terms and fees have long since been agreed and as far as I know it's just a short simple form to sign. I have now chased this 3 times over the last 6 weeks+
Don't hold your breath

 

[Hellsbells]

I'm not expecting the searches to be completed in much less than 4 weeks tbh. The solicitor said they sent off for the searches last week (the day after I paid them their deposit...). Won't any potential delay now be down to whoever the search requests went to? Still feel quite bemused & in the dark about the whole house buying process

 

[hash tag]

Sorry Hellsbells, not wishing to piss on your fire but just being realistic here; you would be amazed at the stupid little things that could be raised by some jobsworth pen pusher at any stage.
When we sold our last place, we though we were ready to exchange and someone raised a query about our windows; did they have some certificate or other. Well we had never touched the windows and in the end,
to push that thing through, we paid to take out an indemnity about the windows not having the correct planning permission, having the necessary consents, guarantees or whatever. That small issue to several weeks to resolve.
As for searches, here in blighty, we used to be able to pay a premium to get "personal" searches done . They can be done in days if prepared to pay, I believe.
Try and relax and chill until you finally exchange, and then it is time to party.

 

[hash tag]

Quickly checks emails; chased solicitor about form early on 20Th.
Reply 1, oh yes, it has just popped up in my diary to chase it.
Reply 2. I'll get the solicitor to make a phone call (I wonder what this will add to the bill).
Result; still waiting to here. How much do they get paid for doing what?

 

[Hellsbells]

Contacted solicitor today. Search results had just arrived this morning They're writing up a report to send to us for early next week.

I thought the searches would take ages so am very happy it's only been 2 weeks.
What happens next...? I didn't want to ask the solicitor for fear of sounding dim. Is the only thing that could hold us up now the vendor's search results?

 

[Idaho]

Quickly checks emails; chased solicitor about form early on 20Th.
Reply 1, oh yes, it has just popped up in my diary to chase it.
Reply 2. I'll get the solicitor to make a phone call (I wonder what this will add to the bill).
Result; still waiting to here. How much do they get paid for doing what?

The only consolation is that conveyancing and estate sales will be automated in the next 5 years. These pointless parasites are doomed.

 

[Teaboy]

Contacted solicitor today. Search results had just arrived this morning They're writing up a report to send to us for early next week.

I thought the searches would take ages so am very happy it's only been 2 weeks.
What happens next...? I didn't want to ask the solicitor for fear of sounding dim. Is the only thing that could hold us up now the vendor's search results?

Typically both sets of solicitors will sit on the info for two months whilst blaming each other for the inactivity. Then suddenly everything will happen in a flurry of panic over the period of a week.

Its non-stop joy this house buying lark.

 

[Teaboy]

Actually I'm being glib.

Your best bet is continue to liaise with the estate agent and your solicitor to work towards an exchange date. This is when contracts are exchanged but not completion which is when you get the keys. Try and establish an exchange date early so everyone has something to work towards. Beyond chivying people along there isn't much you can do as you are in the hands of the legal people now and they work at their own pace.

 

[Hellsbells]

Typically both sets of solicitors will sit on the info for two months whilst blaming each other for the inactivity. Then suddenly everything will happen in a flurry of panic over the period of a week.

Its non-stop joy this house buying lark.

But 2 weeks for the searches to be completed is good, right? I was expecting just that to take at least a month. And we've been told we'll be getting the report next week. That doesn't sound like solicitors sitting on info for 2 months. What else will they need to do after searches and the report?

 

[Teaboy]

But 2 weeks for the searches to be completed is good, right? I was expecting just that to take at least a month. And we've been told we'll be getting the report next week. That doesn't sound like solicitors sitting on info for 2 months. What else will they need to do after searches and the report?

Yes it sounds promising. To be honest I'm not quite sure why it takes so long but my theory is all solicitors have case loads which they alternate between, there's kind of acceptance that the whole thing will take 3 months so it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think solicitors are reactive in that whomever shouts the loudest goes to the top of the pile.

It may be different on the Island, perhaps a reduced workload? Maybe its easier for the solicitors to get hold of the info they need?

Have a chat with the estate agent to confirm the vendor still wants to move ASAP, hopefully they will be putting pressure on their own solicitor as well. As I say push for an exchange date from your own solicitor. Maybe ask the estate agent how long these things normally take on the Island, because its in their interest to get things through quickly.

 

[Hellsbells]

Have a chat with the estate agent to confirm the vendor still wants to move ASAP, hopefully they will be putting pressure on their own solicitor as well. As I say push for an exchange date from your own solicitor. Maybe ask the estate agent how long these things normally take on the Island, because its in their interest to get things through quickly.

Just spoke with our Estate Agent. The vendors want to exchange & complete asap as they're all sorted to move into their new house. So nothing should really delay us now, right? It's just our solicitor sorting out paperwork. Once we've received the report next week, I'll ask them to give us an exchange date.

 

[hash tag]

How long it takes after searches depends on what if anything the searches throw up, the valuation, and anything else that anyone might find. These people normally have difficulty on dealing with two issues on one property at a time. They normally look at one issue, deal with it and only then move on to the next one....sorry, not meaning to be pessimistic just realistic.
just chased my solicitors this morning. From where I'm sitting it looks like they have done nothing between 2oth Feb and now

 

[Looby]

That’s my experience too hash tag, it can drag from here. I worked in mortgages a long time ago but from memory the things that held stuff up at the last minute was always stuff like buildings insurance. So many completions were delayed over such petty things.

 

[hash tag]

I've just had an email from my solicitors saying they have chased things up, something which they promised in writing, they would do on the 20 Feb in respect of something agreed on 15th Jan!
was that a building society, bank or specialist I wonder Looby?

 

[Looby]

I've just had an email from my solicitors saying they have chased things up, something which they promised in writing, they would do on the 20 Feb in respect of something agreed on 15th Jan!
was that a building society, bank or specialist I wonder Looby?

A sub-prime broker, I’m ashamed to say. I was young, stupid and broke. [emoji20]

 

[hash tag]

I worked for a major specialist lender which went from being the strictest underwriter of mortgages to a major sub prime lender

 

[Hellsbells]

OK so today we received all the search reports from our solicitor. All they want now is a date to exchange & complete

The only negative thing that came up in the searches relates to the boiler which apparently the vendors are getting serviced but the solicitor says it's at our own risk & we may move in to find the boiler doesn't work. The original advert for this house made a big thing about the boiler installed in 2012 as a selling point. Can we insist the vendors provide a service report that states the boiler is in working order?

 

[hash tag]

You can ask for the service history for the boiler but whether you get it or not is a different matter.
the big what if is what do you do if you don't get it. Could you negotiate on price and risk losing the sale?
The way solicitors work, asking for the service history could take a while. I would be tempted to first tryvthe selling agents.

 

[Boudicca]

The solicitor is just covering their backside.

If the boiler has been serviced and there is a record of it being serviced, then I would assume it is in working order. If you're worried, you could ask to send in your own engineer to check it.

I once had a solicitor advise me against going ahead because the plans for my flat didn't have the front door marked. I had to insist that I was pretty confident that it did exist and that I was prepared to take the risk.

 

[Hellsbells]

From the paperwork it looks as though the boiler hasn't been serviced since it was installed in 2011...
But if the vendors are definitely getting a service done now & that confirms everythings fine, isn't that enough? Don't really see the need to get our own separate service done. The Isle of Man is so small we'd probably end up using the same person anyway! !

 

[Teaboy]

I wonder how many boilers are serviced annually, it can't be that many. If it was new in 2012 then it should still be working fine, the one in my house is 18 years old and still going fine. I get mine serviced every year but they never seem to do much, just take it a part, give it a bit of a clean and top it up with water, the first house I brought the boiler got serviced once in 6 years.

You could ask for a Gas Safe certificate (or whatever the IoM equivalent is). This is over and above a usual boiler service and is a legal requirement for rented properties, that would give you peace of mind that its at least safe. Oh and once you're in get a carbon monoxide alarm, you can buy them pretty cheap on-line or from b&q but certainly worth it.

 

[Boudicca]

I was only suggesting getting your own check done as a way of keeping things moving and if you are concerned it is going to take a while for the vendor to get it done and get the paperwork through 2 solicitors.

 

[Hellsbells]

I was only suggesting getting your own check done as a way of keeping things moving and if you are concerned it is going to take a while for the vendor to get it done and get the paperwork through 2 solicitors.

The vendors want to complete asap so I think they'd get it done pretty quick. I don't mind if things slow down a bit tbh. We're tied into a rental contract with our current house until the start of May anyway.
It does all feel a bit ridiculous though. We literally live about 10 doors away from the vendors. It would be so easy to just knock on their door and speak to them. But I'm assuming that would be bad...?

 

[Idaho]

Most of this stuff is solicitor arse covering. My plumber signed off our boiler when we sold at the behest of the buyer's solicitor. He said it was a pretty meaningless set of checks. Don't let the lawyers get you too obsessed with pointless details.

 

[mauvais]

We live two doors down from our vendors. Routing everything through the estate agent, and formal writing, is producing all kinds of irritation, misinformation and conflict. However the vendor wanted it done this way (so do we in some respects) and I can understand why - otherwise it has the potential to become personal.

Ours isn't going brilliantly. We had a building survey, it said get quotes on roofing, chimney work etc. Did that, £20k, so asked for £5k discount on price. Vendor disagreed, got their own quote, £0. Now got to get another opinion and go around this loop again.

 

[Hellsbells]

We live two doors down from our vendors. Routing everything through the estate agent, and formal writing, is producing all kinds of irritation, misinformation and conflict. However the vendor wanted it done this way (so do we in some respects) and I can understand why - otherwise it has the potential to become personal.

Ours isn't going brilliantly. We had a building survey, it said get quotes on roofing, chimney work etc. Did that, £20k, so asked for £5k discount on price. Vendor disagreed, got their own quote, £0. Now got to get another opinion and go around this loop again.

How frustrating. Sorry to hear that.

 

[Teaboy]

It does all feel a bit ridiculous though. We literally live about 10 doors away from the vendors. It would be so easy to just knock on their door and speak to them. But I'm assuming that would be bad...?

Its an interesting one this, it certainly could help move things along and avoid confusion via chinese whispers. However it could become problematic and I suspect the estate agent would advise against it. For obvious reasons housing can stoke up a lot of emotion in people and what should ideally be a simple business transaction can become personal. I wouldn't knock on their down without checking with the estate agent first, personally.

When I was selling my first house the guy buying it was really dragging his feet and as the house was empty it was costing me a lot of money. In the end I offered to speak with him directly to resolve all the questions he had. Whilst in some ways it helped to move things along I did regret it as I got of flurry of the most stupid and inane questions (e.g "Can I have a BBQ in the garden?"). I was still getting emails 2 years later which I ignored. Guy was / is a bellend.

 

[Idaho]

The vendors want to complete asap so I think they'd get it done pretty quick. I don't mind if things slow down a bit tbh. We're tied into a rental contract with our current house until the start of May anyway.
It does all feel a bit ridiculous though. We literally live about 10 doors away from the vendors. It would be so easy to just knock on their door and speak to them. But I'm assuming that would be bad...?

I think it is good to actually speak to them. Lawyers don't like it as it's human contact and not in black and white. Estate agents don't like it as it cuts them out. However in any deal one of the most important things is trust and rapport - things that are almost impossible to do via intermediaries. This is why house sales are so stressful and frustrating.

 

[Teaboy]

Estate agents don't like it as it cuts them out.

Actually I don't think its that. The estate agent is going to get their cut regardless and if anything it means they would have less work to do.

If both parties are on the level than it would clearly be beneficial, however as I mentioned previously people get very emotional and sometimes irrational over their houses. A minor disagreement over something trivial could easily lead to the whole sale (and therefore chain) collapsing and I think that is the primary concern. My experience of being in direct contact with the person buying my house was not great and I regretted it.

ETA: This being said I'm thinking the new breed of 'hybrid' estate agents must rely heavily on a lot of the stuff being sorted directly between the two parties so maybe that's how it will all end up anyway.