Buying a flat - problem

Danny Addick

Buying my first flat and have a bit problem. Had our offer accepted in November and had some trouble getting a mortgage. That's all sorted now and solicitor has just begun the searches.

Sadly, the seller (a developer!) emailed today to say he'd ben putting it back up for sale unless we can exchange by the 17th. Our solicitor says this is impossible as it'll be at least 6 weeks from now.

Really upset - anyone got any advice? No jokes please, too soon.

supaclive

Call his bluff. If you've got over the hurdles, he'll not put it back up for sale.

Danny Addick

Apparently, according to the estate agent, another estate agent has called him saying they can get him 20k more. So to get it at that price, we have to exchange by 17th

PL54

He will with prices rising at the rate they are.

Why can't you exchange that quickly ? If your solicitor says it's impossible what they mean is it is hard and they can't be bothered.

I accepted an offer on a flat on Christmas Eve and expect to be done B4 end of January.

Having a mortgage offer before deciding to spend it would have helped.

Off_it

Why does the solicitor say it's "impossible"?

The 17th is still ten days away so that gives you a fighting chance. The solicitor is supposed to be working for you so ask him.

In my experience these conveyancing solicitors are pretty shit and tend to do things in their own sweet time - usually dead slow - and fob you off when you ask what's holding things up.

Ask him if some of the searches can be fast-tracked. It might cost a bit more, but not as much as having to find another £20k.

If you aren't satisfied with what your guy says don't be frightend to ring up another one, explain the situation to them and ask if they can do it any quicker.

Good luck.

(Edit: just read it again. Six weeks is taking the piss. Pull him up on it and ask why. I've worked on multi-million pound property deals that get done from start to finish in a third of that time!)

Danny Addick

Do you think someone can do it that quickly then? We thought we had our mortgage offer sorted but it was only a preliminary. It's our first time and we didn't understand.

LargeAddick

Your solicitor is an arse, as are most conveyancing solicitors. As said above no reason why you can't exchange by 17th, at least as far as searches are concerned. These are done electronically now and most councils respond within a couple of days. As for six weeks, he's having a laugh. The problem is if you have used a Solicitor recommended by your mortgage company then you are one of many clients and he's juggling multiple balls in the air and seeing which falls first. If you are using a local guy then pop into the office and see him. I wish you all the best.

Off_it

Danny Addick said:

Do you think someone can do it that quickly then? We thought we had our mortgage offer sorted but it was only a preliminary. It's our first time and we didn't understand.

Don't know for sure mate, and I know that flats can be more problematic than houses sometimes, but it's worth raising the question.

It's just a job to this fella, just another house/flat purchase, but make sure he understands the gravity of the situation and ring him every day for an update - two or three times a day if you have to. Seriously, these fellas are known for dragging their heels and taking the piss.

Danny Addick

You have given us hope! I really hope so. We will call every solicitor in the south tomorrow then and try to find someone who might be able to do it - what we didn't know was how long these things usually take. Thank god I asked on here. Thank you.

Curb_It

Call Kirk and partners in eltham. Loads if us on here have used them. They might.

MSE7

Welcome to the property market.

Bolderhumphreyreid

Kick butt with your estate agent, mortgage advisor and mostly your solicitor. They all want it to go through as they're all earning out of your purchase.

Put the tears on and get as much pressure as you can on the solicitor but if you call your agent, advisor and solicitor daily they will get it done in time.

Solicitors NEVER say they can do it on time as they aren't supposed to give you false hope.

Don't panic and stay strong but play the game if you have to (tears and emotional blackmail).

Good luck.

SOTF

One word of warning though. If you're going to spend a hell of a lot of money on this place, make sure everything's done properly and nothing's sacrificed for the sake of speed.

As a property developer he should know what checks need to be done, is he trying to hide something? Or was he under the impression the checks were being started in November?

Danny Addick

SurvivaloftheFittest said:

One word of warning though. If you're going to spend a hell of a lot of money on this place, make sure everything's done properly and nothing's sacrificed for the sake of speed.

As a property developer he should know what checks need to be done, is he trying to hide something? Or was he under the impression the checks were being started in November?

Sadly yes, I can sort of see his point I suppose in that respect. He did say he hoped to do the deal quickly too and I thought it would be. Then we hit a stumbling block and our broker did a poor job, leading us down lots of dead ends.

Danny Addick

Off_it said:

Why does the solicitor say it's "impossible"?

The 17th is still ten days away so that gives you a fighting chance. The solicitor is supposed to be working for you so ask him.

In my experience these conveyancing solicitors are pretty shit and tend to do things in their own sweet time - usually dead slow - and fob you off when you ask what's holding things up.

Ask him if some of the searches can be fast-tracked. It might cost a bit more, but not as much as having to find another £20k.

If you aren't satisfied with what your guy says don't be frightend to ring up another one, explain the situation to them and ask if they can do it any quicker.

Good luck.

(Edit: just read it again. Six weeks is taking the piss. Pull him up on it and ask why. I've worked on multi-million pound property deals that get done from start to finish in a third of that time!)

She just says that this will take a minimum of 6 weeks. When we said he might pull it, she said, 'oh well you don't want to waste all your money on searches if it's going to fall through anyway'.

Hartleypete

Firstly you can exchange at very short notice, why exactly is your solicitor saying you can not ? is it because he hasn't had full confirmation of your mortgage or is he getting confused with exchange & completion.

Also don't be hoodwinked into thinking you have to pay a 10% deposit, exchange can happen with a nominal amount provided both vendor & purchaser agree.

Off_it

That's a great attitude!

Told you they were generally shit. Not many people get into law because they want to do run of the mill everyday property conveyancing - it's just that's where the shit ones end up!

Swisdom

The seller is going to make it as hard as possible because he just wants more money.
It's effectively gazumping you - which I think is now illegal

Personally I'd tell the developer to ram it up his shitpipe and find somewhere else. Or wait until he re markets it and offer the same again

smiffyboy

I completed my move from having an offer accepted to moving into the new house in 26 days

Danny Addick

Fantastic - this is giving me hope. Any recommendations for a new solicitor I can call tomorrow?

Cardinal Sin

Danny Addick said:

Apparently, according to the estate agent, another estate agent has called him saying they can get him 20k more. So to get it at that price, we have to exchange by 17th

If he could get another £20,000 he would have. He's just trying to hurry you. Tell him if pulls out he will find a horses head in his bed.

LargeAddick

Put pressure on the estate agent too. They want the sale to get their commission remember. As said earlier searches take a few days. As some else said flats are generally more tricky than houses because of potential issues over leasehold/freehold etc but unless you encounter an issue there is no reason why it cant be done.

golfaddick

Swisdom has a point. If the developer is starting to give you the hurry up then there is no stopping him doing it again if you do agree an exchange date or manage to agree an extension of say the end of the month. Is this property such a good one that you wouldn't want to lose it ?? Are there other around for a similar price ?? Depending upon the answer then it leads you to re-think you situation. if there is not much around, or you've seen dozens and nothing beats this property then you may want to continue Remember, you are in a position of some strength if you have your mortgage offer because if the developer re-markets it then it may take a few weeks to get another buyer & then they will have to get their mortgage etc etc, so its usually best that the developer continues with you as you are some way along the process.

However, if there are plenty of flats on the market for around that price then you could front it out & start looking elsewhere - remember, there is always another property. I do have some sympathy with the developer as an offer in Nov for a 1sr time buyer with no chain should be close to completion by now, let alone exchange........out of interest when did you instruct your solicitor ? was it when you put in your offer or when you got your mortgage approved ??

as for mortgage advisors........two a penny mate !! lol

BIG_ROB

If it all goes tits up Danny pal, I've got a nice little flat you can have cheap as chips

Danny Addick

Thanks so much! Without this website I would have just gone with what the solicitor said and simply lost the battle to be honest.

Danny Addick

golfaddick said:

Swisdom has a point. If the developer is starting to give you the hurry up then there is no stopping him doing it again if you do agree an exchange date or manage to agree an extension of say the end of the month. Is this property such a good one that you wouldn't want to lose it ?? Are there other around for a similar price ?? Depending upon the answer then it leads you to re-think you situation. if there is not much around, or you've seen dozens and nothing beats this property then you may want to continue Remember, you are in a position of some strength if you have your mortgage offer because if the developer re-markets it then it may take a few weeks to get another buyer & then they will have to get their mortgage etc etc, so its usually best that the developer continues with you as you are some way along the process.

However, if there are plenty of flats on the market for around that price then you could front it out & start looking elsewhere - remember, there is always another property. I do have some sympathy with the developer as an offer in Nov for a 1sr time buyer with no chain should be close to completion by now, let alone exchange........out of interest when did you instruct your solicitor ? was it when you put in your offer or when you got your mortgage approved ??

as for mortgage advisors........two a penny mate !! lol

Well actually the solicitor wasn't instructed until recently because of the Xmas break. The mortgage wasn't agreed until 31st Dec sadly, and our broker messed us about and even took over 3 whole weeks to get a response from one bank. I can certainly see what he wanted it done by now going by what you've all said on time frames.

TelMc32

Danny, Large mentioned it above but it wasn't really expanded on. Did your lender insist on you using one of their preferred firms? Some will and won't allow you to use others. Just check that before trying anyone else.

Other than that, spot on, keep pestering them and call chasing them 3 times a day. What firm/solicitor are you using?

Best of luck and hope it works out for you both.

golfaddick

Danny Addick said:

golfaddick said:

Swisdom has a point. If the developer is starting to give you the hurry up then there is no stopping him doing it again if you do agree an exchange date or manage to agree an extension of say the end of the month. Is this property such a good one that you wouldn't want to lose it ?? Are there other around for a similar price ?? Depending upon the answer then it leads you to re-think you situation. if there is not much around, or you've seen dozens and nothing beats this property then you may want to continue Remember, you are in a position of some strength if you have your mortgage offer because if the developer re-markets it then it may take a few weeks to get another buyer & then they will have to get their mortgage etc etc, so its usually best that the developer continues with you as you are some way along the process.

However, if there are plenty of flats on the market for around that price then you could front it out & start looking elsewhere - remember, there is always another property. I do have some sympathy with the developer as an offer in Nov for a 1sr time buyer with no chain should be close to completion by now, let alone exchange........out of interest when did you instruct your solicitor ? was it when you put in your offer or when you got your mortgage approved ??

as for mortgage advisors........two a penny mate !! lol

Well actually the solicitor wasn't instructed until recently because of the Xmas break. The mortgage wasn't agreed until 31st Dec sadly, and our broker messed us about and even took over 3 whole weeks to get a response from one bank. I can certainly see what he wanted it done by now going by what you've all said on time frames.

therein lies your problem. If you only instructed your solicitor recently then no wonder they are saying 6 weeks to exchange. Please bear this in mind when phoning them tomorrow. I reckon its best if you take a deep breath and speak to all parties involved (estate agent / developer / solicitor / ) explaining that you want the flat but exchange is not likely to happen by the 17th due to the above. Find out from the solicitor the REALISTIC time they could get it done (if they pulled out all the stops) and see if this is acceptable to the developer.

Athletico Charlton

As above it will be the searches that take the time. See if you can do quicker ones-depends on your mortgage company. Ultimately though as a first time buyer the developer would be mad to walk on you as you have no chain.

Has the valuation actually been done?

Solicitors will always hold things up as said above. Just prayer them regularly and they will speed up to get rid of you.

Danny Addick

TelMc32 said:

Danny, Large mentioned it above but it wasn't really expanded on. Did your lender insist on you using one of their preferred firms? Some will and won't allow you to use others. Just check that before trying anyone else.

Other than that, spot on, keep pestering them and call chasing them 3 times a day. What firm/solicitor are you using?

Best of luck and hope it works out for you both.

They are called Grant and Saw from Greenwich. We chose them on a recommendation and our lender certainly didn't mention one we should use.

TelMc32

golfaddick said:

Danny Addick said:

golfaddick said:

Swisdom has a point. If the developer is starting to give you the hurry up then there is no stopping him doing it again if you do agree an exchange date or manage to agree an extension of say the end of the month. Is this property such a good one that you wouldn't want to lose it ?? Are there other around for a similar price ?? Depending upon the answer then it leads you to re-think you situation. if there is not much around, or you've seen dozens and nothing beats this property then you may want to continue Remember, you are in a position of some strength if you have your mortgage offer because if the developer re-markets it then it may take a few weeks to get another buyer & then they will have to get their mortgage etc etc, so its usually best that the developer continues with you as you are some way along the process.

However, if there are plenty of flats on the market for around that price then you could front it out & start looking elsewhere - remember, there is always another property. I do have some sympathy with the developer as an offer in Nov for a 1sr time buyer with no chain should be close to completion by now, let alone exchange........out of interest when did you instruct your solicitor ? was it when you put in your offer or when you got your mortgage approved ??

as for mortgage advisors........two a penny mate !! lol

Well actually the solicitor wasn't instructed until recently because of the Xmas break. The mortgage wasn't agreed until 31st Dec sadly, and our broker messed us about and even took over 3 whole weeks to get a response from one bank. I can certainly see what he wanted it done by now going by what you've all said on time frames.

therein lies your problem. If you only instructed your solicitor recently then no wonder they are saying 6 weeks to exchange. Please bear this in mind when phoning them tomorrow. I reckon its best if you take a deep breath and speak to all parties involved (estate agent / developer / solicitor / ) explaining that you want the flat but exchange is not likely to happen by the 17th due to the above. Find out from the solicitor the REALISTIC time they could get it done (if they pulled out all the stops) and see if this is acceptable to the developer.

Good point...I should also have said...be as polite as possible. I'm sure the solicitor has similar stories from everyone trying to complete, so keep that in mind too.