Is anyone moving now?
Discussion
The 'firm' is one thing, the actual person another.
I could regale you with all sorts of stories regards conveyancing incompetence biting people on the backside. Even a decade later.....
Go for a qualified Solicitor. Not a licensed conveyancer.
Go for reputation, not just 'recommendation'.
I could regale you with all sorts of stories regards conveyancing incompetence biting people on the backside. Even a decade later.....
Go for a qualified Solicitor. Not a licensed conveyancer.
Go for reputation, not just 'recommendation'.
Well I’m in! 2 lads 2 days to move everything. Needed a 3rd lad as they were here till 8pm. They were on the phone to the office at 6:15 giving out about having to stay late yet again! And to f
ken hire the new lad that was in last week.
Feel for them! I think removals is about to get very expensive.
While waiting for them I got the kitchen, dining room, sitting room and main bedroom all painted after waiting the week for the removal company so it’s not all bad news.
ken hire the new lad that was in last week. Feel for them! I think removals is about to get very expensive.
While waiting for them I got the kitchen, dining room, sitting room and main bedroom all painted after waiting the week for the removal company so it’s not all bad news.
Edited by pacenotes on Thursday 29th February 22:34
skinnyman said:
Question regarding conveyancing quotes.
For combined sale & purchase (£340k sell, £500k buy) I'm getting quotes ranging from £2k-£4k, all local firms. Surely the same work is required regardless of who is doing it? Are the cheaper places cheap for a reason? Are the more expensive places going to offer a better service?
The firm we used for our last sale/purchase are coming up at £2700, and did a decent enough job, might just go with them for ease.
The cheaper places are probably taking on double the clients and won't do anything until you shout the loudest. I've bough and sold a few houses and used cheap and pricey conveyancers. Cheap always needed chasing and stumbled over anything out of the ordinary, the others didn't. For combined sale & purchase (£340k sell, £500k buy) I'm getting quotes ranging from £2k-£4k, all local firms. Surely the same work is required regardless of who is doing it? Are the cheaper places cheap for a reason? Are the more expensive places going to offer a better service?
The firm we used for our last sale/purchase are coming up at £2700, and did a decent enough job, might just go with them for ease.
In the grand scheme of things, it's not a lot more for a huge reduction of stress.
[quote=illmonkey][quote=skinnyman]Question regarding conveyancing quotes.
For combined sale & purchase (£340k sell, £500k buy) I'm getting quotes ranging from £2k-£4k, all local firms. Surely the same work is required regardless of who is doing it? Are the cheaper places cheap for a reason? Are the more expensive places going to offer a better service?
It's worth separating out the actual 'disbursements' to see what the legal fees are. Some firms will pretend their legal fees are lower than they actually are by 'loading' some of the disbursements.
On the sale side these will be £6 for an up to date official copy of your title (£3 title and £3 plan), £36 as a bank transfer fee (this may vary a bit between solicitors) and, for us at least, £14.40 per name for an ID check. On the purchase side you'd have £12,500 of stamp duty, £150 as a Land Registry fee, search fees (these vary too but ours are £82.15 for the local search, £94.91 drainage and water search, and £73.20 environmental search), £36 bank transfer fee to pay the purchase funds to the seller's lawyer, £3 Land Registry search and £2 per name bankruptcy searches.
You should query any 'disbursements' significantly more than this.
In terms of the actual legal fees these will typically be around £1,200+vat on a sale and £1,250+vat on a purchase but there is lots of regional variation.
We fix our fees so no matter what complications arise, these never go up, even if the client needs a deed of trust or there are title defects to sort out. After all lawyers never give money back to clients for transactions that are more straightforward than expected so it should work both ways. In addition we don't charge for abortive transactions - just the disbursements actually expended such as title documents and ID on the sale and the searches on the purchase. Try to find a lawyer doing similar.
If the estate agent has recommended a lawyer, ask if they will be paid a referral fee. If so they might not be recommending the firm because they're good but because they pay the highest fee.
Hope this helps.
For combined sale & purchase (£340k sell, £500k buy) I'm getting quotes ranging from £2k-£4k, all local firms. Surely the same work is required regardless of who is doing it? Are the cheaper places cheap for a reason? Are the more expensive places going to offer a better service?
It's worth separating out the actual 'disbursements' to see what the legal fees are. Some firms will pretend their legal fees are lower than they actually are by 'loading' some of the disbursements.
On the sale side these will be £6 for an up to date official copy of your title (£3 title and £3 plan), £36 as a bank transfer fee (this may vary a bit between solicitors) and, for us at least, £14.40 per name for an ID check. On the purchase side you'd have £12,500 of stamp duty, £150 as a Land Registry fee, search fees (these vary too but ours are £82.15 for the local search, £94.91 drainage and water search, and £73.20 environmental search), £36 bank transfer fee to pay the purchase funds to the seller's lawyer, £3 Land Registry search and £2 per name bankruptcy searches.
You should query any 'disbursements' significantly more than this.
In terms of the actual legal fees these will typically be around £1,200+vat on a sale and £1,250+vat on a purchase but there is lots of regional variation.
We fix our fees so no matter what complications arise, these never go up, even if the client needs a deed of trust or there are title defects to sort out. After all lawyers never give money back to clients for transactions that are more straightforward than expected so it should work both ways. In addition we don't charge for abortive transactions - just the disbursements actually expended such as title documents and ID on the sale and the searches on the purchase. Try to find a lawyer doing similar.
If the estate agent has recommended a lawyer, ask if they will be paid a referral fee. If so they might not be recommending the firm because they're good but because they pay the highest fee.
Hope this helps.
crisp packet said:
We fix our fees so no matter what complications arise, these never go up, even if the client needs a deed of trust or there are title defects to sort out. After all lawyers never give money back to clients for transactions that are more straightforward than expected so it should work both ways. In addition we don't charge for abortive transactions - just the disbursements actually expended such as title documents and ID on the sale and the searches on the purchase. Try to find a lawyer doing similar.
I wish I'd come to you for our recent house purchase - I'd say 'next time' but there won't be another move. We're done now 
For the thread's benefit: offer on our purchase accepted last September, completion was 19 Feb this year. A couple of days over 5 months. That was with no chain either side. Originally our plan was to complete the purchase pre-Christmas but the seller's conveyancer was pretty rubbish and only really woke up on 18 December.
We found a house in the perfect area a few weeks ago and put our house on the market right away.
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
xiodene said:
We found a house in the perfect area a few weeks ago and put our house on the market right away.
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
I wouldn’t , we ended up in rented accommodation, I said then I’d never do it again , if there ever is a next time we’d either see if buyer could wait until we found a property or pull out of the sale Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
xiodene said:
We found a house in the perfect area a few weeks ago and put our house on the market right away.
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
This is the biggest issue with moving house imo.Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
You cant make a credible offer on anything until your house is sold.
Some won't even let you view until your house is sold, or at very least on the market.
So the dream house might not be the dream house because you haven't even seen it, even if it is then someone else will get it before yours is sold unless your very lucky.
We listed last april iirc. We listed because we saw our dream house.
Offer accepted on ours at the end of june.
Of course the dream one was sold......
So we viewed loads, nothing stood up.
Our buyer and their buyer were starting to get seriously pissed off.
Eventually by october we agreed on another place. The day we agreed our buyer pulled out.
I literally begged them
They came back. All went through.
We have ended up with a house way way better than our original dream house. We have jumped another step on the ladder so to speak.
We were very lucky. nothing else!
Hopefully we will never have to move again.
m3jappa said:
xiodene said:
We found a house in the perfect area a few weeks ago and put our house on the market right away.
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
This is the biggest issue with moving house imo.Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
You cant make a credible offer on anything until your house is sold.
Some won't even let you view until your house is sold, or at very least on the market.
So the dream house might not be the dream house because you haven't even seen it, even if it is then someone else will get it before yours is sold unless your very lucky.
We listed last april iirc. We listed because we saw our dream house.
Offer accepted on ours at the end of june.
Of course the dream one was sold......
So we viewed loads, nothing stood up.
Our buyer and their buyer were starting to get seriously pissed off.
Eventually by october we agreed on another place. The day we agreed our buyer pulled out.
I literally begged them
They came back. All went through.
We have ended up with a house way way better than our original dream house. We have jumped another step on the ladder so to speak.
We were very lucky. nothing else!
Hopefully we will never have to move again.
The current market confuses me.
There's a house that we're interested in, it's been on the market since mid December, and reduced in price since then.
Rang Hannells 9:30am Friday, "can we view this house". Yes, we'll get in touch with the sellers and let you know. Heard nothing all day, so rang them back at 4:30pm to be told "yes we've left a voice message with the sellers, we'll let you know as soon as they get in touch". Heard nothing all day Saturday, and nothing this morning.
Why have your house on the market if you're not really interested in selling it?
There's a house that we're interested in, it's been on the market since mid December, and reduced in price since then.
Rang Hannells 9:30am Friday, "can we view this house". Yes, we'll get in touch with the sellers and let you know. Heard nothing all day, so rang them back at 4:30pm to be told "yes we've left a voice message with the sellers, we'll let you know as soon as they get in touch". Heard nothing all day Saturday, and nothing this morning.
Why have your house on the market if you're not really interested in selling it?
skinnyman said:
Why have your house on the market if you're not really interested in selling it?
There are all sorts of reasons - they may already be discussing a serious offer with a buyer for instance. It's a hassle to get your house tidy for viewings, particularly if you have children or pets. Buyers seem to think that because a house is on Rightmove they can just buy it like it's on eBay. That's a million miles from reality; very few people out there can buy or sell with no consideration for the practicalities of moving, funding etc.We have just agreed a sale on our house by telling a few people in our village that we're selling. Only other two houses have come on the market in the village in the last 6 years and we knew there would be interest. And there is; we've saved the agents' fees and have a buyer who is very keen to proceed because he's missed out on the previous two. We've also avoided the hateful process of multiple viewings.
Jobbo said:
There are all sorts of reasons - they may already be discussing a serious offer with a buyer for instance. It's a hassle to get your house tidy for viewings, particularly if you have children or pets. Buyers seem to think that because a house is on Rightmove they can just buy it like it's on eBay. That's a million miles from reality; very few people out there can buy or sell with no consideration for the practicalities of moving, funding etc.
We have just agreed a sale on our house by telling a few people in our village that we're selling. Only other two houses have come on the market in the village in the last 6 years and we knew there would be interest. And there is; we've saved the agents' fees and have a buyer who is very keen to proceed because he's missed out on the previous two. We've also avoided the hateful process of multiple viewings.
I did ask if they were in negotiations with another buyer, which might we why they're not responding, to be told "oh no, there's no offers on the property, infact there's no other interested parties". Nice bit of info for the estate agent to give up there We have just agreed a sale on our house by telling a few people in our village that we're selling. Only other two houses have come on the market in the village in the last 6 years and we knew there would be interest. And there is; we've saved the agents' fees and have a buyer who is very keen to proceed because he's missed out on the previous two. We've also avoided the hateful process of multiple viewings.
Since you're clearly having a sensible dialogue with the agent, why not ask them? People do advertise their house because they want to be ready to buy something else, but if they haven't yet found something else then they may not be in any great rush. You're not buying the market, just this house.
skinnyman said:
I did ask if they were in negotiations with another buyer, which might we why they're not responding, to be told "oh no, there's no offers on the property, infact there's no other interested parties". Nice bit of info for the estate agent to give up there
The property we have agreed a sale on, is still on Rightmove, not showing as Sold STC either. I wonder how many people have called up to request a viewing on it.
CT05 Nose Cone said:
Buyer now wants to come and do a second viewing, didn't give a reason to the agent. Maybe I'm just paranoid, but that doesn't seem like good news...
We viewed the property quite a few times after having the offer accepted for the house we are currently in. Not because we had second thoughts about buying, but because we just wanted to view the house again to help us plan what changes we wanted/needed to do.
leef44 said:
m3jappa said:
xiodene said:
We found a house in the perfect area a few weeks ago and put our house on the market right away.
Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
This is the biggest issue with moving house imo.Of course now that house looks like it is off the table and ours has not sold...typical
So the question. Should we decide to keep our house on the market, in the hope of finding something else we love, how long is reasonable to ask a buyer wait?
You cant make a credible offer on anything until your house is sold.
Some won't even let you view until your house is sold, or at very least on the market.
So the dream house might not be the dream house because you haven't even seen it, even if it is then someone else will get it before yours is sold unless your very lucky.
We listed last april iirc. We listed because we saw our dream house.
Offer accepted on ours at the end of june.
Of course the dream one was sold......
So we viewed loads, nothing stood up.
Our buyer and their buyer were starting to get seriously pissed off.
Eventually by october we agreed on another place. The day we agreed our buyer pulled out.
I literally begged them
They came back. All went through.
We have ended up with a house way way better than our original dream house. We have jumped another step on the ladder so to speak.
We were very lucky. nothing else!
Hopefully we will never have to move again.
We also did at least one extra viewing of the house after agreeing the sale, I think it's normal.
Edited by varsas on Monday 4th March 13:08
*Badger* said:
Had hoped I wouldn't have to type this, but we accepted an offer on our home 11 weeks ago, secured another home and have been involved in the chain and process all of this time and late last week and further confirmed this morning, my buyer has pulled out.
It's quite a barmy situation, he doesn't seem to want to wait for a deed of variation required on my home that is due in two weeks so has pulled out of the purchase yet is continuing to sell his home to his cash buyer as "he can't risk losing them". (We had no idea this variation to the lease was even required, my buyer was happy to cover by an indemnity policy but his lender/under-writer rejected it). His EA, my EA, and his solicitor have informed him of the expedited process but he just doesn't seem to trust the legal process yet he's standing by and withdrawing. We have it in writing that it shall be fast-tracked (As we now need to do it anyway to sell it to anyone).
We were days away from exchange, so our house has been de-personalised, light fittings, pictures holes filled, cinema room removed, partially packed and now we are back at square one and about £4k ish down in the process all through a decision someone else has made, also likely to lose the house we want to move to. What a system!
So we are back.... After the shenanigans above, we took a bit of a break. My wife struggled emotionally with the idea that someone else chose our fate and seemingly (back then) without good reason. We were unable to re-sell immediately, so lost the house we were going for and subsequently chose to wait it out a little.It's quite a barmy situation, he doesn't seem to want to wait for a deed of variation required on my home that is due in two weeks so has pulled out of the purchase yet is continuing to sell his home to his cash buyer as "he can't risk losing them". (We had no idea this variation to the lease was even required, my buyer was happy to cover by an indemnity policy but his lender/under-writer rejected it). His EA, my EA, and his solicitor have informed him of the expedited process but he just doesn't seem to trust the legal process yet he's standing by and withdrawing. We have it in writing that it shall be fast-tracked (As we now need to do it anyway to sell it to anyone).
We were days away from exchange, so our house has been de-personalised, light fittings, pictures holes filled, cinema room removed, partially packed and now we are back at square one and about £4k ish down in the process all through a decision someone else has made, also likely to lose the house we want to move to. What a system!
Fast forward to now, and having Sold in Feb-23 and not moved, we have sold again in Feb-24 and are now SSTC. Last time however we had a property in mind and the chain was established in less than a week. This time, the exact opposite, having perused a lot on RM/Zoopla and viewed 15+ in person nothing fits the bill yet and overly conscious that we don't want to deviate away from our requirements we are now waiting it out for the right (or as close a compromise to) property to land on the market. No push from the buyer yet and all talk is around no rush, but aware that won't last forever.
Is it worse to be sold with nowhere to go, or have somewhere in mind and not be able to sell?
(Renting not an option being considered currently, we have 2 year old twins).
Edit to add - We eventually found out the old buyer pulled out for financial reasons, they sold their house, closed their business and moved into rented, so the whole lease amendment thing was just something for them to hide behind.
*Badger* said:
So we are back.... After the shenanigans above, we took a bit of a break. My wife struggled emotionally with the idea that someone else chose our fate and seemingly (back then) without good reason. We were unable to re-sell immediately, so lost the house we were going for and subsequently chose to wait it out a little.
Fast forward to now, and having Sold in Feb-23 and not moved, we have sold again in Feb-24 and are now SSTC. Last time however we had a property in mind and the chain was established in less than a week. This time, the exact opposite, having perused a lot on RM/Zoopla and viewed 15+ in person nothing fits the bill yet and overly conscious that we don't want to deviate away from our requirements we are now waiting it out for the right (or as close a compromise to) property to land on the market. No push from the buyer yet and all talk is around no rush, but aware that won't last forever.
Is it worse to be sold with nowhere to go, or have somewhere in mind and not be able to sell?
(Renting not an option being considered currently, we have 2 year old twins).
Edit to add - We eventually found out the old buyer pulled out for financial reasons, they sold their house, closed their business and moved into rented, so the whole lease amendment thing was just something for them to hide behind.
I think it’s better to have a buyer, without a place to move to. As long as you’ve communicated the need to be flexible to them. Fast forward to now, and having Sold in Feb-23 and not moved, we have sold again in Feb-24 and are now SSTC. Last time however we had a property in mind and the chain was established in less than a week. This time, the exact opposite, having perused a lot on RM/Zoopla and viewed 15+ in person nothing fits the bill yet and overly conscious that we don't want to deviate away from our requirements we are now waiting it out for the right (or as close a compromise to) property to land on the market. No push from the buyer yet and all talk is around no rush, but aware that won't last forever.
Is it worse to be sold with nowhere to go, or have somewhere in mind and not be able to sell?
(Renting not an option being considered currently, we have 2 year old twins).
Edit to add - We eventually found out the old buyer pulled out for financial reasons, they sold their house, closed their business and moved into rented, so the whole lease amendment thing was just something for them to hide behind.
Not great for your buyer, but worse case scenario you don’t find somewhere and have to pull out.
The chain really is an absolute stressfest though.
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