Is anyone moving now?

[Chamon_Lee]

Flooble said:

Chamon_Lee said:

XCP said:

We have 'sold' our house 5 times in the last 14 months.
Hoping to exchange some time next week.

I have come to the conclusion that nothing is 'sold' until completion.

There is a particular area I am looking at buying in and quite frequently I seen houses marked as sold and then 1-4 weeks later they are back in the market.

Some of these chains must be really big coupled of someone peoples aspirations are bigger than their credit file allows!

1-4 weeks later does suggest failing at mortgage application time?

I would assume so with a mix of other issues. For some context these are 600-700k houses. First showing up as OO 600k. Then marked as sold then fixed price 650-700k then sometimes marked as sold or going back to a lower OO price. At the moment it seems so fast paced it’s hard to gauge what is triggering what.

[spikeyhead]

fesuvious said:

I work in the housing market.

Right now the utterly woeful conveyancing is the only inhibitor to activity. It's been steadily getting worse for years.

All the way from instruction delays and lackadaisical practice is rife. Culminating in the continuation of utterly crap service on completion day with people being sat stressed in their cars for hours just waiting for keys.

It's abhorrent

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

[talksthetorque]

spikeyhead said:

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

ive been waiting for a week for the solicitor to give me their bank details so I can send them the money. Three emails in the meantime including two asking for the money, each ti me ive replied asking for their client account details......nothing yet.

[Krise]

spikeyhead said:

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

The estate agent dealing with my sale was quite up front when I asked if they had a solicitor they would recommend, they just said to be frank we don’t recommend solicitors or mortgage brokers anymore as it actually has a negative impact on us as they are all so poor. They just said to speak to a few or try and find a local one that has capacity to deal with us.

[Flooble]

talksthetorque said:

spikeyhead said:

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

ive been waiting for a week for the solicitor to give me their bank details so I can send them the money. Three emails in the meantime including two asking for the money, each ti me ive replied asking for their client account details......nothing yet.

The conveyancer I use, who I guess I can't name, has always responded to emails within an hour. They also answer the phone if you call - you get the number for the actual solicitor, not a receptionist.

And they are by no means as expensive as some bucket shops I have seen.

[bad company]

Flooble said:

talksthetorque said:

spikeyhead said:

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

ive been waiting for a week for the solicitor to give me their bank details so I can send them the money. Three emails in the meantime including two asking for the money, each ti me ive replied asking for their client account details......nothing yet.

The conveyancer I use, who I guess I can't name, has always responded to emails within an hour. They also answer the phone if you call - you get the number for the actual solicitor, not a receptionist.

And they are by no means as expensive as some bucket shops I have seen.

My understanding of PH rules is that you can’t ‘name & shame’. Don’t think there’s a rule against recommending.

[Jcwjosh]

We accepted an offer on our place on monday from an investor who sent his agent to the viewing and took videos for him.

He wants to come and see the place himself on Monday and i am really anxious now, im not sure why, the house is as it was in the ad and the videos he got.. First time selling and im feeling the stress already !

[heisthegaffer]

Krise said:

spikeyhead said:

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

The estate agent dealing with my sale was quite up front when I asked if they had a solicitor they would recommend, they just said to be frank we don’t recommend solicitors or mortgage brokers anymore as it actually has a negative impact on us as they are all so poor. They just said to speak to a few or try and find a local one that has capacity to deal with us.

The only good thing to come out of getting screwed over by an EA was the conveyancer she recommended has been brilliant dealing with our sale and purchase of a different house.

Oddly the conveyancer said she barely deals with that EA and sounded surprised she'd been recommended.

[gfreeman]

I have used a conveyancer/solicitor with offices in Guildford and London to sell and buy - and using again to sell another property.
They have an online portal which you can track every minute of every aspect of the sale or purchase, including an ongoing statement of account and the ability to upload documents. You have contact emails and phone numbers and whilst not cheap were certainly not the most expensive.
The only negative, if you can call it that, is they have checklists to follow to the letter which can be very frustrating. If you ask them to do something you have to follow up in writing then they will call again When they are ready to act, you have to sign a bit of paper confirming your instructions to them and upload it. Simple things can be a bit frustrating but at least while they are covering their arse they are also covering you.
Not sure if I can name them or not! But I would definitely use them again in a heartbeat...

[Krise]

gfreeman said:

I have used a conveyancer/solicitor with offices in Guildford and London to sell and buy - and using again to sell another property.
They have an online portal which you can track every minute of every aspect of the sale or purchase, including an ongoing statement of account and the ability to upload documents. You have contact emails and phone numbers and whilst not cheap were certainly not the most expensive.
The only negative, if you can call it that, is they have checklists to follow to the letter which can be very frustrating. If you ask them to do something you have to follow up in writing then they will call again When they are ready to act, you have to sign a bit of paper confirming your instructions to them and upload it. Simple things can be a bit frustrating but at least while they are covering their arse they are also covering you.
Not sure if I can name them or not! But I would definitely use them again in a heartbeat...

gfreeman can you share details, I believe you can recommend on here

I’m about ditch my solicitor, as I have just lost another week and if I loose another my relocation is over for at least 4 years, that may sound dramatic but it’s just the way it is for us, these guys just don’t realise or don’t care or are so overworked that they can’t see the impact that they have on peoples lives

[rah1888]

gfreeman said:

I have used a conveyancer/solicitor with offices in Guildford and London to sell and buy - and using again to sell another property.
They have an online portal which you can track every minute of every aspect of the sale or purchase, including an ongoing statement of account and the ability to upload documents. You have contact emails and phone numbers and whilst not cheap were certainly not the most expensive.
The only negative, if you can call it that, is they have checklists to follow to the letter which can be very frustrating. If you ask them to do something you have to follow up in writing then they will call again When they are ready to act, you have to sign a bit of paper confirming your instructions to them and upload it. Simple things can be a bit frustrating but at least while they are covering their arse they are also covering you.
Not sure if I can name them or not! But I would definitely use them again in a heartbeat...

That description sounds very much like: https://thepartnershiplimited.com/

[Dannbodge]

We accepted and offer and had an offer accepted on Tuesday.

House was on the market for 10 days and had two offers. One at 25k under asking and the other was bang on asking.
Offer on our new house was accepted £5k under asking.

First time buyers on our house and no forward chain, so should be a bit easier than normal.

Edited by Dannbodge on Thursday 14th July 15:33

[Fast Bug]

rah1888 said:

gfreeman said:

I have used a conveyancer/solicitor with offices in Guildford and London to sell and buy - and using again to sell another property.
They have an online portal which you can track every minute of every aspect of the sale or purchase, including an ongoing statement of account and the ability to upload documents. You have contact emails and phone numbers and whilst not cheap were certainly not the most expensive.
The only negative, if you can call it that, is they have checklists to follow to the letter which can be very frustrating. If you ask them to do something you have to follow up in writing then they will call again When they are ready to act, you have to sign a bit of paper confirming your instructions to them and upload it. Simple things can be a bit frustrating but at least while they are covering their arse they are also covering you.
Not sure if I can name them or not! But I would definitely use them again in a heartbeat...

That description sounds very much like: https://thepartnershiplimited.com/

I tried to use them, but our buyers got in there first. They seemed spot on from my dealings with them, far better than the bunch my seller used!

[Han Solo]

Sold our house without it even getting on the market.

Went to view one the same day it came on the market and it sold over asking, another one came on yesterday and essentially sold.

These are traditional houses with land in North Wales, so not exactly an affluent area.

[bad company]

Han Solo said:

Sold our house without it even getting on the market.

Went to view one the same day it came on the market and it sold over asking, another one came on yesterday and essentially sold.

These are traditional houses with land in North Wales, so not exactly an affluent area.

We’re in a 500+ year old, 5 bedroom house in East Anglia. Been on the market since March, we’ve had 5 viewings and one derisory offer.

[gfreeman]

rah1888 said:

That description sounds very much like: https://thepartnershiplimited.com/

Spot on

Offered us a discount on their fees too, for our current sale without even asking

Edited by gfreeman on Thursday 14th July 16:01

[C70R]

bad company said:

Han Solo said:

Sold our house without it even getting on the market.

Went to view one the same day it came on the market and it sold over asking, another one came on yesterday and essentially sold.

These are traditional houses with land in North Wales, so not exactly an affluent area.

We’re in a 500+ year old, 5 bedroom house in East Anglia. Been on the market since March, we’ve had 5 viewings and one derisory offer.

As someone who has been watching the property market in nicer parts of Norfolk for 2 years, that can only mean the agent has overpriced it.

I lost out in a number of bidding wars before I secured the place we're buying. Good property hasn't been hanging around at the right price, and even marginally overpriced stuff has moved fairly swiftly.

[timbob]

spikeyhead said:

fesuvious said:

I work in the housing market.

Right now the utterly woeful conveyancing is the only inhibitor to activity. It's been steadily getting worse for years.

All the way from instruction delays and lackadaisical practice is rife. Culminating in the continuation of utterly crap service on completion day with people being sat stressed in their cars for hours just waiting for keys.

It's abhorrent

how much of that is being driven by people insisting on the cheapest, or estate agents pushing the conveyancer that gives them the best kickback.

We’ve just gone through the process and completed last month. Relatively simple - we sold our 7 year old new build to first time buyers, and we bought a 1950s semi in good order from an old chap who was moving in with his kids. Neither property had anything out the ordinary or any issues with regard to the contracts.

We went with the same firm we used 7 years ago, but the main man, a wonderful old character, had retired. They initially said 12 weeks as an estimate due to “covid” causing delays still(?!)

This was a good local firm with a good reputation, and even though I have no real, actual complaint, it was shockingly slow. That simple 2 house chain took 5 months to sort. All my phone calls were answered and returned, and emails responded to in a timely fashion, but it seemed as if nothing got done unless prompted.

The one thing that got my goat well and truly was a last minute issue over a section 38 agreement, and that our 7 year old road was not yet adopted. Simple reason is that the developers changed their mind over the old peoples home they were going to built and put houses there instead - with the new residents only moving in in April 2022. Road not adopted yet due to all the traffic. Our buyers solicitor started making noises about this being an issue and our solicitors responded by “writing a letter” (an actual letter with a stamp, I assume?!) to our developer’s national legal department, then sucked their teeth over the phone to me and pulling out all the phrases - “it’s like getting blood from a stone”, “we might not even get a response from them before your mortgage offer expires, let alone a proper answer…”

I googled the regional developer’s office, rung the first number I found, spoke to a very helpful lady and asked to talk to someone about adoptions, she passed me an email address and said the chap was out on lunch but would be back soon, I wrote a quick email to check if our road was indeed intended to be adopted following the completion of the newest houses and had a response within 15 minutes stating that it was, and providing the relevant reference numbers. Forwarded that to my solicitor and that was the whole issue sorted inside 30 minutes, and we completed with two weeks to go on our mortgage offer.

I didn’t get a discount for doing their job for them.

[bad company]

C70R said:

bad company said:

Han Solo said:

Sold our house without it even getting on the market.

Went to view one the same day it came on the market and it sold over asking, another one came on yesterday and essentially sold.

These are traditional houses with land in North Wales, so not exactly an affluent area.

We’re in a 500+ year old, 5 bedroom house in East Anglia. Been on the market since March, we’ve had 5 viewings and one derisory offer.

As someone who has been watching the property market in nicer parts of Norfolk for 2 years, that can only mean the agent has overpriced it.

I lost out in a number of bidding wars before I secured the place we're buying. Good property hasn't been hanging around at the right price, and even marginally overpriced stuff has moved fairly swiftly.

We had 3 valuations, other similar priced homes locally are also not moving. We’re not far from Sudbury, Suffolk priced at £780,000.

[C70R]

bad company said:

C70R said:

bad company said:

Han Solo said:

Sold our house without it even getting on the market.

Went to view one the same day it came on the market and it sold over asking, another one came on yesterday and essentially sold.

These are traditional houses with land in North Wales, so not exactly an affluent area.

We’re in a 500+ year old, 5 bedroom house in East Anglia. Been on the market since March, we’ve had 5 viewings and one derisory offer.

As someone who has been watching the property market in nicer parts of Norfolk for 2 years, that can only mean the agent has overpriced it.

I lost out in a number of bidding wars before I secured the place we're buying. Good property hasn't been hanging around at the right price, and even marginally overpriced stuff has moved fairly swiftly.

We had 3 valuations, other similar priced homes locally are also not moving. We’re not far from Sudbury, Suffolk priced at £780,000.

If it's the one for sale with F&C, it's a fair way outside of the areas I know, so I can't judge the price very well.

One thing I will say is that including the (large) garage in the floorplan calculation is distorting the value a little. I'm paying 850k for 3500sqft and an acre in a desirable part of East Anglia. You're asking for offers over 780k for 2700sqft on less land, with a front door on the street.

If it's not the one I'm describing, ignore everything I said.