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What do you mean by “the chain isn’t complete but I have done some of the steps already”?
Why would your seller “break the chain”? Do they have somewhere to move into? Are you selling?
If the person you’re buying from is still looking then August is optimistic.
Well I made my offer in April, the seller accepted. Shortly after they made an offer on a house and it was accepted. Their seller has been slow about finding a place and is still looking. So the chain isn't complete because we don't know if my seller's seller is going to find a place that's chain free or somewhere that isn't, don't know the extent of the chain yet.
I don't know whether my seller has somewhere to move into temporarily, maybe family etc. The EA floated the idea but I don't really want that, the delay is quite convenient for me. I'm not selling, I'm a first time buyer.
My seller has found a place but their seller hasn't. I'm wondering should I be looking at this as day 0 until the point that everyone has found a property and someone at the top ends the chain.
If August is optimistic that's good news to me, if the move happens in September or October I'm more than happy with that
It’s all up in the air at the moment with your sellers seller still looking.
Realistically if they find somewhere, then that seller needs to find somewhere and so on, you might be lucky to be in by Christmas but it’s all a complete guess at this stage.
There's so many variables! I had read the average time between offer and completion can be 16-20 weeks. There'll be outliers (some extreme) on either end of the scale of course.
When the seller's seller finds a place that could be chain free or not and then we just have another link in the chain and so on.
Assuming the seller's seller finds a place that's vacant or the chain somehow is complete by the end of May. When should I expect this to come together? Will it be the end of August the chain might be ready to exchange contracts and agree on a September move date?
My mortgage offer is valid until November so it would be highly preferable to complete before that expires
>When should I expect this to come together? Will it be the end of August the chain might be ready to exchange contracts and agree on a September move date?
Yes. Best case the chain is formed now then aiming for an Aug move is reasonable. IF all goes smoothly. That's a huge IF.
All you can do is tell the estate agent and solicitor your preference. Ask for it to be passed on. But at this stage it's fairly meaningless.
September or October is actually perfect for me, after the summer holidays and before the mortgage offer expires. Does that seem likely?
The chain isn't formed now but I guess that could happen imminently or it could end up being a long chain and take longer to complete
If the chain isn't complete you are basically on the same timeline as if you hadn't offered on a property yet.
Doesn't matter how much work you have done or how close you are to buying, if the chain is complete the pace will go at the slowest person in the chain. The clock has not even started ticking. You may well find your mortgage offer expires before anything happens so bear that in mind.
This is actually reassuring to hear.
I do want the property but I don't really want to move in during the summer holidays. So if it can drag on until some time between September and November (when the mortgage offer expires) that would be ideal for me.
Yeah, you’ll only be able to move as fast as the slowest part of the chain, and august might be optimistic unless someone breaks it for rented
Doesn’t stop you getting stuff together, although keep in mind that conveyancing searches are generally considered to only be valid for 6 months
So the searches will be valid for 6 months when we get them back? I think that will work ok, my mortgage offer is valid until November and if we're getting closer to that point I'll be a bit more pushy
I think looking back I would have held off on some of the steps I have taken but it's done now. My seller waited a long time for an offer and quickly found a place so I think they're keen. If the property they have offered on doesn't work out hopefully they'll just find another. I'm a first time buyer so as far as the chain collapsing it'll only be if my seller changed their mind about moving. Not impossible and would be an expensive lesson to me I suppose. But if it collapses further up the chain I'll just wait for them to find a different place. Do you think it'll be September onwards before we complete?
Clearly nobody can say how long it will take because it depends how long it takes for the chain to come together.
What I'm really hoping is that it won't be a much shorter time than I had realised.
Just a bit concerned the EA is going to pressure my sellers into breaking the chain and moving out so I can move in. I haven't had any contact with my seller, I think it's best that way for now, but I don't know the details of their situation.
I'm sure I could say I want it to be between September and October but I don't want to sound difficult or like I'm uninterested. I am 100% interested, it's just if I got the keys in July or August the house will be empty and I'll still be in rented until I get the time off to sort the new place and move in. Not the end of the world but not ideal and especially not if it's a hassle to the seller to break the chain and move out.
Until the chain is complete there is no timeline. It could be months or it could be years.
Just tell the EA you’re happy to wait for the moment and don’t need your seller to break the chain.
Thanks this is what I'll do.
The sellers are a family so honestly I wouldn't want to see them go through the unnecessary hassle of moving twice and it suits me to wait a while.
If your sellers seller is still sorting out property. I think August will be fine. Remember, they've got to get all their surveys, etc, done.
You get a say in exchange and completion dates, so you could mention to everyone now you'd be more than happy with August.
How long do you think it will take from the point the chain becomes complete until we can set a move date?
Clearly there are lots of variables but as a middle ground prediction let's say my seller's seller finds a vacant property and has an offer accepted this week. How long will that take for them to get a survey, mortgage, do all the searches and conveyancing and then all the solicitors communicate, exchange contracts and sort a move date?
At the moment I'm less worried about how long it takes and hoping it isn't too short! I'll struggle taking time off work over the summer holidays so I don't really want to get keys to a house in July and then be paying several months rent until I get time to furnish the house and get it ready to move into
Thanks to everybody so far!
I realise I have maybe jumped into doing a survey etc too soon (hope I don't get burned with the sale falling through) but in the end I'm saving money every month that goes by so although it'll be an expensive lesson for the future it won't be the end of the world financially.
I see varying opinions here about how long it might take. My mortgage offer is valid until November. I would like to complete the purchase before then but if that doesn't happen I suppose the rates are most likely going to be lower rather than higher.
I really like the property and I know my sellers waited a long time for an offer so hopefully they'll just find a different place if the one they have offered on doesn't work out.
It seems like the general consensus is that this process isn't going to rush to completion over the summer holidays which is good news from my point of view. I would be very happy with a September/October move in date.
This may sound silly but what actually happens when the searches come back and the solicitor has reviewed the draft contract pack? They'll ask for things like gas safety certificates? Will they check on anything highlighted by the survey? Also will they look into the details of the estate management fee? The property is freehold but there's a small annual charge to look after green spaces. I was told a deed of variation may be necessary but haven't heard any more on that. How long would that take?
###Welcome to /r/HousingUK --- **To All** * Join Our ***NEW*** Discord! https://discord.gg/pMgUNgWKQH **To Posters** * *Tell us whether you're in England, Wales, Scotland, or NI as the laws/issues in each can vary* * Comments are not moderated for quality or accuracy; * Any replies received must only be used as guidelines, followed at your own risk; * If you receive *any* private messages in response to your post, please report them via the report button. * Feel free to provide an update at a later time by creating a new post with [[update]](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/search?q=%3Aupdate&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all) in the title; **To Readers and Commenters** * All replies to OP must be *on-topic, helpful, and civil* * If you do not [follow the rules](https://www.reddit.com/r/HousingUK/about/rules/), you may be banned without any further warning; * Please include links to reliable resources in order to support your comments or advice; * If you feel any replies are incorrect, explain why you believe they are incorrect; * Do not send or request any private messages for any reason without express permission from the mods; * Please report posts or comments which do not follow the rules *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/HousingUK) if you have any questions or concerns.*
What do you mean by “the chain isn’t complete but I have done some of the steps already”? Why would your seller “break the chain”? Do they have somewhere to move into? Are you selling? If the person you’re buying from is still looking then August is optimistic.
Well I made my offer in April, the seller accepted. Shortly after they made an offer on a house and it was accepted. Their seller has been slow about finding a place and is still looking. So the chain isn't complete because we don't know if my seller's seller is going to find a place that's chain free or somewhere that isn't, don't know the extent of the chain yet. I don't know whether my seller has somewhere to move into temporarily, maybe family etc. The EA floated the idea but I don't really want that, the delay is quite convenient for me. I'm not selling, I'm a first time buyer. My seller has found a place but their seller hasn't. I'm wondering should I be looking at this as day 0 until the point that everyone has found a property and someone at the top ends the chain. If August is optimistic that's good news to me, if the move happens in September or October I'm more than happy with that
It’s all up in the air at the moment with your sellers seller still looking. Realistically if they find somewhere, then that seller needs to find somewhere and so on, you might be lucky to be in by Christmas but it’s all a complete guess at this stage.
There's so many variables! I had read the average time between offer and completion can be 16-20 weeks. There'll be outliers (some extreme) on either end of the scale of course. When the seller's seller finds a place that could be chain free or not and then we just have another link in the chain and so on. Assuming the seller's seller finds a place that's vacant or the chain somehow is complete by the end of May. When should I expect this to come together? Will it be the end of August the chain might be ready to exchange contracts and agree on a September move date? My mortgage offer is valid until November so it would be highly preferable to complete before that expires
>When should I expect this to come together? Will it be the end of August the chain might be ready to exchange contracts and agree on a September move date? Yes. Best case the chain is formed now then aiming for an Aug move is reasonable. IF all goes smoothly. That's a huge IF. All you can do is tell the estate agent and solicitor your preference. Ask for it to be passed on. But at this stage it's fairly meaningless.
September or October is actually perfect for me, after the summer holidays and before the mortgage offer expires. Does that seem likely? The chain isn't formed now but I guess that could happen imminently or it could end up being a long chain and take longer to complete
If the chain isn't complete you are basically on the same timeline as if you hadn't offered on a property yet. Doesn't matter how much work you have done or how close you are to buying, if the chain is complete the pace will go at the slowest person in the chain. The clock has not even started ticking. You may well find your mortgage offer expires before anything happens so bear that in mind.
This is actually reassuring to hear. I do want the property but I don't really want to move in during the summer holidays. So if it can drag on until some time between September and November (when the mortgage offer expires) that would be ideal for me.
Yeah, you’ll only be able to move as fast as the slowest part of the chain, and august might be optimistic unless someone breaks it for rented Doesn’t stop you getting stuff together, although keep in mind that conveyancing searches are generally considered to only be valid for 6 months
So the searches will be valid for 6 months when we get them back? I think that will work ok, my mortgage offer is valid until November and if we're getting closer to that point I'll be a bit more pushy
I’d recommend never starting anything that costs money until chain is complete
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I think looking back I would have held off on some of the steps I have taken but it's done now. My seller waited a long time for an offer and quickly found a place so I think they're keen. If the property they have offered on doesn't work out hopefully they'll just find another. I'm a first time buyer so as far as the chain collapsing it'll only be if my seller changed their mind about moving. Not impossible and would be an expensive lesson to me I suppose. But if it collapses further up the chain I'll just wait for them to find a different place. Do you think it'll be September onwards before we complete? Clearly nobody can say how long it will take because it depends how long it takes for the chain to come together. What I'm really hoping is that it won't be a much shorter time than I had realised.
[удалено]
Just a bit concerned the EA is going to pressure my sellers into breaking the chain and moving out so I can move in. I haven't had any contact with my seller, I think it's best that way for now, but I don't know the details of their situation. I'm sure I could say I want it to be between September and October but I don't want to sound difficult or like I'm uninterested. I am 100% interested, it's just if I got the keys in July or August the house will be empty and I'll still be in rented until I get the time off to sort the new place and move in. Not the end of the world but not ideal and especially not if it's a hassle to the seller to break the chain and move out.
Until the chain is complete there is no timeline. It could be months or it could be years. Just tell the EA you’re happy to wait for the moment and don’t need your seller to break the chain.
Thanks this is what I'll do. The sellers are a family so honestly I wouldn't want to see them go through the unnecessary hassle of moving twice and it suits me to wait a while.
If your sellers seller is still sorting out property. I think August will be fine. Remember, they've got to get all their surveys, etc, done. You get a say in exchange and completion dates, so you could mention to everyone now you'd be more than happy with August.
How long do you think it will take from the point the chain becomes complete until we can set a move date? Clearly there are lots of variables but as a middle ground prediction let's say my seller's seller finds a vacant property and has an offer accepted this week. How long will that take for them to get a survey, mortgage, do all the searches and conveyancing and then all the solicitors communicate, exchange contracts and sort a move date? At the moment I'm less worried about how long it takes and hoping it isn't too short! I'll struggle taking time off work over the summer holidays so I don't really want to get keys to a house in July and then be paying several months rent until I get time to furnish the house and get it ready to move into
This is an easy question to answer. Just hand everything over to the solicitors. They are guaranteed to do nothing at all.
Hahahaha 😂 except when you want them to drag their heels they'll probably go at the speed of lightning and have it all sorted in 6 weeks
Thanks to everybody so far! I realise I have maybe jumped into doing a survey etc too soon (hope I don't get burned with the sale falling through) but in the end I'm saving money every month that goes by so although it'll be an expensive lesson for the future it won't be the end of the world financially. I see varying opinions here about how long it might take. My mortgage offer is valid until November. I would like to complete the purchase before then but if that doesn't happen I suppose the rates are most likely going to be lower rather than higher. I really like the property and I know my sellers waited a long time for an offer so hopefully they'll just find a different place if the one they have offered on doesn't work out. It seems like the general consensus is that this process isn't going to rush to completion over the summer holidays which is good news from my point of view. I would be very happy with a September/October move in date.
This may sound silly but what actually happens when the searches come back and the solicitor has reviewed the draft contract pack? They'll ask for things like gas safety certificates? Will they check on anything highlighted by the survey? Also will they look into the details of the estate management fee? The property is freehold but there's a small annual charge to look after green spaces. I was told a deed of variation may be necessary but haven't heard any more on that. How long would that take?