It’s official, it’s happening! (hopefully) OK so things have gone wrong so many times I still have caution and disbelief, but today we exchanged contracts which make the sale legally binding. If either party pulls out now they’re liable to losing their deposits and a lot of money to the other side, so it’s meant to be mega rare. Only someone with ultra bad luck would have that happen to them……
How did we get here? I’m not entirely sure. Our solicitors have been lame from the very beginning and especially so with these new buyers who are full cash buyers and wanted to exchange as a matter of urgency. Urgency shouldn’t take over 6 weeks. Especially from cash buyers! For weeks we were told that our solicitors were waiting for “enquiries” from the other sides solicitors. I was given all sorts of excuses for why this was taking so long – from computers not working to blaming the other side to “being busy”, yeah I’d heard it all. After a discussion with our estate agent we discovered our buyers did not wish to raise any “enquiries” and there had simply been a mix up in confusion. So that was that, we could move forward… Or so we thought. Our solicitors continued to wait for enquiries, which finally came through to our annoyance. They were of course the same enquiries we had replied to three times over now from all the previous buyers. Still, our solicitor felt the need to ask us personally to respond regardless of the fact we had done so three times already. Annoyed. Another delay.
Surely this was it, we can exchange now? Of course not. Our solicitors made one royal fuck up that nearly blew the whole sale. Not only did this show major dis-organisation, a lack of understanding of our file but it also made me lose all confidence in them! I had already been ringing every other day and sometimes every day… How could they not know who our buyers were and what price they are purchasing our property for? Maybe this was why it had been taking so long?
We had been assured our file would stay on our solicitors desk until the imminent exchange, which they promised would happen in the next week. I’ll believe it when I see it I thought. Well, blow me down with a feather, it fricken happened! Today! What a relief. What a long arduous process, emotionally and financially draining, but the end is near. I’m so happy I can’t even express it. Four buyers, nine months, ££ spent, ££ lost, we’re here… the furthest we have ever come. Next stage: Completion. This should happen next Wednesday. Let’s hope our good luck stays on the up until then! Did I mention I won £10 on the Postcode Lottery this week too? It must be my week.
2 Comments
Hey,
Aware it’s long past now but I’ve just discovered your blog and wanted to tell you that I had some shocking experience buying, too, solicitor-wise.
Mine, I found, was actually struck off the SRA register at the beginning of his career! And that one was the one in the firm who still talked with me, lol…
There are good ones out there I’m sure but ultimately the legal system in England is outdated.
So I’m only doing auctions now, and once my personal circumstances allow, moving to the Scottish Borders, the other side. Their legal system there is contemporary.
Anyhoo, for now, for here, and future reference, the Modern Method of Auction is a bit more bearable than normal conveyancing.
Hope this helps and we’ll done for the blog,
Best,
Judy
Ah I completely agree with you – the buying process and dealing with solicitors is a nightmare! I’m sure there are good ones out there – when we purchased our first home, the solicitors were excellent but unfortunately, we couldn’t use them again because of our mortgage provider, which I still don’t understand but there you go. A bad experience with the whole process is certainly enough to put anyone off buying/moving again. I’d love to try an auction one day!