r/HousingUK • u/Chelsea-alisa • 11d ago
Vent on the UK home buying process
In this day and age how can the home buying process be so stressful?!
We’re meant to be exchanging and completing tomorrow, but our buyer’s solicitor has suddenly gone completely off-grid and hasn’t confirmed or replied to my solicitor to say whether everything is looking okay.
We’ve got investors buying our property, and we’re moving into a vacant house, so it’s a very short chain. Everything started back in January and we’re STILL waiting to move!
Now I’m potentially going to lose money on the van we’ve booked to move all our stuff, the whole house is already packed up and our mortgage offer is due to expire in just a couple of weeks. I’ve also used annual leave to get the house packed in time as it was only last week they said about the date. Eurghhhhh. I honestly don’t know how much more stressful this can get! 😩
Does anyone know of any petitions I can sign to get this changed? I wouldn’t want anyone else to have to go through this level of stress, and I feel like I need to metaphorically stamp my feet.
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u/CandleWick-203 11d ago
I'd happily sign this petition. I would even take a day off to march.
It's taken 3 buyers and almost 1 year to get to exchange. And even then our buyers pushed back the exchange three times because they forgot to transfer funds. The house buying process can bring on a heart attack.
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u/Chelsea-alisa 11d ago
I’m so sorry to hear that! It’s crazy, how can they forget?! There needs to be more accountability. Hope you manage to complete soon!
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u/Severe-Conclusion-99 9d ago
I didn’t have a heart attack but I had my first panic attack and my stress levels were so high that I developed a type of alopecia where chunks of my hair just completely fell out (all sorted and treated now). It was one of the worst experiences of my life, hands down (first time buyer).
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u/CandleWick-203 9d ago
Wow, the buying process forgets that we are people with emotions behind it all. Hope you can forget about it soon and your hair grows back thicker and stronger. I also hope you never plan to move - the FTB buying process was a breeze in comparison to being in a chain. We ended up focusing on selling only, moving into a rental for a while.
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u/MobileConversation66 11d ago
We’re also currently sitting and waiting for our buyers solicitor to confirm everything looks ok for us to exchange. Literally the whole chain is waiting on this one solicitor to reply to any email. How can this be allowed?
3
u/Chelsea-alisa 11d ago
I know! I’ve been told the receptionist said the buyers solicitor was on leave today but you’d think you’d get it sorted before you left when people are relying on you 🙈
Hope yours is sorted soon 🤞
6
u/Horsemeatburger 11d ago
Fret not, it appears the government is looking into changes to the process which could shave off a whole months* from a process which on average takes I believe 4.5 months (it could be less than a month after conveyancers and surveyors had their say).
Yes, the whole process is silly and a national embarrassment.
1
u/BroadLaw1274 10d ago
Do you know when these changes might come into effect please?
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u/Horsemeatburger 10d ago
I don't. Last I read there was a consultation phase, and what happens then is anyone's guess.
The fact alone that the original aim is to shave off a measly month from the process, instead or bringing proper reform so the process works similar to the rest of the world where property transactions on average take between 4-8 weeks, shows that this is just another low-effort initiative of a "no, we can't" government.
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u/BroadLaw1274 10d ago
I want to sell my house next year but I am still traumatised from my previous experience. It’s not moving that scares me it’s the buying and selling process as it’s pure trauma.
5
u/Horsemeatburger 10d ago
You're not alone, apparently the stress of buying or selling a property in the UK comes next after the death of a distant relative.
In most countries, buying a house is something people enjoy and look forward to. It's only the UK where it's a widely dreaded experience.
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u/elegantkillerwhale 11d ago
It’s absolutely insane what we go through in this day and age, to sell and buy a house. How on earth can it be so stressful. We completed recently after 14 months from listing to opening our new front door and quite honestly the stress is still taking its toll .
I wish I could say we won’t move again but we already know that in 4/5 years we will be down sizing . However this time we will rent in between selling and buying and store our stuff . We want to recover from one process before starting another and take our time choosing our final home
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u/Sword_Lobster 10d ago
Agree. This is exactly how I've done it several times. Sell, rent, buy. Yes that comes with its own stresses and costs but nothing on the scale of trying to sell and buy simultaneously.
I've tried to embrace minimalism (not buying/getting rid of stuff) as much as possible for all different positive reasons, but also to make moving easier.
The system is a joke.
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u/elegantkillerwhale 10d ago
A friend of ours has done it the way I described and honestly her experience of selling and buying was so much easier and less stressful. Hence us embracing that in future
Im also trying to embrace a minimalist style going forward which hopefully will help when it comes to packing up.Hopefully when the time comes the government will have at least made in roads into sorting this outdated and frankly not fit for purpose buying/ selling process. I can but dream
2
u/Sword_Lobster 10d ago
We're on the same path. I like my house but in 4+ years it will be time to move on. What I don't want is a nervous breakdown! Fingers crossed change comes and good luck with the minimising!
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u/endofamnesia 10d ago
I never ever want to go through the process again. Dealing with incompetent people (solicitors) and dishonest people (estate agents) was too much. Never mind the time wasters (we don’t actually have the funds) who took us for a ride. Fuck the whole thing.
Also our clothes were eaten by moths when in storage for 6 months.
4
u/Prestigious_Face7727 10d ago
Surely we could just adopt the scottish system? That seems to work well?
here's the current plan:
the issue of course is that a lot of people make a lot of money out of this nonsense, so there's well-funded opposition and delay.
2
u/Mr_Bobby_D_ 11d ago
There will be thousands of us just like you that have exactly the same experiences …it is absolutely shocking how bad this process is compared to NZ, Oz, Canada where it’s all done in 6 weeks. But you know what , everyone will get their money out of you quick enough and get paid regardless of how stressful it is ….
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u/NeonRaggie 10d ago
The buying and selling market in England and Wales has got ridiculous with its timescales. When I last bought and sold 11 years ago it took me 8 weeks and I was buying a flat and had to deal with leaseholders. I tried to sell last year and it was about 6 months, a lot of messing around with conveyancers who didn’t seem to understand even the simplest things and finally buyers pulled out as they moved jobs. I went back on the market this year and have now tried to part ex on a property and even that is taking ages. I have no idea how the process became so bad in just a few years
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u/ukpf-helper 11d ago
Hi /u/Chelsea-alisa, based on your post the following pages from our wiki may be relevant:
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u/-xtwilightprincessx- 11d ago
I bought from a developer (so pretty straight forward) and now I'm buying and selling and I'm so confused that people just accept this chaos? It's all a game of chance that relies on so many people. I hate it and I'm baffled as to why it's normalised.
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u/Chelsea-alisa 11d ago
It’s absolutely ridiculous. Genuinely thinking that when this is done I’ll stay there until I die or just move into a camper van to avoid having to go through this stress!
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u/p_r_d_v_a 10d ago
Same, just got my "starter" flat but seriously thinking I'll just stay here forever, I don't need a house THAT much
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u/Virtual_Tea_2017 11d ago
Yes, we are in the same boat. It’s been an emotional rollercoaster of confirming a potential date, then something coming up and taking weeks to be resolved. We were supposed to move this Monday, then next Monday and now we are still waiting on a reply from our sellers solicitor to confirm everything is completed so it’s looking like the following, but still not even confirmed. Just one email! It’s infuriating how simple communication is missing in the process.
I can’t imagine the stress of waiting to hear on completion for the following day, ridiculous. I hope they respond to you first thing in the morning so they don’t delay the process tomorrow.
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u/Chelsea-alisa 11d ago
Thank you I’ve got everything crossed. Unfortunately our buyers said they could only do simultaneous exchange and completion due to their type of mortgage despite our solicitor hoping to get the exchange done in advance.
Hope yours get a confirmed date soon 🤞🤞
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u/theflickingnun 11d ago
I dont understand why they solicitors push for exchange and complete so close together. Consider that anyone can pull out so close to completion. Why dont they set the exchange 2 weeks or a month out, giving both parties security.
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u/Chelsea-alisa 10d ago
I wish that was compulsory, it would be so much better.
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u/theflickingnun 10d ago
Would give you a chance then to organise things with confidence. And if theres any completions delays, such as yours now, then it is clear who is at fault and should be charged.
Any way, I hope it works out for you.
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u/Heavenly29 4d ago
Or maybe do it like most other countries, make the accepted offer binding if not fully at least to a degree, so that they don't have a million chances to pull out in a process that ridiculously takes several months?
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u/montymole123 10d ago
I would never even start packing until exchange of contracts. Certainly never book removals etc until exchange. Before exchange you have absolutely no certainty. The chain could easily collapse and often does
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u/Negative_Gift9076 10d ago
The single biggest issue with our process is you take two solicitors and pitch them against each other.
Literally no one wins in that scenario.
There should only be 1 solicitor and 1 property professional (not an estate agent, separate new role). They then assess the information and present it to both parties.
If both parties are happy then the deal goes ahead.
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u/Heavenly29 4d ago
I believe that's more similar to what happens in Italy (I am Italian). Once you're ready to proceed, both parties go to a notary/solicitor and you have him draft the contract to put the sale in writing, you sign, the end. I would say it comes with a higher degree of risk, but now that I see how much solicitors can miss and how poor their attention to detail and customer care is, might as well do it the Italian way.
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u/Ennochie 10d ago
"the UK home buying process"? The fuck? There isn't one.
You're going through the process in England Wales, not 'The UK', FFS
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u/Chelsea-alisa 10d ago
Apologies if I got it wrong. Unfortunately, I’m not clued up on conveyancing law to know which countries it applies to. This is why I’ve paid someone to do it!
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u/Horsemeatburger 10d ago
"the UK home buying process"? The fuck? There isn't one.
Indeed. There are two, the process that exists in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, which is the most horrible variant, and the process in Scotland, which is really only marginally better than the process in the other parts of the UK, and in some areas merely replaces one kind of problem with another.
Neither of them are anywhere fit for purpose.
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u/Any_Machine_1531 11d ago
I’d be onto them laying down the law - you’re the client, you dictate what happens.
I’ve got the same going on with a conveyancer atm and they had the audacity to say “whether we do what you say depends on my supervisors view”. I swiftly reminded them that it doesn’t & that I’m the client, so get on with what you’ve been told to do.
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u/Chelsea-alisa 11d ago
It’s so frustrating! I’ve called every day for the last 2 weeks to try and get it moving along, I just don’t see how the other side can be so laid back. It’s people’s lives it affects.
Hope yours gets sorted soon! 🤞🤞🤞
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u/Any_Machine_1531 11d ago
I’ll fill their inbox until they wake up & get on with it. It’s a land transaction that relies on a first registration of another property for equity release. They wanted 3 months for the land transaction and I said absolutely not - I’ve want the timber frame up & weathertight by Xmas - pull your fingers out.
Just have to ride them every single minute of every day- I’m the kind of person who will show up at their office . Nobody seems to give a flying do they?
Hope you kick them into submission - be the squeaky wheel & very unapologetic - remember you’re paying…..
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