I think its a situation where no news is probably good news @pbontoast 
fingers crossed anyway!
fingers crossed anyway!
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Thank you! I hope so! Iāve never felt anxiety like it! (First time buyer!)I think its a situation where no news is probably good news @pbontoast
Any advice/ tips on how to put pressure on solicitors without being rude?
Ring them every day, they'll be so sick of you they'll prioritise your file.
And it isn't being rude as you are paying them to do a job for you.
As a conveyancer myself, this is absolutely not true. My clients who ring me daily will just receive the same answer they received the day before until I have any further update to tell them.
We want your files completed just as quickly as you do, and despite many people thinking we hold things up on purpose, we don't.
@Upintheair83 are you struggling to get responses from your solicitor, or are they just not communicating very well? If you're struggling to get responses then by all means contact the agent and ask them to give the solicitor a shimmy along. If it's the case that they're not communicating very well and you feel unsure where you are at in the process, then contact them and ask for updates. Conveyancers do a lot of work in the background that clients don't see when it comes to buying houses, but if my client ever communicates to me that they don't really understand where we're at, I'll always make time to explain to them - at the end of the day it's your money and your transaction so you have a right to know what's going on at every step of the way.
Thanks so much for this reply. So we had a phone call from our EA yday and she said how stressful it was trying to get any information from all the solicitors in this small chain! It seems like our solicitors and the sellers solicitors aren't communicating as much as our buyers solicitor is. It seems to be a case of one solicitor says one thing, and another one says something different. So the EA was asking us to find out what was going on. We felt that our solicitor was on top of things as she's always replying to our queries and she is also on the other end of the phone. And so we just didnt know how to approach it. We just didnt want to come across as rude. Obv we want to move ASAP, and I know these things take time.
We don't want to pester and be an annoyance, however the EA seemed really stressed out about it all and said we should have completed by now, that its dragging on too long
Oh what a frustrating situation for you! One thing I would say is that Estate Agents are absolute NIGHTMARES for telling clients that "it should be completed by now" and most of the time it's because they have absolutely no idea of any of the legal issues the conveyancers might be dealing with. Most agents will just sell a property, expect it to be done within 6-8 weeks and often cause stress for clients because they give them unrealistic timeframes. It may be that a complex legal issue has cropped up on the title which the solicitor is trying to deal with, or perhaps there's been something come up in the searches or even a delay in the searches. The agent will be stressed out because she's wanting her commission - that will be it. A solicitor is working in your best interest to secure the best title to the property for you, so if that takes time so be it, the agent is working in her own interest to obtain her commission as quickly as possible. Blunt, but true.Thanks so much for this reply. So we had a phone call from our EA yday and she said how stressful it was trying to get any information from all the solicitors in this small chain! It seems like our solicitors and the sellers solicitors aren't communicating as much as our buyers solicitor is. It seems to be a case of one solicitor says one thing, and another one says something different. So the EA was asking us to find out what was going on. We felt that our solicitor was on top of things as she's always replying to our queries and she is also on the other end of the phone. And so we just didnt know how to approach it. We just didnt want to come across as rude. Obv we want to move ASAP, and I know these things take time.
We don't want to pester and be an annoyance, however the EA seemed really stressed out about it all and said we should have completed by now, that its dragging on too long
If your solicitor thus far has been responsive to you, I think I'd be inclined to give her a call or drop her an email and say what the agent has told you and perhaps just ask what the hold up is so that you can communicate back to the agent. I'd never ever think one of my clients is being rude if they came to me and asked to know what the situation is (especially if it's because they're being hassled by agents).
Thanks so so much for this. It's actually a really interesting insight. Yeh, on the call yday, the EA came across as really stressed and said it was 'unbelievable' that it was taking this long. So of course, we have started to panic. But we have always found our solicitor to be really responsive and helpful. So we didn't want to go in hard and 'all guns blazing' because that hasn't been our experience of dealing with her. Thanks so much for this advice xx
Iām set on buying in the area I live in. Itās alright and wouldnāt require the full MIP (solo buyer) if I stayed local. But house prices have gone up massively and properties sell in days because theyāre marketed as stepping stones which is annoying as itās a āgenerational areaā. Lots of out of towners have been buying, no major renos just putting some moroccan tiles down and selling for 100k more than they paid a few years later 
but I digress.
I should have a 15% deposit if the āoffers overā arenāt ridiculous. Would you wait a bit longer and save more or try going for the properties that do crop up?
FTB so Iām worried if I rushed into it and found out it needed a new roof, had asbestos etc. All houses here will have damp issues due to the age.
but I digress.I should have a 15% deposit if the āoffers overā arenāt ridiculous. Would you wait a bit longer and save more or try going for the properties that do crop up?
FTB so Iām worried if I rushed into it and found out it needed a new roof, had asbestos etc. All houses here will have damp issues due to the age.
Do you have an emergency fund in place both for house emergencies and more generally in case you lost your job? If so, I'd go for it if something you love crops up. If not, I'd consider carefully how you'd deal with situations like that.Iām set on buying in the area I live in. Itās alright and wouldnāt require the full MIP (solo buyer) if I stayed local. But house prices have gone up massively and properties sell in days because theyāre marketed as stepping stones which is annoying as itās a āgenerational areaā. Lots of out of towners have been buying, no major renos just putting some moroccan tiles down and selling for 100k more than they paid a few years later
I should have a 15% deposit if the āoffers overā arenāt ridiculous. Would you wait a bit longer and save more or try going for the properties that do crop up?
FTB so Iām worried if I rushed into it and found out it needed a new roof, had asbestos etc. All houses here will have damp issues due to the age.
I would, but is a few grand enough? Iād only have to use <45% of the MIP so god forbid re job but I would be able to cover outgoings with a lesser paid one. I always worry about restructures anyway which is another reason to buy sooner rather than later. I also wouldnāt want to save for 6 months salary or whatever Reddit suggests
and a 20% deposit or Iād be waiting years + it would probably cancel itself out?!I keep thinking about a house in my area. Canāt view it as itās so āhotā theyāve had offers without views but I asked the estate agent who told me the ballpark. It was less than what I wouldāve offered and Iād still have 15% deposit. Donāt know if I should just forget about it but properties rarely come up on this street. Then I worry if I wait Iāll pay more than a higher offer on this.
What do you have to lose by viewing and (potentially) putting an offer in?
They wonāt let me view
Iād have to put an offer in unseen, but itās still tempting.Iāve called three times about it (I was put on a viewing cancellation list) and when I put the feelers out for the offers before I remarked I thought it wouldāve got higher she didnāt inquire if I wanted to make an offer. They have said everythingās suspended on it, both viewings and offers, but if I could put one forward that would be good. Iām a total novice.
The estate agent legally has to tell the vendor if they receive any offers for their property so if you want to put in an offer then do so. They can tell you offers are suspended all they like, but as I say they have a legal duty to pass on any offers.
Thank you, Iāve messaged the mortgage broker I signed up with and can hopefully have a chat with them tomorrow. EA basically told me theyāve had offers 10% over the āoffers overā which wouldnāt surprise me for the area but could also be baloney. I canāt see the recent sales in the area, they only show 2023ās when I know lots have sold since then. Makes it harder to gauge the current situation.
I would also be wary about offering too much over the price if you are dependent on a mortgage because there is a risk that they won't lend you what you need because the bank doesn't value it as highly as you do. If you are happy to pay the higher price and can afford it though I'd definitely put forward an offer to the estate agents!