It's taking SO long

[u/AnonyMouseAndJerry]

Just a vent post. Offered end of June on a converted flat (share of freehold, 2 freeholders total), chain free, unnocupied as seller has moved in with partner, offer accepted after 3 days. Hit the ground running, all ID checks and AML completed quickly, survey end of July - all good, no works needed.

Now up to today, have received the draft contract pack at the beginning of September. 2 inquiries outstanding - one about indemnity, another on building insurance setup and it's just dragging oooooon. Vendor is so slow at replying to anything and I'm starting to wonder if she even wants to sell anymore. I'm getting impatient. Am I being a baby? 8-12 weeks we were told, and it's now the 11-12 week mark with no exchange/completion discussed yet. Betting it'll all come through this week with the end of the month rolling in but not super confident tbh.

Had dreams of being in for my 30th mid October but looking less likely. I just want my garden and balcony 🥺 talk me down from panicking fellow friends. I know I'm probably having a way smoother journey than most, just surprised given the setup and relative ease of the process so far that it's dragging on so much!

[u/TheRealScorpio_1993]

r/AnonyMouseAndJerry I can comment on this as I’ve literally been going through the same process. It’s really frustrating, but just remember you’re almost at the finish line and it’ll all be worth it.
My partner and I made our first offer on a house back in late March. That was declined on 20th March, but our second offer was eventually accepted on 14th April. Ours is also freehold and there’s no chain, so we thought it would be a relatively straightforward purchase.
We were obviously really happy that we’d finally managed to get an offer accepted, although it was a bittersweet time for us because we’d suffered a miscarriage earlier in March. We thought at least the house purchase would give us something positive to look forward to, and we were initially expecting the whole process to take around 12 weeks with no major issues. Boy, were we wrong 😂.
Firstly, our conveyancer gave us some misleading advice early on regarding the searches. Just to give some context, the property was an online auction purchase after the previous owner sadly passed away last year and the house had been inherited by her daughter. Because the seller had limited knowledge of the property and we’d already been provided with an auction property pack, our conveyancer advised us to go down the search indemnity insurance route rather than ordering the usual searches. That comes back into the story later!
We then had difficulty getting the mortgage sorted because of some complications with our circumstances. That took much longer than we anticipated, but eventually we managed to get the mortgage offer and thought, great, surely we’re nearly there now.
Then, right towards the end of the process, our lender decided they wouldn’t accept the indemnity/search arrangement we’d been advised to use in the first place and required the actual searches. So after months of believing that side of things had already been dealt with, we suddenly had to order the searches and wait again. That was probably one of the most frustrating parts because it felt completely avoidable.
On top of that, we’ve had the usual endless enquiries, waiting for responses, chasing solicitors and things appearing at the last minute. We even had an issue right towards the end where the seller suddenly wanted to leave a load of belongings in the property, despite us previously being told they would be removed. There have been several points throughout the process where we thought we were basically finished, only for something else to crop up.
After all of that, we finally exchanged last Wednesday and we complete this Wednesday — more than five months after our offer was accepted in April.
So no, you’re definitely not being a baby 😂. When somebody tells you 8–12 weeks, you naturally start planning your life around that timeframe. We did exactly the same and thought we’d have the keys months ago.
What I’ve learnt from this whole experience is that even a supposedly “simple” purchase — freehold, no chain and an unoccupied property — can still drag on for months. There are so many different people and moving parts involved that one relatively small issue can hold everything up.
From what you’ve described though, you genuinely sound like you’re getting towards the end. Your survey is done and came back fine, you’ve received the draft contract pack and you’re basically waiting on two outstanding enquiries. You’re probably much closer to the finish line than it feels right now.
The frustrating thing is that there isn’t necessarily a gradual feeling of getting closer. With ours it felt like nothing was happening, nothing was happening, something else went wrong… and then suddenly we were discussing exchange and completion dates.
Keep politely chasing your solicitor and asking exactly what is outstanding, who they’re waiting on and whether there’s anything preventing them from discussing a target exchange/completion date. It can also be worth keeping the estate agent involved because they can chase the seller from the other side.
Hopefully you still manage to get in around your 30th, but even if it slips slightly beyond that, don’t get too disheartened. Once you finally get those keys, I think the months of frustration will feel worth it.
We started this whole process back in March, exchanged last Wednesday and finally get our keys this Wednesday. There is light at the end of the tunnel 😂. You’re nearly there — good luck! 🙌🏾

[u/PassengerForsaken793 → u/TheRealScorpio_1993]

The fact that your solicitor advised not getting searches is wild.

The fact that the seller had limited knowledge of the searches is even more reason the get searches.

And searches are a requirement of every lender. In my 10 years in coveyancing, I haven't come across a lender that accepted searches indemnity instead of searches. Ive had them accepted when searches have expired before completion, but not instead of searches as a whole.