Once you’ve made the decision to move home, and your house has found a buyer, it can feel like an eternity to get to that all-important completion date.
There are so many factors at play that can influence how long a house sale takes, and several of them you will have no control over.
But understanding what is involved in a house sale can go some way to help make the time go easier while you are waiting.
Like with many things in life, having good communication skills makes things a lot easier. Before you decide to sell your home or purchase a new one, it is worth checking out the reviews of the estate agents and solicitors you are planning to use.
Look for reviews that specifically mention communication, response times, and how long things took overall. You may find some valuable information in there about which agents focus on getting things complete from start to finish, and ones who are only looking for the sale itself and will let everything after that fall by the wayside.
On either side of the buying and selling process, you will need to work alongside others to get your sale completed.
For those selling a house, it is a good idea to pry information out of potential buyers when they come to view. This way, you can find out what position they are in, how quickly they want to move, and any potential obstacles you might face if they make an offer.
Remember to take everything they say with a grain of salt, however. Some buyers will not always be truthful about their circumstances when viewing properties to buy.
For buyers, when you go and see a potential house you’d like to purchase, try and meet with the owner instead of the estate agent at least once. You can gauge what their circumstances are and get an idea of how fast things are likely to proceed should you decide to make an offer.
You should also conduct a viewing with the estate agent as well to ask information questions such as neighbour or land disputes that the owners might be reluctant to reveal.
This is often the most commonplace for things to get snarled up. Getting your mortgage approved can depend on so many different factors, and each one can hold things up for weeks.
At the moment, the COVID pandemic has made things even more difficult, with everything having to take place online. This isn’t so much a problem if you are tech-savvy, have a printer, and get a decent internet connection. If you don’t, the process can really get slowed down as you wait for snail mail to deliver your paperwork.
The dreaded word in any buying or selling process is ‘chains’. Being in a chain itself isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it does make things more precarious. It only takes one link in the chain to fall and the rest can suffer from weeks of delays while things are put right. Worst case scenario, your chain collapses and you all have to start from scratch.
If you really want to avoid being in a chain, you can look specifically for houses for sale with no chain. This removes the risk, but you might find your options for properties to buy become more limited instead.
Honestly, if you want a definitive timescale, you’re not going to find one here or anywhere else on the internet. That’s because every situation is different and each buying and selling exchange will be affected by different factors.
That being said, you can estimate a very rough time frame at a push. The quickest a house sale typically completes is 6 weeks, and the longest can be anywhere up to and beyond 12 weeks.
The best thing you can do is prepare your side of things as soon as possible and keep chasing the other parties if you feel timescales are slipping.
Remember the following in particular:
Get all your documents together as soon as you know what is required of you, including payslips, utility bills, and your mortgage approval
Don’t assume your estate agent or solicitor will chase things as regularly as you would like - make sure you keep in contact and push to keep things moving forward
Things will go wrong occasionally but there is a lot that will be out of your control so try not to panic if it does
If you would like some practical advice about selling or buying a home, speak to one of our helpful team at Argyle Estate Agents who can help you navigate the process and get the best outcome possible for you.
