Timeframe from looking for a property to getting the keys?

A2Z · 30 Jan 2019 at 20:53

I am planning to purchase a property with my girlfriend this year. I am currently renting and my tenancy will finish on the 18th December. Will be in the Greater London area. Will be using H2B so will have to apply for it when we find a property, as well as a mortgage.

We are both first time buyers.

When should we start looking at potential properties, going for viewings etc, in order to have the keys in December, ready to move into as soon as my tenancy finishes? Don't really want to waste more money on rent by getting the keys too soon. Getting the keys slightly later would not be a problem as I could stay temporarily with family.

I know it can take a while to sort out the details but having never been through this process I am not sure when we should start looking.

Any ideas from people's experiences appreciated.

Slam62 · 30 Jan 2019 at 20:58

Start seriously looking now,

Relentless81 · 30 Jan 2019 at 21:02

Impossible to say due to far too many factors on the chain that you're in but for me the last two sales and purchases took approximately 6 months

Fireskull · 30 Jan 2019 at 21:20

Ours took 4-5 months and that was in a house I already lived in and purchased off my father... with no complications. Another guy at work, moving into a house, no chain, house is empty, he's over 6 months now.... whole process just seems to take a lot longer than needed/expected!
Like above get the process started asap!

Rroff · 30 Jan 2019 at 21:31

Get on with it as soon as possible IMO - all kinds of stuff can happen and there seems to be so many timer wasters as well. We've seemingly had everything lined up twice in a row only for things to fall through. One of my colleagues was near completion then their buyer went dark - waltzed back into the picture some months later after they'd sold expecting everything to still be as they left it after going off to the south of France for the summer.

samcat · 30 Jan 2019 at 21:47

Get yourself a mortgage agreement in principle (AIP) soon, it lets you know how much they are prepared to lend you.
Mortgage lenders will want to see about 3 months of bank statements to get a feel for what you spend etc.
Same for earnings (so payslips/P60 etc).
Find a solicitor that is local and comes recommended that you would like to use.. and fine yourself a backup one as well (incase the seller has already appointed your first choice agent).
Dont use one of the generic online/provide by estate agents ones... They are (generally) slower and your case doesn't belong to anyone, it belongs to a team... You never talk to the same person and its an awful experience.

Once you have an AIP/proof of what you can borrow (within a few days this is possible) you can start talking to estate agents, figuring out areas you like/dont like, what features are important and what doesnt matter (ie do you want a garden/drive/garage, is location important (by a busy road?), how many rooms? Are you bothered by having to do some modernising/decorating?

From finding the perfect house and having your offer accepted to getting the keys can take 3-6 months... and you can always flex on the completion date to suit your timeframes a bit.

Dont be afraid of asking questions about anything you dont understand, its all a bit daunting the first time around!

Semple · 30 Jan 2019 at 22:04

It could take anywhere from a few weeks to several years, pretty much everything is out of your control unless you're buying a new build, or not in a chain.

Ekim · 30 Jan 2019 at 22:21

Took us 12 months from first viewing of our house to moving in!

Terminal_Boy · 30 Jan 2019 at 22:38

Start now. Expect sellers to be difficult, estate agents to be useless and solicitors to make the estate agents look good.

Squid Vicious · 30 Jan 2019 at 22:38

I'll add that property in London moves pretty fast at that end of the market.
My 1 bed flat sold on first day on the market at above asking, with multiple offers on it.

There's still massive demand for entry level housing.

From date of offer it can easily be 12 to 16 weeks to complete searches and all the other paperwork.

To help things progress smoothly pay a little extra for a decent solicitor and not one of the industrial conveyancing operations.

Out of your control will be your sellers chain (some places will be advertised chain free mind you), remember your sellers purchase may run into its own problems which has nothing to do with you but will potentially impact your purchase timescales anyway

Zefan · 30 Jan 2019 at 22:43

Terminal_Boy said:
Start now. Expect sellers to be difficult, estate agents to be useless and solicitors to make the estate agents look good.

1,000,000% this.

The_Abyss · 30 Jan 2019 at 23:25

I'm on my 10th property now. The quickest took just 13 working days - no chain and we took over an aborted purchase that someone else had already exchanged on. The longest - probably around 6 months.

Try to aim for the property you want to buy rather than when you want to buy - the latter can be worked around.

Mercenary Keyboard Warrior · 31 Jan 2019 at 09:10

I would start in spring personally, market tends to be busier then
Start the mortgage search now though, talk to a mortgage adviser, you dont need to necessarily go with them

I would say a normal purchase 4-6 months. There comes options to delay a little if you need to, its just the game thats played, and why its so frustrating if your deperate to move and someone else in the chain decides they want anothre pay day included etc

sovietspybob · 31 Jan 2019 at 09:25

I'll echo the comments about not using the estate agent provided solicitors even if they're free or very cheap, just really not worth it.

SimonR · 31 Jan 2019 at 10:56

Start now, seriously. 16 weeks is normally how long solicitors assume everything takes, in reality none of our last 4 properties came in that fast. Our solicitors were done and dusted in 14 weeks on our last purchase, vendors solicitors took 26 weeks and that was with a lot of badgering by our solicitors and the estate agent. Then it took the vendors another 4 weeks to get all of the rental furniture out of the house.

Mark M · 31 Jan 2019 at 10:58

3 months to 3 years.

Sin_Chase · 31 Jan 2019 at 20:50

How long is a piece of string?

After a mortgage AIP I went from offer accepted to completion in 2 weeks on a new build.

POB · 1 Feb 2019 at 09:49

If using H2B you are buying new. So it depends on when it is being built.

Maundie · 1 Feb 2019 at 11:17

As many have said, start the process now as there is so many things that can hold the process up it's unreal.

kiteloopy · 1 Feb 2019 at 11:25

From first viewing to keys in my hand was 5-6 weeks if I recall correctly.

Was back in 2012/13 so the market has no doubt changed. No chain involved and I was a FTB which made things very easy. I new exactly what I wanted so had done my prep work years in advance.