The simple answer is - it doesn't! I have bought a property and had it registered in the name of the new owner in less than a week!
The average time last year was 14 weeks from the date that the estate agent issued the memorandum of sale to the date that the property completed. The usual industry average is 8-10 weeks. We take around 6 weeks on average from when you ask us to work for you. The reason that most deals are not this quick is down to the people involved.
The first culprit is the person selling the property. If they do not have all the information ready, there can be a delay of a couple for weeks whilst they pull together all the certificates and forms required.
Then the buyers can delay in sorting their mortgage out, whether it’s proving their income to the lender or just returning the correct forms, this can also add some additional weeks. Some mortgage providers are taking 4-6 weeks to get the mortgage offer out.
Your lawyer needs to submit some searches against the property. One of these can take a couple of weeks to come back. Once the lawyer has all the information that is needed, a report on the title is sent to the lender. They need a week before they will confirm the funds can be released, and it’s at this point your lawyer can confirm that you can exchange contracts and agree a completion date.
A frequent additional cause of delay can be your lawyer. If your lawyer is not qualified (a para-lawyer, conveyancing assistant) or not experienced enough, or overworked, then they may not take the steps that need to be taken as quickly as you would like. Sometimes the title is only passed to a lawyer to check just before the report on the title stage. Any title problems need to be resolved then, rather than earlier on. This delays this purchase and every other one in the chain.
Toomey Legal check the title as soon as they are instructed and have the sale pack prepared as soon as the seller instructs us. The title is sent out to the buyer’s solicitor on day one so that they can start their searches. Communication is helped by our email notification of key milestones so that you know exactly what has happened when and if there is any one holding the matter up. This also helps you plan your removals and any days off work.
Our average time between exchange and completion is around 6 weeks. Where a long chain is involved, we can only move as fast as the slowest person in that chain. We act in a professional way at all times. We always answer the phone. If you cannot speak to the person dealing with your sale or purchase, anyone else in the team can give you an update and make sure that you get a call back if that is not enough. We give clear advice without using jargon and we have customer guides to explain what happens when and what the options are for you.
We can’t alleviate the stress of moving home, but we can keep it as low as possible. And when it’s all over we send you cake!
