Stalled ...

OK, contract exchanged last Friday. Completion this Thursday.  I should be excited.  But I am not.  I just feel tired.  How can buying a house take so long? I need to cool down and get my head around the whole thing. Wife and daughter are going away for a couple months.  I need to plan for things before they happen. ...

No, not again !

Got a phone call from Sharon, the solicitor's assistant late afternoon. I was on my way to have a hair cut.  I was almost there.

Sharon: Apparently the seller's solicitor changed his mind again.  He said he can't complete the transaction next week.  He'd like to know when you you want to complete?  Any preference?

Me: Well, let me think.... How about last week?

She laughed.  I didn't.  I told her that I want to complete ASAP.  She should go back to ask the seller's solicitor when he can complete.  So she did.

I parked my car.  As soon as I walked into Clements' barbershop, my phone rang again.

Sharon: It changed again. He said he can complete next week. How about completing on the 1st of June?

Me: Well, that's one day later than the plan yesterday.  But I am okay with that.

So that's it.  The shenanigan is over.  I am not looking forward to another one.  1st of June it is.

Exchange contract tomorrow, finally

Got a phone call from my solicitor 8:30 this morning. He didn't sound happy.  Because vendor's solicitor sent him a fax yesterday in the late afternoon, telling him the lender has released the charges and he needs to complete in a week. Otherwise the vendor will pull out.

They have been holding the transaction back by not arranging the lender to release the charge. Now they threaten us.

Anyway...

He asked for permission to exchange the contract today.

No.  I can't exchange until tomorrow.  Because we need to arrange insurance.  If we do it now, it still won't be effective until midnight tonight.  Also, it is your advice to me that I should view the property again before exchange.

Called the agent, arranged to see the house again in my lunch break.

Honestly, the hall looked smaller than what I remember.  But the living room and dining room looked bigger without the vendor's furniture.  We also measured the kitchen.  Nina found the box behind the cooker is only a box of gas pipes, not the chimney.  Ok, the estate agent's measurement makes sense now.  The garden is a mess.  Need to cut the grass soon.  Otherwise, all good.

Instructed the solicitor to arrange exchange tomorrow.  I also asked him to arrange the legal undertaking for me to borrow the keys on daily basis.  But he doesn't think that's a good idea.

The vendor's solicitor may ask you to pay for the insurance (oh, yes, you already are paying), the bills and probably council tax too.  It's too much a hassle for such short period of time.  Mind you, we are completing the transaction next week anyway.

Yes, he is right.  Simple is good.  I paid for his advice.  I might well take his advice.

Ok, bye-bye the house.  I will see you again when you are mine.

Still waiting ...

It is 20th May. I still don't know when we will complete the transaction.  Last Thursday 17th May the estate agent asked me where we were.  Ha, I thought you are the person who should know it. Anyway, I asked the solicitor who then told me the vendor's bank didn't seem to be interested to release the charge although the mortgage has been repaid long time ago.  Come on, the purchase price was less than £700 for the vendor - about 60 years ago.  How much mortgage are we talking about?

This again proves that everything takes longer than I thought.  Thinking about the huge project, I start to doubt if we can move in by end of this year.

Light at the End of the Tunnel, really !

The solicitor finally told me that he has received the revised mortgage offer. Obviously the most important thing for them is to get my money. So the statement was sent to me immediately. Because sending the money is part of the plan, I didn't think I would have problem sending the money out. But when it ACTUALLY happened, I hesitated. This is probably the single largest investment I've made in my life, and I am not used to handling large amount of money like this. Nina said it would be alright, I am sure she is right.

It's not very straightforward to send money. First of all, I forgot my telephone banking password.  FirstDirect is very vigilant about account security. As soon as they sensed my hesitation, they locked my accounts - both internet account and telephone banking.  It took me quite a while to get my access back.

Now, it's all real.  I have to keep my head clear everyday to make sure the house renovation project goes well.  Not a problem.  I can do that.

How can it take so long?

I told the solicitor of the price reduction on the 2nd of May. Yes, yesterday was a long weekend Monday.  So technically it has been only three working days since then.  But it feels having been so long.  All I want is the bank to revise their mortgage offer.  Is that difficult?

The wait is so taxing that I almost lost my momentum to carry-on at the speed that I did.  I know I have to finish the interior design.  I wanted to write a specification for what we want of the house.  But the energy is nowhere to find.

Just wrote a reminding email to the solicitor.  Fingers crossed for tomorrow.

Light at the end of tunnel

Got a phone call from the estate agent yesterday that the vendor is moving to a nursing home, and the vendor's daughter who has the power of attorney has decided that the transaction should continue without further waiting.  She is going to move her mother's belongings to a storage so we can complete the deal.

I am sorry that Mrs G is moving to a home rather than a proper house near her daughter.  She must feel bad about this.  But if I were her daughter, I would also find the decision difficult to make i guess.

Today, the agent confirmed out telephone discussion with a formal letter.  Solicitor has been informed.  I finally see the end of the tunnel.

I thought I would be excited.  But it only feels natural.  If anything, I do feel apprehensive.  A lot of works need to be done.