Has your property sale stalled right before exchange?
You’re not alone. This final hurdle trips up thousands.
I’ve seen it all.
Since 2015, I’ve helped countless sellers overcome last-minute delays. Most never saw them coming.
So what can hold up exchange of contracts?
The exchange of contracts can be delayed by problems with the property chain, issues with the buyer’s mortgage or survey, or missing paperwork from the seller. Slow solicitors can cause holdups in the process, as can outside factors like holiday periods.
In this guide, I’ll also explain the hidden obstacles to exchange. Plus, you’ll learn proven strategies to keep your sale moving.
No sugarcoating.
Just practical solutions from years in the property trenches.
Understanding the Exchange of Contracts Process
Exchange of contracts makes your house sale official.
Both you and the buyer become legally bound to complete the sale at this point. Neither side can back out without serious consequences. Your lawyers swap signed contracts and the buyer pays a deposit, usually 10% of the house price.
Your solicitor handles the exchange process. They talk to the buyer’s lawyer and make a special phone call to confirm everything matches.
The buyer needs to transfer their deposit and you both agree on a completion date.
After exchange, the buyer should insure the building even though you still own it.
I’ve found that clear communication with your lawyer makes exchange go smoothly. They check all paperwork is ready for this important step.
Want to know how long between exchange and completion? Our guide explains typical timeframes.
Common Delays Related to Property Chains
Property chains can cause big headaches when buying or selling a home. Let’s break down why these chains slow things down and what you can expect.
- Coordination Challenges
- Communication Breakdown
- Synchronising Multiple Exchange Dates
- Weekends and Bank Holidays
Moving dates must line up for everyone in the chain.
Each seller needs their new home ready on the same day they move out of their old one. This gets tricky when trying to match moving vans, key handovers, and banking transfers all on the same day.
The more houses in the chain, the harder it gets to make everyone’s plans work together.
Clear talking between all people helps prevent delays.
Agents, lawyers, banks and buyers must work as a team. When they don’t share updates, small problems turn into big ones.
One missed phone call can set everything back by days. Good agents keep everyone talking to stop this from happening.
Missing information causes most delays. Simple questions left unanswered can hold up the whole process.
Finding one day that works for everyone is hard.
Each sale in the chain needs to happen on the same day. Banks must transfer money, lawyers must file papers, and keys must change hands – all at once.
This careful timing takes planning. Everyone must agree to the same date before anything can move forward.
One person’s holiday or work trip can push back everyone’s moving day by weeks.
Banks don’t work on weekends or holidays.
Money can’t move on these days, so exchanges must happen on working days. This limits the possible moving dates each month.
December and summer bring the longest delays. Many chains wait until January to complete because of the Christmas break. This explains why spring is the best time to sell your house.
Planning around these calendar gaps helps avoid surprise delays.
If your chain breaks down, you might need to look at options to fix your broken property chain to get things moving again.
Buyer-Side Issues That Delay Exchange
Buyers can cause delays just as often as sellers. Here are the main buyer issues that slow down house sales.
Mortgage and Financing Complications
Getting a home loan approved takes time.
Banks check everything about your money before saying yes. Sometimes they find problems that weren’t spotted earlier.
Down valuations happen when the bank thinks the house is worth less than the offer price. This can force buyers to find extra money or try to lower the price.
Mortgage offers can expire during long delays. Redoing paperwork adds weeks to the process.
Property Survey Concerns and Renegotiations
Survey problems can stop a sale in its tracks.
Finding damp, structural issues or other problems might scare buyers. They often ask for money off the price after seeing the survey report.
Sellers don’t always agree to price cuts. This back-and-forth can add weeks or months to the timeline.
Fixing issues found in surveys takes time. Sometimes work must be done before the sale can move forward.
Personal Circumstances
Life changes can derail house purchases.
Job losses or changes might make getting a mortgage harder. Buyers sometimes pull out when their work situation shifts.
Cold feet happens more than you’d think. Some buyers just get scared and back out at the last minute.
Family problems like breakups or illness can force buyers to put moves on hold.
Sometimes buyers just take too long making decisions. Every day of thinking adds another day to the process.
Legal and Search-Related Queries
Questions about the property need clear answers.
Local searches might show planning issues or flood risks. Buyers often need time to think about these problems.
Missing paperwork causes many delays. Finding old building permits or certificates can take weeks.
Legal teams ask lots of questions during the process. Even simple answers can take days to confirm with all parties.
If you’re facing buyer delays and need a quicker solution, buying a house with cash might help you avoid many of these problems.
Seller-Side Complications Affecting Exchange
Sellers often cause unexpected delays in the home buying process. Here are the most common seller problems that slow things down.
Paperwork issues
Sellers must fill out forms about their home’s history.
When these forms have gaps or mistakes, the buyer’s lawyer will ask questions. Each question and answer cycle can add days to the timeline.
Some sellers don’t know important details about their home’s past. Finding old paperwork or contacting previous owners takes time.
Property Legal Complications
Unclear property lines lead to neighbor conflicts.
Old fences in the wrong spot or shared driveways can create legal tangles. Solving these issues often requires professional surveyors.
Home improvements without proper paperwork cause big headaches.
Extensions, loft conversions or even removed walls need permits. Discovering work was done without permission can stop a sale completely.
Buyers’ lawyers check council records carefully. If they find problems, the seller might need to apply for permits after the fact.
Leasehold Property Challenges
Short leases scare off buyers and mortgage lenders.
Leases under 80 years cause serious problems. Extending a lease takes time and money that delays the sale process.
Missing leasehold information is surprisingly common. Finding the management company’s details or service charge history can take weeks.
Some leasehold properties have unusual rules or high fees. These surprises late in the process can send buyers running.
Fixtures and Fittings Disputes
Arguments about what stays with the house waste time.
Light fixtures, curtains, garden sheds or even plants can become sticking points. Clear agreements from the start prevent last-minute disputes.
Sellers sometimes remove items they promised to leave. This creates trust issues that affect the whole transaction.
Sellers Personal Situation
Selling after someone dies involves extra legal steps.
Probate must be completed before a house can be sold. This process alone can take months depending on the situation.
Divorce sales need both partners to agree on everything.
Sellers get cold feet too.
Moving out of a beloved family home is emotional. Some sellers drag their feet as moving day approaches.
For sellers with existing mortgages, selling a house with a mortgage brings extra complications. If you’re facing any of these issues, working with cash house buyers can help you avoid many of these common delays.
Conveyancing Process Bottlenecks
Slow legal work can delay your house sale.
Busy solicitors sometimes take days to answer simple questions. When one lawyer handles too many cases at once, your paperwork might sit on their desk untouched.
Some houses have tricky legal problems that need experts. Issues with rights of way or boundary disputes can add weeks to your timeline.
Local councils can be frustratingly slow.
Council searches that check for planning issues or road changes might take over a month in busy areas. The Land Registry that records who owns what property also gets backlogged at busy times.
I’ve seen sales delayed by missing paperwork like old building certificates. Even a single missing document can hold up your whole sale.
Check out our conveyancing process guide for tips on avoiding these common delays.
External Factors Causing Exchange Delays
Even when buyers and sellers do everything right, things outside their control can slow down a house sale. Here are some outside problems that often cause delays.
Seasonal Impacts
Some times of year make house sales go slower.
Christmas is the worst time to finish buying a house. Lawyers, agents and banks have fewer people working during December.
Easter, bank holidays and summer school breaks all add waiting time. Many house sale helpers take vacations during these times.
April is busy for money experts because it’s the end of the tax year.
This makes getting home loans take longer.
Third-Party Delays
Economic Factors
Government decisions can change how long house sales take.
When the government gives tax breaks on house buying, everyone rushes to buy before the deadline. This creates traffic jams in the system.
These traffic jams affect everyone, even people who don’t care about saving tax money.
All the helpers get too busy at once.
Changes in bank interest rates can affect buyers in the middle of buying. Checking if they can still afford the house adds waiting time.
Unexpected Circumstances
Surprise problems happen at the worst times.
Storms might damage the house between agreeing to buy it and getting the keys. This means new checks and often new price talks.
Learning about the best time to sell a house can help you avoid some of these time-of-year and market problems.
If someone gets sick during the sale, everything stops.
When an important person can’t work, nothing moves forward.
When someone in the family dies, house sales often get put on hold. Big money choices shouldn’t be rushed during sad times.
Strategies to Overcome Exchange Delays
Nobody wants their house move to take forever. Here are some smart ways to keep things moving.
Start getting ready early.
Hire your lawyer as soon as you decide to move house. Good lawyers get booked up quickly, and they need time to spot any problems with your sale. The sooner they start working, the less waiting you’ll do later.
Find your important house papers now. This includes warranties, building certificates and planning permission papers.
Get your mortgage sorted before you make offers.
Survey booking should happen right after your offer is accepted. This keeps the ball rolling while other things are happening in the background.
Regular communication prevents most problems.
Set up regular update times with everyone involved in your move. Your agent, solicitor, and the other side’s team should all check in on the same day each week to share progress and fix problems.
Know who to call when things get stuck. Your lawyer should tell you exactly what to do if something isn’t moving forward as expected.
Keep records of all your talks and emails.
A quick weekly phone call works better than endless emails. Just 15 minutes on the phone can solve problems that might take days of back-and-forth messages.
Choose professionals who know what they’re doing.
Don’t pick the cheapest lawyer – pick the most experienced one. Get a recommendation from someone you know. They might cost more upfront but will save you weeks of delays and stress by handling problems quickly.
Tell your estate agent exactly what you expect from them. Good agents will set up a system to keep you updated without you having to chase them constantly.
Mortgage brokers can save you time and stress. They know which banks work quickly and which ones to avoid if you’re in a hurry.
Use simple checklists to track progress.
A timeline with important dates helps everyone stay on the same page. Share this with all the professionals helping with your move so everyone knows what should happen when.
Simple solutions exist for most problems.
Buy indemnity insurance to solve minor legal issues fast. This special insurance can replace missing paperwork or solve small problems that might otherwise take months to fix. It usually costs a few hundred pounds and is much faster than finding old documents.
Make a list of small fixes instead of delaying the whole sale.
Same-day exchange and completion can prevent last-minute problems. This works especially well when buying empty houses where nobody needs to move out.
How Property Buyers Today Eliminates Exchange Delays
Fed up of the process dragging on so long?
Here are some of the reasons why so many people choose to work with Property Buyers Today…
Speed
Most house sales take months, but we can buy your property in as little as 7 days.
This quick process is perfect if you need to move soon or want to avoid being stuck in a long chain of buyers and sellers. We have the cash on hand so don’t need to wait for mortgages or a chain to collapse.
Guaranteed Sale
Did you know 1 in 3 sales fall through on the open market?
We know how frustrating it is to get 6 months into a process and have a buyer pull out.
When we give you the final price for your house, that’s the amount you’ll get. Guaranteed!
No Costs
You won’t face any costs with us.
We handle all the expenses involved in buying your property, including legal fees and surveys. You get cash in your bank when the sale is complete, and there are no surprise estate agent commissions to worry about.
No Stress Or Hassle
Our team supports you through the whole selling process.
We keep you updated about what’s happening and answer any questions quickly. You’ll always understand what’s going on with your sale and what happens next.
Free Property Valuation
Our property experts will value your house at no cost to you.
They look carefully at your property and check local market prices to give you an accurate figure. This professional service comes with no obligations.
No Viewings Required
Forget about cleaning and tidying for viewings.
We don’t need multiple visits or open houses to make our offer. This means no strangers walking through your home, and no disruption to your daily life.
All Properties Welcome
Whether your house needs work or is in perfect condition, we’ll buy it.
We have experience with all types of properties and conditions. This means you can sell your house to us no matter what state it’s in.
Professional Legal Service
Our expert team manages all the legal requirements for you.
We work with experienced property lawyers who make sure everything runs smoothly, and put your property at the top of their list. This gives you peace of mind that your sale is being handled properly from start to finish.
