The whole process of buying a property in this country (England) is fucked in the head
We seem to have a system of buying and selling property that is stressful, antiquated, needlessly bureaucratic and solely designed to benefit the middlemen in this process. Namely solicitors, bankers, estate agents and surveyors.

There must be a better way.

I don't know if anyone has had any experience of buying/selling property in other countries. Is the process as convoluted, glacial and contrived as it is here? I very much doubt it. What sane country would come up with a process of purchasing property as mental as ours?

A few years back the then Labour government brought in Home Information Packs. Which to me, seemed like rather a sensible idea, but oh dear, Kirsty Allsop doesn't like HIPS, So the New Labour kack their pants and water down the legislation before the Tories get rid of it all together.

I've moved house a couple of times. Lowlights for me have included: The seller who just wouldn't move out, and delayed and delayed for months on end. The mortgage company who claimed that they would waive the fee if we took out another mortgage with them, who then promptly changed their minds costing us an additional £4000. The stress of moving into a new home/project only to do a ton of work on it to make it liveable.

Anyway. Rant over. I'm completely fine about it now! Keep taking the pills.
(Nitrous Nitrous, Sat 10 Jan 2015, 0:49, 4 replies)

I done it several times in Canada,
$700 dollars to a lawyer to hold the money in trust until I had taken possession and to make sure all the I's were dotted and all the T's were crossed.
The seller had to pay 7% to the real estate agent.
(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Sat 10 Jan 2015, 4:27, closed)

Well there you are then.
And how long did it take on average from finding a place to moving in?
(Nitrous Nitrous, Sat 10 Jan 2015, 17:06, closed)

If the place was vacant; 2 weeks

(the other guy not the one that gave you coochie warts, Sun 11 Jan 2015, 19:23, closed)

I bought a place in Brazil about 10 years ago.
That was as bureaucratic if not more than it is here.

The problem here really is that you need to be absolutely sure you've got everything done properly. If you're going to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds on buying something, it'd be a bit of a disaster to find the previous owner or some other person still owned the house, wouldn't it?

The banks are also just as careful. They're looking to make sure nobody else has priority on your house if you're using it as security for a mortgage. They'll want to check for charges over the property before they lift a finger.

I'm not surprised people think it's all bullshit and could be done cheaper, but considering the costs are a relatively small part of it all, I think they're worth paying. I definitely wouldn't trust myself to get it right.
(username failed moderation, Mon 12 Jan 2015, 9:25, closed)