u/Administrative_Echo9

Having finally exchanged a few days ago (with completion next week!), I wanted to share our timeline.

As "late" First-Time Buyers at 38 and 45, buying a home we actually wanted in London never felt achievable. After two consecutive rentals where the landlords decided to sell or move back in the last being a noisy mid-terrace that severely impacted our sleep and mental health, we decided to relocate to somewhere we could afford a detached house with decent London connections.

We moved into a short-term rental in our target area in September 2024. We initially viewed properties in the £300k–£375k range, but after helping my mother through an incredibly stressful move, I wanted a "forever" home (15+ years) to avoid doing this again. We then pushed our maximum budget to £450k.

• 01/10/25: Viewed a house I had originally spotted out of budget originally listed at £500k–£525k, it had dropped to £485k–£500k. We loved it, but felt it was slightly overpriced. Using the Nationwide House Price Index against its sale price from 7 years ago, we estimated its value at £455k and opened with a cheeky offer of £435k.
• 02/10/25 - 04/10/25: The vendor stood firm on a £485k minimum. We countered at £445k, and then a final offer of £450k. They rejected it, so we walked away and kept viewing other places.
• 10/11/25 - 17/11/25: The estate agent reached out to check our interest. We stood firm at £450k, and a few days later, the vendor accepted! The estate agent predicted a smooth, chain-free completion by mid-February – HA!!
• 19/11/25: Sourced three quotes from well-reviewed local solicitors and instructed.
• 20/11/25: With a simple application and a 35% deposit, we used L&C (fee-free broker) to lock in a 3.9% fixed rate for 5 years and deal with any paperwork for us.
• 21/11/25: Mortgage approved the next day via a desktop valuation (valid until 20/05/26).
• 15/12/25 - 20/12/25: Level 3 survey completed on the mid-1800s house. It raised typical old-house issues (minor damp on chimney in loft are needing repointing, garden wall crack, wonky floors). We felt it was fair for the property's age and chose not to renegotiate.
• 21/12/25: Having learned from my mother’s recent boundary nightmares, I bought the official title plans myself. Discovered the permanent £30k+ garden office was built halfway onto the neighbour’s land on a section 1.5m by 5m. Raised this immediately with our solicitors.
• 08/01/26: Solicitors received draft contracts and started AML/Source of Funds checks. Because I frequently move money between accounts to chase interest rates, I had to provide three years of statements for all these accounts. This painful back-and-forth took over a month.
• 13/01/26: Spotted a drop in mortgage rates; L&C got our mortgage down to 3.8%.
• 15/01/26 - 29/01/26: Boundary issue confirmed; a "transfer in part" deed was required. Fortunately, the neighbours were cooperative as the land was physically inaccessible to them anyway.
• 26/02/26: Received search results, TA6, and fixtures forms (the sellers kindly threw in the custom curtains).
• 04/03/26: Chased the boundary transfer progress to find it had only just been submitted to the Land Registry, though expedited.
• 11/03/26: More complications. The seller lacked compliance certification for a recently installed oil tank, as well as documentation for the shared sewage treatment plant (located in the neighbour’s garden). Furthermore, our property powered the plant, but this wasn't documented in the deeds, requiring a new Deed of Grant/Variation.
• 24/03/26: Tired of the standstill, I bypassed the solicitors and contacted the sewage plant's original installer directly. They emailed me the historical installation and sign-off specs, which I forwarded to clear the legal enquiries myself. Land registry issue was confirmed as resolved and a new title was created for the small section.
• 04/04/26: The oil tank was inspected and failed building regulations - it was single-skinned and sitting directly on top of the sewage drain run. The seller agreed to fund a new concrete pad and install a compliant, bunded oil tank.
• 21/04/26: New oil tank fully installed, signed off, and paperwork delivered to my solicitor.
• 25/04/26: Mortgage rates had spiked to 4.8% and our mortgage offer was expiring. The sewage plant electricity deed of grant was making little progress.
• 30/04/26: Secured a final, strict 14-day mortgage extension while the draft Deed of Grant bounced between solicitors.
• 11/05/26: Deed of Grant finally resolved. Sent over our 10% exchange deposit.
• 12/05/26: Exchange officially complete! We immediately gave notice on our rental. Because the timing fell just past our payment date, we technically owed almost 3 months' notice. However, we successfully negotiated the landlord down to 7 weeks by agreeing to leave our fridge/freezer behind.

Got very stressful at the end with the mortgage expiry fast approaching and rates increased so much.