Sale agreed on bank owned property - help!

lolliers2009

I wonder if anyone could shed some light on our current situation... First time buyer here...
Last September we put a cash offer on a house that had been repossessed and was being sold by a bank through an EA, the offer was 10% above the asking price as there was another offer.It took a week to accept our offer and we went sale agreed. We then waited 7-8 weeks before contracts were received by our solicitor (apparently they had been sent to the wrong place). Contract and title were fine according to our solicitor so we put the funds in place and signed the contract the week before Christmas. Here we are coming into February and still no yes no or maybe from the other side. We have been assured from everyone involved that it just takes time and we have to wait but we are starting to lose hope. I am looking for any advice on the process as we have to move out of our rental soon so need some kind of timeline (if there is any) I know there is a thread on negative equity houses but this is a sale coming directly from the bank, having taken possession of it approximately 2 years ago.
Thanks in advance.

Deagol

No expert at this, but if you signed a contract, surely the contract states when the sale is to be completed?

leinster93

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do until the other side (the bank) sign the contract other than to get your solicitor to keep up the pressure or pull out.You could contact the estate agent by email asking if he could find out where things are at.

Our rental lease also came up for renewal after we went sale agreed but we let the letting agency know that we had gone sale agreed on a property and they were happy to let us rent on a month by month basis. They might up the rent though. Can you see if you can stay on in your rental accommodation?

lolliers2009

Sorry should have stated that, no closing date was given.

lolliers2009

leinster93 wrote: »

Unfortunately there isn't much you can do until the other side (the bank) sign the contract other than to get your solicitor to keep up the pressure or pull out.You could contact the estate agent by email asking if he could find out where things are at.

Our rental lease also came up for renewal after we went sale agreed but we let the letting agency know that we had gone sale agreed on a property and they were happy to let us rent on a month by month basis. They might up the rent though. Can you see if you can stay on in your rental accommodation?

Yes I think we could stay on in our rental on a month to month. I would just lto know where we stand. We have

leinster93

First off sort the rental accommodation out for peace of mind. Just out of curiosity do you know what bank are selling the property?

lolliers2009

leinster93 wrote: »

First off sort the rental accommodation out for peace of mind. Just out of curiosity do you know what bank are selling the property?

Yes I think we could stay on in our rental on a month to month basis now. I would just love to know where we stand. We have paid the deposit and signed contracts so also don't know where we would stand if we pulled out?
EA doesn't want to bother the bank too much (biting the hand that feeds him and all), has called them once and they advised that we would just have to wait as they have so much on. Banks solicitor says they are as anxious to close as we are. Suppose I would like to hear from anyone who has been through the same thing with a bank owned property. Banks are so slow moving I can't understand why they would advertise a property for sale, accept the offer so quick then not try to take the money when it's all in place! Very frustrating.
Yes it's KBC bank...

leinster93

A lot of people on this thread have been left hanging in similar positions for months. Hang in there. It should work out...you have deposit with your solr. On the plus side your a cash buyer. You're in a very strong position. It could be a delay due to some snr manager needing to make the executive decision.
Am afraid that all I got on my experience. You should okay just keep distracted or you'll drive yourself daft.
Good luck.

lolliers2009

leinster93 wrote: »

A lot of people on this thread have been left hanging in similar positions for months. Hang in there. It should work out...you have deposit with your solr. On the plus side your a cash buyer. You're in a very strong position. It could be a delay due to some snr manager needing to make the executive decision.
Am afraid that all I got on my experience. You should okay just keep distracted or you'll drive yourself daft.
Good luck.

Thanks a million, I know I've read the horror stories hopefully we are not one of the unlucky ones!!

Ms2011

I think you're making really good progress. I went sale agreed with the auctioneers on a repossessed property in Nov 2013, the bank agreed to sell the property in Oct 2014, agreed our bid in Dec 2014 & my solicitor got the contracts 3 weeks ago!!
Dealing with a bank is not like dealing with a Joe Soap selling their home, lots of red tape & descisions having to be made by board members etc. Contracts will contain the absolute bare minimum information so any solicitor worth their salt will want to make sure all ends are tied off before letting you sign, this can involve alot of back & forward with the bank which is also time consuming.
I can understand your need to get things moving as you are renting (this wasn't an issue for us as we own the house we're in) but I really do think things are moving well for you & you may just have to be patient.

lolliers2009

Ms2011 wrote: »

I think you're making really good progress. I went sale agreed with the auctioneers on a repossessed property in Nov 2013, the bank agreed to sell the property in Oct 2014, agreed our bid in Dec 2014 & my solicitor got the contracts 3 weeks ago!!
Dealing with a bank is not like dealing with a Joe Soap selling their home, lots of red tape & descisions having to be made by board members etc. Contracts will contain the absolute bare minimum information so any solicitor worth their salt will want to make sure all ends are tied off before letting you sign, this can involve alot of back & forward with the bank which is also time consuming.
I can understand your need to get things moving as you are renting (this wasn't an issue for us as we own the house we're in) but I really do think things are moving well for you & you may just have to be patient.

Oh to be blessed with patience!
Thanks that is reassuring, God it sounds like you were put through the mill with it but you were lucky you were already a home owner at the time! It seems at this stage that you are right with the red tape issue. Very frustrating on a first purchase. They were very forth coming with all information, contracts were perfect according to our solicitor and we signed without any conditions... You would think it would be straightforward enough for them, nothing is with banks unfortunately!

Ms2011

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Oh to be blessed with patience!
Thanks that is reassuring, God it sounds like you were put through the mill with it but you were lucky you were already a home owner at the time! It seems at this stage that you are right with the red tape issue. Very frustrating on a first purchase. They were very forth coming with all information, contracts were perfect according to our solicitor and we signed without any conditions... You would think it would be straightforward enough for them, nothing is with banks unfortunately!

I thought the same, that the bank would be only delighted to get the sale through a.s.a.p. & get some of their money back from the property, how wrong I was :rolleyes:
The only thing that kept us going was that we really wouldn't get the property & land we're getting for the price we're getting it at with a normal sale, fingers crossed the end is now in sight!

lolliers2009

Ms2011 wrote: »

I thought the same, that the bank would be only delighted to get the sale through a.s.a.p. & get some of their money back from the property, how wrong I was :rolleyes:
The only thing that kept us going was that we really wouldn't get the property & land we're getting for the price we're getting it at with a normal sale, fingers crossed the end is now in sight!

I know it just beggars belief. We thought the end was in sight when we had received and then signed contracts and the had it confirmed that kbc had them in their possession and now absolutely nothing since then!! Running out of patience but really want the house!!

simpson80

Hi op I am in the very same limbo as you. we are buying from ebs. the whole process through the bank has been very frustrating and awful slow but as other posters have said it will be all worth it in the end as you will have a house and the whole process will be a memory. only advice I'd give is to stay busy and it'll work out. Good luck.

MANUTD99

We bought a repossessed house from KBC. Bid in June, was accepted end of July. Sale went through in December.

You are going to loose the will to live in this process but you will get there. Solicitors will push things around as it is a repossession. Keep slapping the whip on solicitors, estate agents. Make no friends to get this over the line.

Solicitors and agents work at a different pace than the rest of us. Thats the most important thing I learned

lolliers2009

MANUTD99 wrote: »

We bought a repossessed house from KBC. Bid in June, was accepted end of July. Sale went through in December.

You are going to loose the will to live in this process but you will get there. Solicitors will push things around as it is a repossession. Keep slapping the whip on solicitors, estate agents. Make no friends to get this over the line.

Solicitors and agents work at a different pace than the rest of us. Thats the most important thing I learned

Thanks for that, it's great to hear positive stories as that is our main concern at this stage that they may decide not to sign at all at this stage. I know, I plan to hound solicitor and agent for the next few weeks. You're the second person I've spoken to that had taken 6 months to get from a to b with KBC so that leaves us with a month to go to make that up so here's hoping!! They accepted our offer in exactly one week, really thought it would move quicker than this!!

MANUTD99

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Thanks for that, it's great to hear positive stories as that is our main concern at this stage that they may decide not to sign at all at this stage. I know, I plan to hound solicitor and agent for the next few weeks. You're the second person I've spoken to that had taken 6 months to get from a to b with KBC so that leaves us with a month to go to make that up so here's hoping!! They accepted our offer in exactly one week, really thought it would move quicker than this!!

If Mason Hayes are the solicitors representing KCB you are onto a winner. Bypass your own solicitor and deal direct with them.

Our solicitor paid a flat fee and was annoyed when he found out our house was a repossessed job. We gave up on him. A joke he was. Was only there to sign documents in the end

lolliers2009

MANUTD99 wrote: »

If Mason Hayes are the solicitors representing KCB you are onto a winner. Bypass your own solicitor and deal direct with them.

Our solicitor paid a flat fee and was annoyed when he found out our house was a repossessed job. We gave up on him. A joke he was. Was only there to sign documents in the end

No solicitors representing KBC are Woods Hogan and Co.
Our solicitors are quite happy to keep on top of them and WH have advised our sols that they are as keen to settle as we are but that these repos tend to go in to a 'black hole' and take ages but they are doing their best and not ripping us off thankfully.
Our sols have sent a letter direct to KBC, I don't know how far that will get us!

eezipc

I'm in a vaguely similar situation. Sale agreed on a house 2 months ago. Rang solicitor today but she said she has not received any paperwork yet. Its a cash sale and house is not owned by the bank but its still taking forever.

mickman

Here is my story

Went sale agreed at end of September , received contracts at end of October and only signed contracts last week (contracts still not sent as still waiting on one piece of documentation )

To get it this far I had to do a huge amount of work myself to get the title in order ( dealing with council / land registry / agenta)

I wrecked their heads and I mean that . If I hadn't gotten an answer to an email in two days , I sent it again etc

Our contracts do say that close will be 4 weeks after contracts are received back to vendors solicitors so it looks good

It's reposessed by Ulster bank , they seem ok to send the required stuff , it's the receivers solicitors that are our problem

When our contracts are sent back , if we aren't closed 4 weeks later then we will threaten to pull out

I must say I have learned so much about conveyancing / planning / land registry etc that o could start my own solicitor business :-)

mickman

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Sorry should have stated that, no closing date was given.

Your solicitor should really have insisted on a closing date to be put into the contract - otherwise you are at thd mercy of the bank and with house prices rising , what's to stop them waiting another year and putting the house back on the market to get a higher price

lolliers2009

mickman wrote: »

Your solicitor should really have insisted on a closing date to be put into the contract - otherwise you are at thd mercy of the bank and with house prices rising , what's to stop them waiting another year and putting the house back on the market to get a higher price

Yes that is the main fear now to be honest. Although with us offering 10% more than asking only a few months ago and the house being in the midlands I am not sure things are moving that quickly there.
Also, we have even told that there is no receiver involved and it is being sold directly by the bank through their solicitor and EA.
Luckily our solicitor did all the relevant checks etc. for us, I don't think I could cope with doing their job along with all the other stress involved in this!!
Might be an idea to go into conveyancing for you after all that lol.

mickman

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Yes that is the main fear now to be honest. Although with us offering 10% more than asking only a few months ago and the house being in the midlands I am not sure things are moving that quickly there.
Also, we have even told that there is no receiver involved and it is being sold directly by the bank through their solicitor and EA.
Luckily our solicitor did all the relevant checks etc. for us, I don't think I could cope with doing their job along with all the other stress involved in this!!
Might be an idea to go into conveyancing for you after all that lol.

Ok that's a bit different

Ours was via a receiver so I reckon ours will close soon as the receiver can act on behalf of thd bank so stuff doesn't have to go back to Ulster bsnk

Hold in there , you will get there. Don't b afraid to put some pressure on , solicitors and their 'letters' will drive you nuts

lolliers2009

mickman wrote: »

Ok that's a bit different

Ours was via a receiver so I reckon ours will close soon as the receiver can act on behalf of thd bank so stuff doesn't have to go back to Ulster bsnk

Hold in there , you will get there. Don't b afraid to put some pressure on , solicitors and their 'letters' will drive you nuts

Honestly letters in this day and age I have been asking myself the same questions!! A letter, an email maybe a phone call then wait a week for a response... Don't get a response... And repeat process!!
I have been trying to pressure our solicitor, he's only beginning to get moving now I think.
Hopefully we both get news soon enough... Every Monday we hope that "this is the week"
Have to laugh at this stage or I'd cry!!

lolliers2009

simpson80 wrote: »

Hi op I am in the very same limbo as you. we are buying from ebs. the whole process through the bank has been very frustrating and awful slow but as other posters have said it will be all worth it in the end as you will have a house and the whole process will be a memory. only advice I'd give is to stay busy and it'll work out. Good luck.

Oh I sincerely hope so, as others have said it comes down to a senior manager to make the executive decision at the end of it all... That is the stage we are at now so fingers crossed things an only get better!!
Best of luck to you!

lolliers2009

eezipc wrote: »

I'm in a vaguely similar situation. Sale agreed on a house 2 months ago. Rang solicitor today but she said she has not received any paperwork yet. Its a cash sale and house is not owned by the bank but its still taking forever.

Are you buying from an owner occupier? They may be waiting to go sale agreed/get contracts on the property they are moving to... It's a viscous cycle really... We waited 8 weeks for contracts and it was soul destroying so I know the feeling, we hounded solicitor but in the end it was the EA that got it moving for us at that stage and within a few days of giving EA a good telling off we received the contracts. Might be worth a shot for your own sanity to get some sort of an answer

mickman

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Are you buying from an owner occupier? They may be waiting to go sale agreed/get contracts on the property they are moving to... It's a viscous cycle really... We waited 8 weeks for contracts and it was soul destroying so I know the feeling, we hounded solicitor but in the end it was the EA that got it moving for us at that stage and within a few days of giving EA a good telling off we received the contracts. Might be worth a shot for your own sanity to get some sort of an answer

I doubt a repo has an owner occupier

I agree on pressuring though , get creative

Some property mgt company in dublin was the banks agent for ours. Found one of them on the web , emailed him and asked him to help out and every time he has intervened we magically get a new piece of documentation in the post !

I also had to insist on solicitor picking up the phone instead of this letter writing nonsense

If you annoy everyone so much , they will get it closed

lolliers2009

mickman wrote: »

I doubt a repo has an owner occupier

I agree on pressuring though , get creative

Some property mgt company in dublin was the banks agent for ours. Found one of them on the web , emailed him and asked him to help out and every time he has intervened we magically get a new piece of documentation in the post !

I also had to insist on solicitor picking up the phone instead of this letter writing nonsense

If you annoy everyone so much , they will get it closed

Yes I know, the poster did say it wasn't bank owned so I was just curious as to what it is in this case...
Exactly, you just need to find someone that is willing to get things done, not an easy feat in this business. I think you're right about rubbishing the letter writing, they are just being opened by the secretary and falling into a black hole I'd imagine...
Ours is not being managed as it is in need of some work and is not tenanted. I know the company that manages their properties also and have been informed that they do not have this one on their books... If they had, they would be able to help. Another dead end!

mickman

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Are you buying from an owner occupier? They may be waiting to go sale agreed/get contracts on the property they are moving to... It's a viscous cycle really... We waited 8 weeks for contracts and it was soul destroying so I know the feeling, we hounded solicitor but in the end it was the EA that got it moving for us at that stage and within a few days of giving EA a good telling off we received the contracts. Might be worth a shot for your own sanity to get some sort of an answer

lolliers2009 wrote: »

No solicitors representing KBC are Woods Hogan and Co.
Our solicitors are quite happy to keep on top of them and WH have advised our sols that they are as keen to settle as we are but that these repos tend to go in to a 'black hole' and take ages but they are doing their best and not ripping us off thankfully.
Our sols have sent a letter direct to KBC, I don't know how far that will get us!

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Yes I know, the poster did say it wasn't bank owned so I was just curious as to what it is in this case...
Exactly, you just need to find someone that is willing to get things done, not an easy feat in this business. I think you're right about rubbishing the letter writing, they are just being opened by the secretary and falling into a black hole I'd imagine...
Ours is not being managed as it is in need of some work and is not tenanted. I know the company that manages their properties also and have been informed that they do not have this one on their books... If they had, they would be able to help. Another dead end!

Have you seen any name from kbc mentioned ? Usually you will find a name on some document

You will be able to find their email address easily enough , email him direct saying you really need to move this on or you will look at other properties

lolliers2009

For anyone in a similar situation wondering how this went we received signed contracts back yesterday 5 and a half months after going sale agreed. All in their own time!! We were just starting to give up hope...

leanonme

lolliers2009 wrote: »

For anyone in a similar situation wondering how this went we received signed contracts back yesterday 5 and a half months after going sale agreed. All in their own time!! We were just starting to give up hope...

Just wondering did you have a morgage, I have morgage approval and currenlty hoping to buy a house sold by the bank, but as far as i know there is a lenght of time before we would have to reapply for a morgage. was this the case with you?

lolliers2009

leanonme wrote: »

Just wondering did you have a morgage, I have morgage approval and currenlty hoping to buy a house sold by the bank, but as far as i know there is a lenght of time before we would have to reapply for a morgage. was this the case with you?

Hi leanonme
We had no mortgage thankfully. Almost 6 months the process took from sale agreed to getting keys today!

leanonme

lolliers2009 wrote: »

Hi leanonme
We had no mortgage thankfully. Almost 6 months the process took from sale agreed to getting keys today!

Congrats on geting the keys. I really hope we get something soon. We can deal with 6 months, as we have 5 months left on our initaly morgage approval and I think we get a futher 3-4 if we go sale agreed. Nearly perfect another 6 months as it would leave us with more savings.

Ms2011

Going to my solicitor on Thursday to pay 10 percent of the balance of the house & sign contracts.
Some light at the end of the tunnel at last after 17 months.