28 days - but it was a brand new house and we had all the paperwork sorted as we had already sold (5 in the chain). Normally when you exchange there is 4 weeks until legal completion but this can vary when a quick move is needed and there is only a week or two gap. I know of people buying flats that have exchanged on a thursday and completed friday afternoon.
I was under pressure by the guy at the top of the chain to exchange by last Tuesday 5pm or else!! and we did it at 4.30!!! phew!! we're completing on the 30th Aug (my wife is due early Sep with our second child)- at the behest of the guy that put the deadline of last tuesday - despite everyone else in the chain wanting early Aug as completion latest.
The solicitors acting for our buyers were crap - I had to do alot of the work for them - chasing up searches, buying plans etc. I felt sorry for our buyers who basically thought their solicitor was totally inept!
basically the whole sorry experience has been a joke
Both estate agents are absolutely useless + you never get returned calls . Even when the offer went in I was left hanging over the weekend not knowing what was going on.
The sellers solicitors are super useless and need constant chasing to get anything done,
Luckily my solicitors are good
Basically I always wondered why everyone hated estate agents .. . now I know
And when you combine them with man's second most hated profession, the solicitor, you know the whole sorry experience is going to be painful from start to finish.
We made an offer on April 10th which was accepted, and we're finally moving in next Monday, August 7, 4 months down the line!
Dont know how the solicitors justify their fees as I must have rung them about 50 times, and it was only through constant asking that I found out the caseworker we were given, had gone on leave and passed it over to someone else.
From offer to move in on my current place was 25 weeks....don't even ask.
As for exchange/complete, in theory it's two weeks between the two but in practice anything. The first place I ever bought I exchanged and completed on the same day.