Don't hold your breath for an exchange next week. Solicitors these days tend to like to exchange and complete contracts on the same day - moving day - which is bad. Push like mad though for an earlier exchange as then you can more or less guarantee that the sale will go through and you're not worrying on completion day whether or not the whole thing will collapse. Have any of the searches come back yet? Once they are all back, things tend to move pretty quickly

Oh blimey Chris, if they did that, then it would really be a last minute rush wouldn't it, which we just wouldn't want! I'll take your advice on that then.

We have received all the paperwork and solicitor's comments on the searches for our purchase, and the only concern is a landfill site. Not an intended landfill site, but one that was done years ago and filled over, and is 500 metres away. On the map it gives us, it is 4 roads away in the actual football club that is there now, so I really wouldn't think it to be a concern?

No searches have been mentioned about our own property, all she says on that is she has received the draft contract back from our buyer's solicitors for us to answer the questions and sign. We have a covenant on ours, and one of our concerns is that it states that fences are to be no higher than 4ft 6" whereas all of our fencing is 6ft, but it's all been here for over 25 years, everybody else along this stretch has 6ft fencing, so I don't know quite how to answer that one? i.e. they are asking if we've stuck to the covenants. We might plead ignorance on this! Is it common to have a covenant on a house then? She might have to explain all this to us before we answer, it's all gobbledegook to us!

Just say that all fences are the same height as when you moved in, but if they so wish you'll happily start up your chain saw and cut them all back to 4ft. 6" see what they say

Lol, yes, chainsaw, that's the answer!!!

I rang the estate agent, he said these old covenants are part of our title deeds and are obsolete now anyway, it's just legal jargon, going through the motions so to speak, coz the house is so old. It was mostly about whether we had carried on a business from the house, or done anything to upset the neighbours which we haven't, we couldn't understand half of it, and if collared, we will say the fencing was here when we moved in - end of then! Thanks for that tip H

As Dave said, half of the information we've had to give, should have come up in the searches, and considering we were given the option of making an appointment with our solicitor to help us complete these forms, makes you wonder whether it's all bolony to make you spend another £200 an hour with them doesn't it. We've done it all ourselves, so saved ourselves some dosh, and worded our answers very carefully, i.e. "to the best of our knowledge" lol! It was never this involved 25 years ago I'm sure of that! The joys of the internet I suppose, especially that radon gas!! Who knows how much radon gas you're producing in your house if you've never had it tested, let alone even heard of it! Methane yes, but radon??? oooer!

The disputes with neighbours one is hilarious.

My old neighbour never liked me and I never disputed that so the answer was no