Is this normal????

Emmzi

I havent even met my buying solicito. My selling solicitor (one scots law, one english law btw) sent on proof of ID and we did the rest by email inc. questions.

She was a friends reccomendation tho - if I didnt trust my mate, I'd have wanted to meet.

Richard_Webster

There is something wrong if the conveyancer simply sent the documents and told you to read through them without any explanation of their contents.

Insist on talking to someone who can explain things. E-mail them a list of things you don't understand and ask for a reply with better explanations.

You should still be able to talk to someone because it is often only by interacting that way that you get to understand and the conveyancer can check that you have understood. We can be liable if we allow clients to proceed based upon any false assumptions that they have (and which they communicate to us) .

I don't get people in and go through everything in an interview because there is a danger something important will be missed out and if I tried to explain everything orally it would bore most people silly. I put it all down in writing and offer the opportunity for people to come back to me for explanations of anything they don't understand. They need to be able to read and reread what I have put down and call or e-mail me with queries.

It is quite silly not explaining fully because it wastes the conveyancer's time. They should know the questions that people normally ask and make sure their explanatory material answers them - but we are always discovering new things that people haven't understood and altering our explanations to take account of these things.

Fire_Fox

bluelad wrote: »

Yeah, well we knew the completion would be March, the current owners get their new house in the 1st week of march. We dont mind so much...living with parents so we're not in a rush to move...plus the house needs a lot of work so we're quite glad we've got the extra time to save the additional funding for works!

If your circumstances change between now and March and you cannot raise a mortgage (unexpected pregnancy/ long term illness or injury/ redundancy/ split up) you will still be legally obliged to complete the sale.

charliee_3

we had to do this with ours.. we signed everything and sent it back well in advance of the contract exchange date and then they hold it on file, so as soon as all parties are ready to exchnage they know they have all paperwork complete and ready to go. the reason you leave the date off is because it has to show the date of exchange of contract (which they dont know yet)

i think this is quite standard these days as many people use conveyencers that are nowhere near where they live (ours was in south wales, we live in essex) but they should be able to go through them on the phone with you and they probably marked all the places you need to sign. you need to get them witnessed too. we asked our neighbour.

good luck with it all, its scary, but if your conveyencer is on the ball you should be fine

Yorkie1

Fire_Fox wrote: »

If your circumstances change between now and March and you cannot raise a mortgage (unexpected pregnancy/ long term illness or injury/ redundancy/ split up) you will still be legally obliged to complete the sale.

And, looking at it from another perspective, you state that your vendors are moving to a new house in early March. That is quite some time away. If you set the completion date so far in advance, it is entirely possible that there may be delays in the new house being ready to move into - which could cause problems with completing.

I think the general suggestion is that it is less risky to delay exchange (and therefore setting the date of completion) until much nearer the anticipated completion time.

PottyHouse_2

bluelad wrote: »

Hi all!
Just a bit of advice needed please! I'm a first time buyer and had my offer accepted on a house. The vendors have expressed a desire to exchange before xmas and on Friday I recieved a load of paperwork from my conveyancer. On the letter from my conveyancer, it asks me to read through the documents and to return them to the office with the deposit. The documents include the Land registry, Land transaction returns, Contract, Deed of legal charge etc. Obviously i'm reading them all, but half of it doesnt make sense to me (all the technical terms etc).
I rang my conveyancer to express my worries that i dont understand half of it and questioned whether someone was meant to go through it with me before I commit myself to something by signing. Was told I'd get a call back....nothing yet!

Just wondered whether it was 'normal' to sign these docs at home and send them back or whether people have actually been to their conveyancers' offices to read and sign them?

Hope someone can shed a little light...this is all so new to me!!
Thanks!

Lots of useful replies on here which should help you but the pure fact that you don't understand half of the paperwork and you cannot get in touch with your Conveyancer to clarify, I would say don't sign until you know exactly what you are signing and committing yourself too. Once that's done and your deposit handed over there's no going back unless you are prepared to walk away out of pocket.
I would say you are in the perfect position, no property to sell etc, what is "their" rush ???? Why can't it wait a week or two after the mad Christmas rush and hopefully when your Conveyancer actually can take the time to see you and clarify - that is what you are paying them for afterall.
This is my 3rd time in a chain and I do envy you in your possession - try not to be rushed or intimidated !!!!
Good luck with it all :rotfl: