Countrywide Property Lawyers

Mrs_Optimist

Has anyone had any dealing with the above - good or bad?

Chunters_a_lot

I used them twice and was happy both times.

It is a bit of a call centre approach but if you need to speak to the same person it is possible.

The second time I used them my house purchase was fairly complex but they kept on top of things.

It is over 5 years ago since I last used them but at the time I would have recommended them.

Mrs_Optimist

Thanks for your reply - I should have mentioned that my buyer is using them - recommended to him by our EA. Our contract was sent out over a week ago and they have not acknowledged receipt, returned my sol's calls asking for their ref etc. My Sol said this is not a good indication and my IFA has also had dealings with them and said they are notorious for being slow. Just wanted some other opinions.

ginandtonic1988

I work for conveyancers and I dread seeing them on the otherside of a transaction

keatergreyhound

OMG I about feel off my chair when I read this. We moved in December and the seller ouf our new house used them. They lost documents were the biggest pains in the bum ever. I was also told that EA get a little back hamder for reccomending them to clients. How true this is I dont know but please keep on at your solicitors to chase matters us as we nearly lost this house. Im not joking when I say my mortgage offer expired the day after we moved in it was that slower process

Mrs_Optimist

I will be on the phone to my EA tomorrow then - they recommended them to our (FTB) buyer "so they could keep a watchful eye over the transaction" - they can do the chasing. I am a bit peed off actually, they didn't have our best interests at heart when recommending these conveyancers, our buyer has no idea what they are like. We will be in a position to exhange with our vendor within the next few weeks, our buyer only signed his mortgage application on Monday (again using our EA inhouse mortgage advisor). Couldn't do it before apparantly becaue the mortgage advisor was fully booked - !!!!!!. So not only our EA making money out of us, they will be slowing up the whole transaction by taking a backhander for the conveyancing AND mortgage arranging.

I have had to chase our EA daily to determine that the mortgage application has been signed - and have been made to feel a right pain in the ar~~ for doing so. They want their commission they can blo~~dy well earn it!!

MegS

I'm with ginandtonic1988 - a collective groan goes round our office as well when they're on the other side.

horace_2

I have a feeling (perhaps incorrect?) that they are linked to the estate agents Bairstow Eaves. Does anyone know?

I sold a house 18 months ago where my purchaser`s were using these folk on the recommendation of Bairstow Eaves.

I will not bore you with chapter and verse suffice to say that if I ever need to sell again a condition of sale will be that the purchaser does not use these people for legal work.

horace.

WhatKatyDid_2

Yes, they are linked to Bairstow Eves, King & Chasemore, Mann Countrywide (to name a few....). As are Countrywide Surveyors too.... One large happy family!!

aimex

Yep, i agree with everything that has akready been said. They are very shoddy and very slow!

andi2

Countrywide?

They informed my convayancer at 2.30pm that they were expecting exchange & completion the next day (first we'd heard of it!)!! She'd never seen anything like it!! (yes we managed it!)

My conveyancer was a family friend & she said the same - the office hates it when they hear Countrywide are involved.