Conveyancing Solicitor issues

1trainer1

Hi there,

Sorry for the long post.

I have had a read on threads about solicitors ref conveyancing and have not found one that advised on my particular problem communicated. I have found some useful info on dealing with an incompetent solicitor.

We got our offer accepted in October and we started things moving immediately but had problems securing a mortgage due to the state of the property (Needs a lot of work and a lot of reports where requested by the mortgage provider). We finally got our mortgage towards the end of February and the solicitor told us that we would be set for exchanging by 30th March. I had everything in place and they had informed me that everything was in place and that they had been waiting for some paperwork form the vendor's solicitor (we where never told that this paperwork was the draft contract which was delayed because the house was not registered with the land registry and they needed to go to the vendor's mortgage provider which they neglected to chase up till after 5 months).

I received a letter on 23rd March saying that we would not be able to exchange because they had not received some paperwork and they still neglected to clarify that this was the draft contract. I chased the following week and was never successful in speaking to the lady who is acting for us. I finally got through to the owner of the firm and he had to look at the file and he explained what was happening. I made my disappointment in the lack of communication known and he said he will try and push the case for us. We now have everything in place and I went to drop off the paperwork that I received over Easter this morning. I was looking forward to discuss the exchange and completion dates and was told the lady acting on our behalf is off on holiday and the matter will be looked at upon her return which is next week Monday.

I have no problem with the lady taking a break but as she knew our situation she could have at least communicated to us and I also think she could have left instructions with a colleague to pick the file up and get things moving. This will further delay things for us. I am just wondering if it is common practice within solicitor firms to not pick each other's files when one is away?

G_M

had been waiting for some paperwork form the vendor's solicitor (we where never told that this paperwork was the draft contract which was delayed because the house was not registered with the land registry

So the delay was caused by the vendor's solicitor, not yours?

OK - communication could have been better, but the reality is that conveyancing never goes totally smoothly, and target Exchange/Completion dates are always just that: targets. They are never certain unil Exchange actually takes place.

As for the holiday - is this a small firm? Normally another solicior would pick up the workload, but in one-man or small firms holidays and absence for sickness can cause delays. Speak to the 'owner' / Senior Partner and ask him/her to pick up your case.

simple.

peterpownall

If you instructed your solicitor in October there is no excuse for not being advised until close to the end of Mrach that you could not complete by the end of March.
Your solicitors could have found out immediately you instructed them that the property was not registered via the Land Registry Portal and then requested the unregistered title from the seller's solicitors.
If the reason for the delay was the unregistered title deeds were missing your solicitor should have told you and at least you would have known not to pin your hopes on the completion date you had hoped for.
Such a lack of communication from your solicitor is unacceptable.

1trainer1

Thanks,

I am going to ring the solicitor today and have a word with one of the partners as I feel very let down.

We were really passionate about the house at the start and then slowly it went away with time as it started taking a long time and then last month the excitement came back and now it is going away and we are getting fed up.

We have thought more than once at pulling out but we really want the place and sometimes feel likes its not meant to be as we keep getting frustrated