Am I being impatient? Conveyancing.

Bazshawkins

First time buyer here.

We had an offer accepted on a property about 6 weeks ago, solicitor and mortgage not in place as it all happened very quickly, but we pushed these along as fast as we could and appointed a solicitor by the end of the week we had the offer accepted. Mortgage offer was received about 2 weeks ago now, survey done and all satisfactory on that front.

So the solicitor has basically had over a month, received initial paperwork from the vendor, and then 2 weeks ago sent back a list of questions to the vendor's solicitor. He also sent me the link to Conveyance Link to track progress.

Since then, the mortgage offer has come through (with valuation) and I have sent him our survey. I only ever hear from him by email after 5pm each day, and an example of this is as follows:

Him: Are you happy with all risks in outlined in the valuation?
Me: Yes, except I'm not clear whether it says the mortgage is dependent on electrical surveys, or if this is just a recommendation - what is your interpretation of this?

Radio silence for 24 hours

Him: I can't see anything that refers to the mortgage depending on electrical surveys - can you tell me which bit you're referring to and I'll check?
Me: Section 11...

Next morning:
Me: Any chance you can let me know asap, so that I can get some quotes from electricians to hurry things along ;);) I'm a bit concerned that nothing much seems to have happened for two weeks, and would like to save time where I can.

Radio silence for 7 hours

Him: I see what you mean - section 11 is unclear. I'll fax the lender tomorrow. I also emailed the estate agent today to chase the answers to the questions I sent the vendor over a week ago.

________
Am I being overly impatient? It just seems that there is zero urgency. We used this company on a good recommendation and they were far from the cheapest quote we had, so I was expecting plenty of communication and efficiency. I'm getting very frustrated as the above episode could have feasibly (in my opinion) been resolved within an hour or two with a couple of phone calls - he could have rung the lender to get an answer and I could have cracked on with getting quotes. Instead, he'll fax the lender, probably not get a response from them for a while, then let me know at the end of the day by which point it will be another day before I can get any quotes.

Please tell me this is normal, and it is just my inexperience! :mad:

redapple1

My experience is even worse than this!

Thrugelmir

Up to you to follow up on the survey not your solicitor.

Bazshawkins

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Up to you to follow up on the survey not your solicitor.

I'm not talking about the survey, I'm asking him about a condition on the mortgage valuation, and I'm asking him for his professional opinion on this.

cool_techie

Bazshawkins wrote: »

First time buyer here.

We had an offer accepted on a property about 6 weeks ago, solicitor and mortgage not in place as it all happened very quickly, but we pushed these along as fast as we could and appointed a solicitor by the end of the week we had the offer accepted. Mortgage offer was received about 2 weeks ago now, survey done and all satisfactory on that front.

So the solicitor has basically had over a month, received initial paperwork from the vendor, and then 2 weeks ago sent back a list of questions to the vendor's solicitor. He also sent me the link to Conveyance Link to track progress.

Since then, the mortgage offer has come through (with valuation) and I have sent him our survey. I only ever hear from him by email after 5pm each day, and an example of this is as follows:

Him: Are you happy with all risks in outlined in the valuation?
Me: Yes, except I'm not clear whether it says the mortgage is dependent on electrical surveys, or if this is just a recommendation - what is your interpretation of this?

Radio silence for 24 hours

Him: I can't see anything that refers to the mortgage depending on electrical surveys - can you tell me which bit you're referring to and I'll check?
Me: Section 11...

Next morning:
Me: Any chance you can let me know asap, so that I can get some quotes from electricians to hurry things along ;);) I'm a bit concerned that nothing much seems to have happened for two weeks, and would like to save time where I can.

Radio silence for 7 hours

Him: I see what you mean - section 11 is unclear. I'll fax the lender tomorrow. I also emailed the estate agent today to chase the answers to the questions I sent the vendor over a week ago.

________
Am I being overly impatient? It just seems that there is zero urgency. We used this company on a good recommendation and they were far from the cheapest quote we had, so I was expecting plenty of communication and efficiency. I'm getting very frustrated as the above episode could have feasibly (in my opinion) been resolved within an hour or two with a couple of phone calls - he could have rung the lender to get an answer and I could have cracked on with getting quotes. Instead, he'll fax the lender, probably not get a response from them for a while, then let me know at the end of the day by which point it will be another day before I can get any quotes.

Please tell me this is normal, and it is just my inexperience! :mad:

My two pence on this. No, you are not being Overly impatient.

However, there are some things you can do to turn around things to your side.

1. Use precise pointers in communications - Wherever possible, use Section numbers, sub-section reference, paragraphs, page numbers. If possible, quote or copy paste from the documents. Remember, lawyers are used to legal language and go through multiple legal documents on a daily basis. So conversing in 'their' language will help in getting accurate responses.

2. Work the Agent - Remember along with you, thee agent does have a stake in the sale process. So ring up the agent frequently to update on progress and get them to chase people - even your solicitors.

3. Patience is a virtue - Having said that you are NOT being Overly impatient, in some instances with the solicitors, patience is indeed advisable. The solicitors are also working behind the scenes for Anti-money laundering checks, clarifications from the vendors solictors etc. So they may be tied as well.

4. Use multiple communication modes - I'm assuming from the last paragraph of your post that the solicitors have been appointed by you and not the lenders. So you have every right to talk to them about the delayed responses and ask for a telephone number. If they are local, then best to drop by and give them a nudge. Nothing beats face to face communication, even in this Internet Age.

Finally, trust that everyone is working towards a successful completion of the sale. Having a positive belief works wonders. Buying/Selling houses and the wait after offer acceptance is no doubt a stressful time. But with a positive attitude and loads of willpower, you can move mountains.

Good Luck.
S

Bazshawkins

Thanks CT, very reassuring and good advice. Yes - we appointed the solicitor based on a family recommendation. I'm sure things are going on behind the scenes, and I've acknowledged that to the solicitor - it is more his '5pm email' approach to communication that is frustrating to me!

I wil remain positive and keep doing my best to chivvy everyone along.

Fire_Fox

Why do you think 24 hours is a long time? He has other clients and will have to pull your file before responding. The issue could only be resolved in an hour or two if the solicitor dropped every other case he is dealing with and cancelled all his appointments! Doing all your e-mails at a set time is a legitimate method of time management.

Bazshawkins

Fire_Fox wrote: »

Why do you think 24 hours is a long time? He has other clients and will have to pull your file before responding. The issue could only be resolved in an hour or two if the solicitor dropped every other case he is dealing with and cancelled all his appointments! Doing all your e-mails at a set time is a legitimate method of time management.

Well that was sort of why I was asking the question on here - to see what other people thought.

I suppose it is in part because I have discussed with him more than once, since the very start, that we had sort of vaguely identified the 15th Dec as a good date to move, but we'd need to exchange a month before that to give notice on our current rented place. I've asked him plenty of times if in his opinion this is still feasible, and he has said yes yes yes.

So for it to then get to a month out, and for me to suggest to him 'this date isn't feasible now, is it', and not get a reasonably speedy email back is a bit off putting. If he knows things are dragging, possibly through no fault of his own, I'd think it would be decent to let the client know.

kmmr

Bazshawkins wrote: »

Well that was sort of why I was asking the question on here - to see what other people thought.

I suppose it is in part because I have discussed with him more than once, since the very start, that we had sort of vaguely identified the 15th Dec as a good date to move, but we'd need to exchange a month before that to give notice on our current rented place. I've asked him plenty of times if in his opinion this is still feasible, and he has said yes yes yes.

So for it to then get to a month out, and for me to suggest to him 'this date isn't feasible now, is it', and not get a reasonably speedy email back is a bit off putting. If he knows things are dragging, possibly through no fault of his own, I'd think it would be decent to let the client know.

I must admit that my solicitor responds immediately to short emails. If I send him an essay with 20 issues he normally takes a few days to come back (as you'd expect), but if it's a quick question like 'any sign of searches today', or 'can you ask the vendors if they have made progress on the x y z', then he normally gets back to me immediately.

It's one of the things I appreciate most. Plus if I ever call he makes me feel like he has nothing else more important to do than to explain the nuances of chains, or transferring money, or whatever minor issue is stressing me out at that moment!

Fire_Fox

Bazshawkins wrote: »

Well that was sort of why I was asking the question on here - to see what other people thought.

I suppose it is in part because I have discussed with him more than once, since the very start, that we had sort of vaguely identified the 15th Dec as a good date to move, but we'd need to exchange a month before that to give notice on our current rented place. I've asked him plenty of times if in his opinion this is still feasible, and he has said yes yes yes.

So for it to then get to a month out, and for me to suggest to him 'this date isn't feasible now, is it', and not get a reasonably speedy email back is a bit off putting. If he knows things are dragging, possibly through no fault of his own, I'd think it would be decent to let the client know.

So you hoped to exchange contracts within five weeks of instructing your conveyancer? That was never likely to happen, no idea why your solicitor said that was reasonable. Virtually everything has to be done and dusted by exchange! Completing by mid December was possible if you were willing to exchange a week before.

Three to four months from start to finish is standard, flats tend to take longer because of queries to the freeholder, chains also slow things down. You aren't to know this as an FTB but you'd have been a week ahead if you had your conveyancer on standby.

When you have asked him again have you just asked about the date for completion or for exchange? He may have forgotten you want a fast exchange yet a slow completion.

MelaBella

Dont expect solisiotrs to respond immendiately. Like FireFox said they need to pull up the file and have to be careful and triple check that the relpies are correct to their knowledge.