What is the Quickest Time Solicitors Can Do Their Stuff?

Richard_Webster

It turns out that the person at the top of the chain's solicitor has been 'sat on' the paperwork and hasn't even sorted out the contract.

Difficult to know what is involved here without more explanation. The person at the top is selling, so his solicitor would be supplying a draft contract and copy documents, replies to standard enquires etc to his buyer's solicitor. Are you saying this hasn't been done yet?

If that is the case the solicitor acting for his buyer wouldn't have sent off searches yet so it will largely depend on how long the searches take in that particular area. Once searches are back and any questions answered on the papers submitted that buyer's solicitor can report to his client and get documents signed.

OP and all the others in the chain need to understand that it is precisely because things like this happen on a "Sod's Law" basis that it is not really sensible to try to fix completion dates in advance until you know everybody is ready. Typically a number of folk in a chain/their estate agents will get together and "agree" a date but unfortunately they do not do their homework and ask all the solicitors concerned how feasible the date is.

Even if at the outset the solicitors say a date seems reasonable, this will assume that everyone acts with normal speed and there are no unreasonable delays. Estimates will need to be revised as the weeks pass. No good saying that on 1st October you all "agreed" a date of 18th November or whatever without continually checking that it remains likely.

If asked, then a sensible solicitor would tell his clients that they should not set dates in concrete. Did the parties in this chain have a continuing dialogue with their solicitors about dates? If I am asked in this kind of situation, I might say things like: "Well, it looks OK from our point of view, but I don't know what is happening above us in the chain...."

FTB129

Im in the same position waiting for the top of the chain who seem in no real urgency, can completely understand your frustration

cynicalgit_2

This is precisely why the English conveyancing system is so utterly inept and not fit for purpose.
It won't change because there are too many pigs in the trough.

Lizbetty

Richard_Webster wrote: »

Difficult to know what is involved here without more explanation. The person at the top is selling, so his solicitor would be supplying a draft contract and copy documents, replies to standard enquires etc to his buyer's solicitor. Are you saying this hasn't been done yet?

If that is the case the solicitor acting for his buyer wouldn't have sent off searches yet so it will largely depend on how long the searches take in that particular area. Once searches are back and any questions answered on the papers submitted that buyer's solicitor can report to his client and get documents signed.

Op and all the others in the chain need ot understand that it is precisely because things like this happen on a "Sod's Law" basis that it is not really sensible to try to fix completion dates in advance until you know everybody is ready. Typically a number of folk a chain/their estate agents will get together and "agree" a date but unfortunately they do not do their homework and ask all the solicitors concerned how feasible the date is.

Even if at the outset the solicitor say a date seems reasonable, this will assume that everyone acts with normal speed and there are no unreasonable delays. Estimates will need to be revised as the weeks pass. No good saying that on 1st October you all "agreed" a date of 18th November or whatever without continually checking that it remains likely.

If asked then a sensible solicitor would tell his clients that he should not set dates in concrete. Did the parties in this chain have a continuing dialogue with their solicitors about dates? If I am asked in this kind of situation I might say things like: "Well, it looks OK from our point of view, but I don't know what is happening above us in the chain...."

As far as I'm aware, the contract paperwork was sent to our vendors on Friday evening by mail and the searches on their property haven't as yet been done. The searches will take 48 hours as we're all in the same district, this is how long we were told ours would take to come through (which came back last week). My solicitor has emailed to say that 18th November isn't possible because our lender will need a week to release funds, and so that's basically today we have to sort it out

And so if this is the case, it won't be the 18th as the solicitor we're all waiting for isn't answering his phone.

As soon as our buyer mentioned the 18th November, I made sure that our agents, vendors and our solicitors knew this is what we were heading for. Our vendors passed this on to their vendors too, and at that stage everyone* said it was realistic. You're right though, completely pointless and a waste of energy as our vendor's solicitor allegedly hadn't even been told they were buying on. It's frustrating as in my position in the chain, I can only communicate to a certain point, I can't ring all of the solicitors in the chain and so can't take responsibility for the delays caused by other people not communicating properly.

I feel like having a day off ringing and emailing to be honest. It feels like there's only me doing it!

*everyone - I mean the people I was able to contact. Herein lies in the problem, it seems!

Lizbetty

Also, our solicitor totally swerved the question re the settlement dispute but instead asked if we would find out if our vendor would be prepared to break the chain. Hmm. Obviously not wanting to make the phone call!

katbapu

Hi,

this is the first time i have ever posted, i have just joined as i wanted some advice, and i dont know how to create a new post!its all very new to me...

basically me and my partner have been house hunting for a couple of years, eventually found a house, put an offer in after viewing twice and it was accepted, EA said vendors wanted it go through quickly, within the space of a week mortgage had been fully approved and solicitors were instructed,

the day before the survey was meant to be carried out had a call from the EA to say something has happened and the seller is taking the property off the market..

anyway a couple of weeks have passed, and i have now found out, albeit hearsay, that the neighbour didnt want asian neighbours and the seller agreed a private sale with his neighbours,

any advice on what i can do if anything at all?

much appreciated and sorry for the essay

DominicJ_2

Lucy
My searches were requested today and the solicitor received the mortgage offer today, we're shooting for the 29th.
Phone the sellers at the top of the chain and find out whats going on, a few days delay is hardly a problem, a few months, and its walk away time.

Katbapu
In short, nothing.
You put an offer on a house, someone else put a higher offer.
Consider it a blessing, would you really want to live next to someone who is prepared to buy the house to stop you?

Lizbetty

DominicJ, good luck with your move. I hope you have more luck than us! We're being treated like morons for even mentioning a date. The estate agents we're buying from have three times lectured us on why we have to leave things with the solicitors and shut up about dates.

This is the agent who forgot to pass on instructions to the solicitor about the house our vendor was buying from them (they are selling and buying with the same agent) and left the solicitor assuming they were moving into rented. And also the same agent who have an aftersales department 'to make sure things are watertight' but who don't chase the solicitor they recommended to make sure they have looked at the pieces of paper they eventually send them about on the sale/purchase. And the solicitors who haven't acted on anything until someone woke them from their apparent slumber and told them about the papers on their desk.

I've just had an email from the agents pretty much saying 'we can't give you any dates at the moment, so stop mentioning them'.

I've sent them an email back and said that we're not prepared to lose our buyer, and as such if we don't get some honest, firm answers as to what is outstanding from all parties and confirmation that there are no settlement disputes, then we will have to have a rethink.

I'm livid, I already have four tabs open on Rightmove to get a Plan B. I love the house we're supposed to be buying, but it took us two years to sell our house and I'm not upsetting our buyer and risking them pulling out for anybody.

It's so frustrating. I'm exhausted with it. And our solicitor will be too - I've been in touch at least twice every day checking progress, and she replies within moments of my emails. If everyone else is so committed to moving, I don't understand why they're not the same?

I've had enough of it to be honest.

Lizbetty

katbapu wrote: »

Hi,

this is the first time i have ever posted, i have just joined as i wanted some advice, and i dont know how to create a new post!its all very new to me...

basically me and my partner have been house hunting for a couple of years, eventually found a house, put an offer in after viewing twice and it was accepted, EA said vendors wanted it go through quickly, within the space of a week mortgage had been fully approved and solicitors were instructed,

the day before the survey was meant to be carried out had a call from the EA to say something has happened and the seller is taking the property off the market..

anyway a couple of weeks have passed, and i have now found out, albeit hearsay, that the neighbour didnt want asian neighbours and the seller agreed a private sale with his neighbours,

any advice on what i can do if anything at all?

much appreciated and sorry for the essay

Katbapu - I would say that by the sound of it, you've had a lucky escape if that's their neighbour's attitude.

There's probably very little you can do about hearsay, best put it down to fate and I'm absolutely sure something better will come along.

I think putting stuff down to fate is probably what prevents a lot of people swinging from the rafters in these situations!

katbapu

i think im at the point of losing the will to live, saving for so many years and its so frustrating that there are no laws to protect the buyers!!!