Solicitors haven't received offer, complete in 3 days??!?!?!?!?!?!?

ComputeAngel

kingstreet wrote: »

These are the steps in the homebuying process. You need to establish exactly what has been done and what remains outstanding.

Offer agreed
Solicitors instructed
Sales memorandum issued by agent
Purchaser applies for mortgage
Vendor's solicitor prepares and issues draft contract
Vendor completes seller's enquiry forms and returns to solicitor
Valuation/survey carried out
Purchaser pays solicitor for searches
Searches requested
Renegotiation of price due to survey findings - if required
Mortgage offer issued
Purchaser's solicitor receives seller's enquiry forms and raises any enquiries
Searches returned
Responses to enquiries
Purchaser visits solicitor to go through paperwork, hand over ID and deposit
Completion date agreed between all parties
Contracts exchanged
Completion takes place.

If this is a sale with no agent, you needed to do the agent's work in setting up the sale/purchase. That means a solicitor for both parties (where there is a mortgage involved, both parties have to be legally represented) and a letter should have been circulated at the outset among the two parties and their solicitors, confirming the details of the transaction, in lieu of the agent's Sales Memorandum.

If there's no agent and no mortgage broker, both seller and buyer need to be more proactive. Expecting solicitors to advise on stuff outside their remit (like telling you the vendor needs a solicitor) is likely to end badly.

Really helpful post. Thanks

One addition if you can quickly make? - provide a brief (one-liner) description (e.g. what is involved, what needs to be done by each party) for each step, some are obvious but some (e.g. Solicitors instructed) are not so obvious.

Many thanks

kingstreet

Solicitors instructed - you tell a solicitor you want them to act for you.

I haven't got time to do the lot now.

Dave_Ham

ComputeAngel wrote: »

Really helpful post. Thanks

One addition if you can quickly make? - provide a brief (one-liner) description (e.g. what is involved, what needs to be done by each party) for each step, some are obvious but some (e.g. Solicitors instructed) are not so obvious.

Many thanks

Did make me laugh and Kingstreet's polite response.

Want me round to do your washing up later?

holidayhippo

kingstreet wrote: »

These are the steps in the homebuying process. You need to establish exactly what has been done and what remains outstanding.

Offer agreed
Solicitors instructed
Sales memorandum issued by agent
Purchaser applies for mortgage
Vendor's solicitor prepares and issues draft contract
Vendor completes seller's enquiry forms and returns to solicitor
Valuation/survey carried out
Purchaser pays solicitor for searches
Searches requested
Renegotiation of price due to survey findings - if required
Mortgage offer issued
Purchaser's solicitor receives seller's enquiry forms and raises any enquiries
Searches returned
Responses to enquiries
Purchaser visits solicitor to go through paperwork, hand over ID and deposit
Completion date agreed between all parties
Contracts exchanged
Completion takes place.

If this is a sale with no agent, you needed to do the agent's work in setting up the sale/purchase. That means a solicitor for both parties (where there is a mortgage involved, both parties have to be legally represented) and a letter should have been circulated at the outset among the two parties and their solicitors, confirming the details of the transaction, in lieu of the agent's Sales Memorandum.

If there's no agent and no mortgage broker, both seller and buyer need to be more proactive. Expecting solicitors to advise on stuff outside their remit (like telling you the vendor needs a solicitor) is likely to end badly.

oh Jesus. Sounds like we won't be completing anytime this year.

I understand to an extent that solicitors can't tell you everything, but perhaps a few more things should be explained to FTB?

Are things meant to happen in that order? Reading it appears so but that isn't at ALL whats happened.

Agreed price with seller.
mortgage in place, contracts signed with bank, Mortgage advisor said we need a solicitor and they need our details. (Around a week ago we moved all current accounts over and BA confirmed that all involvement with the bank was now done)

Visited the solicitor same day contract signed with the bank.
She recommended that seller has independent solicitor, (seller is family, she recommended it, didn't say it was a must [I understand now its a conflict of interest])

(appointment with the solicitor was 10 minutes or so?!) she took our details, sellers details, mortgage details and said we needed to take ID's and NI in.

Took ID's in next day. 5 days later received an estimated bill of profits/fee's they have to pay what we are to reimburse for etc) with a completion date of 06/02/2014

Phoned Monday as we hadn't herd anything. She hasn't done anything advised us that she hadn't received offer and seller needed solicitor.

She's phoned seller after our original meeting, apparently more like a courtesy call. Only on Monday did she make it clear he needed a solicitor of his own




If id had known exactly what was needed from us and the seller, I can assure you I would have been on it EVERY SINGLE DAY.

I feel I am being penalised for my lack of understanding. Surely Im paying my solicitors £X,XXX's for a little advice on what is expected of me in order for to complete.

Matt_ftb

I think you may be being slightly unfair on your solicitor. It isn't there job to tell the other party they need legal representation or to chase your mortgage offer.

On the face of it you could see it as you asking solicitor to do there job and that of a estate agent and broker. If your cutting the agent and broker out YOU need to do what they normally would.

Thrugelmir

holidayhippo wrote: »

Surely Im paying my solicitors £X,XXX's for a little advice on what is expected of me in order for to complete.

Do you want to pay £200 plus an hour for some one to hold your hand?

The bulk of your solicitors bill is for disbursements not fees.

Let_Us_See

holidayhippo wrote: »

I understand to an extent that solicitors can't tell you everything, but perhaps a few more things should be explained to FTB?

As FTBs it should be your responsibility to obtain sufficient knowledge and understanding of the mortgage process before submitting an application. It is a long time since I have read such a "clueless" approach, and I can only surmise that if you had approached a broker your experience (and knowledge) would have been greatly improved.

ACG

holidayhippo wrote: »

I feel I am being penalised for my lack of understanding. Surely Im paying my solicitors £X,XXX's for a little advice on what is expected of me in order for to complete.

Sounds like im being biased here based on my job but im not.

A solicitors job is not to guide you through the process, its to do the legal paperwork for you and the lender.

A Mortgage Broker would have guided you - or most likely done it all for you. The mortgage advisor in your bank is effectively a glorified sales person, not an advisor.

On the upside, you have probably learnt a hell of a lot and in future (assuming it hasnt scarred you) you will either know what to do, or know to use an actual mortgage broker to take it all away from you.

Keep us updated though and if you need any help along the way we will try to point you in the right direction.

kingstreet

FWIW it's no-one on the purchaser's side responsible for telling the purchaser that the vendor should have a solicitor.

TBH it's down to the vendor to find that out for him/herself.

Involving no selling agent confers a greater degree of responsibility on the part of the vendor to actually find out their position and requirements.

Triolette

Have you had a valuation on the property?
You will get a provisional mortgage offer (an Agreement in principal or a mortgage promise) but this doesn't mean anything until they value the house.
They won't give you £110,000 on a house worth £100,000.

I think our mortgage broker/estate agent arranged this with the vendor. We had a building survey at the same time.

Once this is done then you get the mortgage offer. Maybe with conditions attached?