Don't know what to do or who to complain to

suziqqq

Offered on a house and was accepted 22nd March
All my legal work for my sale is done up to exchange including survey and mortgage offer for my purchase. Just found out our vendor has only signed paperwork for my purchase last week and the solicitor has only requested the searches yesterday so my vendors legal work was day 1 yesterday. We have been told as it is only day 2 now it will take 8 to 12 weeks.
Our chain is about to collapse as those at the bottom won't wait.
Im furious as you can imagine as we were not told until my buyer rang me today and said they had been told by their solicitor. Nobody told me and its my purchase !!! more annoyed that it has taken my vendor 11 weeks to sign paperwork, who can i complain to

Idiophreak

suziqqq wrote: »

who can i complain to

Normally nobody. It's just the perils of house moving.

Take this as a life lesson. You have to ride solicitors. Hard. Every day. Otherwise things take forever.

Why have you left it so long to find out what's going on?

If the answer starts "I assumed..." then that's your problem right there.

DaftyDuck

I suppose it's a bit harsh, but you really should have been more on top of this yourself. I'd certainly have contacted the EA after a week to check what progress had been made, and if my solicitor hadn't reported any progress within the following week, I'd have put a rocket up the agent's bottom place, for him to pass on to his vendor. So, by mid - April at the very latest, I'd have known there was a problem, and I'd have acted on it.

Anyway, what had the vendor been told by their solicitor? You're not very clear on that. My guess would be that they may have been hoping for a better offer in the intervening time.

I'd have thought the others in the chain have more reason to blame you than anyone else, even your vendor, as he may well have his own agenda. Or be away with the fairies. Who knows, if nobody chased him, and who's that going to be, if not you?

ACG

8-12 WEEKS!!!
Someone is having a laugh.

I have don a mortgage which rom seeing the client to them picking up the keys was 23 days (it involved a mortgage). Dont get me wrong that is not the norm, but if legal work can be done in 3 weeks why yours are saying 8-12 is beyond me!

ClareTeaches

ACG wrote: »

8-12 WEEKS!!!
Someone is having a laugh.

I have don a mortgage which rom seeing the client to them picking up the keys was 23 days (it involved a mortgage). Dont get me wrong that is not the norm, but if legal work can be done in 3 weeks why yours are saying 8-12 is beyond me!

Thank you, I'm glad you said this! Sounds like sols are trying to fob people off with this one!

Our sols have said 6-8 weeks from when they get the draft contract, which I've told can be 2-3 weeks, so they're essentially suggesting 8-11 weeks for us from when they got the memo of sale - I thought this sounded pretty ridiculous, considering there is no chain (we're FTBs and the house is empty) and our mortgage offer was sent out yesterday.

Maybe 8-12 is what they're saying now, so when they do it in 6-8 weeks you're grateful?!

OP, your situation sounds very stressful. Would there be any way of you completing on your sale and living in rented/with friends or family, with your possessions in storage until you complete on your purchase?

ACG

Just to add to this... My client did have to pay an extra £50 to the solicitors to get them to do the legal work in 2-3 weeks but if it costs you an extra £50 keep the chain intact then its money well spent.

tigsly

I think om average a 'house purchase can take 8 -12 weeks - (Cubitt and West told me 'it regularly takes 17 weeks.. but they (IMO) are a rubbish EA.. (or at least the branch i dealt with were..)

That said, legal works ccan be done quicker - depending on how much needs to happen.. a cash sale - is going to take less time than a mortgaged one.. and you are at the mercy of your local area .. the website told us 'searches take up to 14 days.. but in reality it took 6 weeks- as 'staff sickness' .. had lead to a backlog!

I suggest you 'hassle hassle hassle.. and if your buyers are going to drop out - you need to remarket..

suziqqq

I was led to believe the hold up was my mortgage as only had the offer last week so did not chase anything as thought it was at my end. i found out today the vendor failed to tell the EA that she joint owned the property with her ex who lives in Nigeria and only came back last week to sign paperwork hence the delay.
I can't complete on my sale and move out as I have 4 dogs and no way i will put them in kennels

suziqqq

ACG i would gladly pay extra to move it along faster.
Tiglsy My buyer is not dropping out its their buyer, we will wait for them if they can resell quickly

JimmyTheWig

suziqqq wrote: »

Offered on a house and was accepted 22nd March
Just found out ... the solicitor has only requested the searches yesterday
who can i complain to

I would have said complain to your solicitors.
I accept what others have been saying in terms of you should have chased them for an update, but if nothing had been returned between the end of March and the beginning of June I would have thought that the solicitors should have told you.

Presumably you are using the same solicitors for the sale and the purchase?

suziqqq

yes Jimmy The Wig using the same solicitors they told me they were waiting to hear from my vendors solicitors not that nothing has been done