Can I sue the Solicitor?

Scahimp

I sold my house at the end of January, It is now the 1st May and we have still not exchanged. My house has been empty since the end of February.
The problem has been my buyers solicitor. They wanted some paperwork from the local authority but would not say which document. Eventually they advised my solicitor as to the document needed. When the document came from the council it has nothing to do with the property I am selling.
As the buyers solicitor has held up the sale, can I insist that they pay the extra interest I have had to pay on my mortgage and also on a couple of loans I was going to pay off with the funds.
It is about time the law was changed so solicitors are given a set time to do the conveyancing and after that set time they have to pay a penalty. I think they forget it is us that are employing them and not the other way round.

slater14

In brief - No.

Scahimp

Pity, but I suppose it all has to be there way!

Elliott_Woods

I think you should put pressure on the Buyers tell them that if exchange does not happen by a certain date (not too far away) then the property will go back on the market at a higher price.

Hopefully this should get them and their solicitors moving!

jazzyjustlaw

Most Solicitors work really hard at conveyancing. How can you rush approximately 58 steps of selling a property and 70+ on buying. If things happen to quickly things go wrong. In my experience Solicitors do things as quick as they can. There are a lot of things that are out of their hands and are not the only people in the transaction. They are also INSTRUCTED by their client. Matters are extra complicated when a client wants a simulataenous exchange if they are not ready to sell their existing property they might not be ready to move in to thier new one unless they are stinking rich. Anyway thats my opinion and I am sticking to it.

alanobrien

Scahimp wrote:

I sold my house at the end of January, It is now the 1st May and we have still not exchanged. My house has been empty since the end of February.
The problem has been my buyers solicitor. They wanted some paperwork from the local authority but would not say which document. Eventually they advised my solicitor as to the document needed. When the document came from the council it has nothing to do with the property I am selling.
As the buyers solicitor has held up the sale, can I insist that they pay the extra interest I have had to pay on my mortgage and also on a couple of loans I was going to pay off with the funds.
It is about time the law was changed so solicitors are given a set time to do the conveyancing and after that set time they have to pay a penalty. I think they forget it is us that are employing them and not the other way round.

I think people put far to much faith in solicitors and assume just because they have a law degree they know everything. Believe me i know different and that's with 2 Oxford qualified solicitors in the family.

Sounds like your buyers solicitor has not been working effectively in the interests of their client.

As someone else here said, its up to your buyer to put pressure on their solicitor to ensure the process moves forward. If that does not happen, in my experience the process will drag on and on and on.

Conveyancing is a simple mechanical process and should not be that difficult to finalise in a short time frame.

I recommend a read The conveyincing Fraud by Micheal Joseph a very enlightening text.

terrierlady

best idea is treat a "sale "as an offer, its not sold until completion. sometimes even exchange of contracts can go pear shaped.
I know that to move on one must take some decisions and do surveys etc but moving out is very brave.
Its a strange system in england but the solicitor can only do so much.

Bossyboots

What exactly was the document? How do you know it has nothing to do with your property. Sometimes it is wise to do searches of the local area or check planning consents before buying a property. If they were waiting for something like this then they have done their duty by their clients. Remember, your buyer's solicitor is acting for them, not you. Their duty is to their clients, not to you.

jazzyjustlaw

alanobrien wrote:

I think people put far to much faith in solicitors and assume just because they have a law degree they know everything. Believe me i know different and that's with 2 Oxford qualified solicitors in the family.

Sounds like your buyers solicitor has not been working effectively in the interests of their client.

As someone else here said, its up to your buyer to put pressure on their solicitor to ensure the process moves forward. If that does not happen, in my experience the process will drag on and on and on.

Conveyancing is a simple mechanical process and should not be that difficult to finalise in a short time frame.

I recommend a read The conveyincing Fraud by Micheal Joseph a very enlightening text.

Short and simple - why dont you try it if its that easy. Oh and I have a law degree and I don't know everything - why should I? I know my field and more. So many people ask me things then don't like what they hear and say that someone told them different. People blame Solicitors for far too much. Its an easy thing to do you get into a mess (although doesnt apply to this thread) then go to a Solicitor and expect them to be a magician then blame them when they can't sort it out.

Anyway no offence just telling you how I see it. Solicitors are just normal human beings and the ones I know really try and help people.

alanobrien

jazzyjustlaw wrote:

Short and simple - why dont you try it if its that easy. Oh and I have a law degree and I don't know everything - why should I? I know my field and more. So many people ask me things then don't like what they hear and say that someone told them different. People blame Solicitors for far too much. Its an easy thing to do you get into a mess (although doesnt apply to this thread) then go to a Solicitor and expect them to be a magician then blame them when they can't sort it out.

Anyway no offence just telling you how I see it. Solicitors are just normal human beings and the ones I know really try and help people.

Sounds like i hit a raw nerve there somewhere, anyway
No offence taken, i enjoy honest an open debate and i agree people do expect far to much at times but i have direct experience of lets just say less than efficient legal representation and i reserve my right to express my opinion which is based on personal experience.

Incidentally, i have indeed performed my own conveyancing in the past, i sold my leasehold flat and bought a freehold house after reading the book i mentioned above and like most other things i found the process to be quite mechanical once researched enough.

That was some years back when i had spare time and fees were a lot higher in real terms than they are today.

Indeed today its hardly worth the time and effort to do your own conveyancing as there are some solicitors who perform a no sale no fee service. I used one in a recent move and they were fine to deal with.

So to summarise i am not attacking solicitors in general, just stating the obvious, that some are better than others
and that there are other self help options.

And since this is a money saving board its worth mentioning that it is far more cost effective to spend time trying to reduce the ridiculously high estate agents fees than it is to worry about solicitors fees.

jazzyjustlaw

alanobrien wrote:

Sounds like i hit a raw nerve there somewhere, anyway
No offence taken, i enjoy honest an open debate and i agree people do expect far to much at times but i have direct experience of lets just say less than efficient legal representation and i reserve my right to express my opinion which is based on personal experience.

Incidentally, i have indeed performed my own conveyancing in the past, i sold my leasehold flat and bought a freehold house after reading the book i mentioned above and like most other things i found the process to be quite mechanical once researched enough.

That was some years back when i had spare time and fees were a lot higher in real terms than they are today.

Indeed today its hardly worth the time and effort to do your own conveyancing as there are some solicitors who perform a no sale no fee service. I used one in a recent move and they were fine to deal with.

So to summarise i am not attacking solicitors in general, just stating the obvious, that some are better than others
and that there are other self help options.

And since this is a money saving board its worth mentioning that it is far more cost effective to spend time trying to reduce the ridiculously high estate agents fees than it is to worry about solicitors fees.

No not a raw nerve indeed I work in litigation. No profession is perfect. I am impressed that you did your conveyancing although I have done some conveyancing work in the past I am actually studying it at the moment and its harder because all of the forms etc have recently changed.

So what profession are you in. I am just interested thats all.