Country Wide?

dattasatta

Offer accepted 26 June

Offer accepted on our (hopefully new home) 28 June

I have had to chase my sellers SOL once but other than that everything is fine:j

Running_Horse

cats! wrote: »

Last post obviously from a Countrywide employee!

Have you always been so ignorant? Or are you calling me a liar? The last post came from a satisfied customer (of Chris Simms and team 2 in Manchester) who would use CPL again.

My only (minor) complaint was that the website which is supposed to show how far your case has progressed is not updated regularly.

In addition to prompt service when there was something to act on, I received regular letters and phone calls on what was happening. Far more efficient than our vendor who insisted on making an appointment with her solicitor to return queries, return additional queries, and set a completion date. Have they not heard of BT and Royal Mail?

Running_Horse

dattasatta wrote: »

I must admit that I do ring them quite a bit, but that isn't because they are not doing their job I just need constant reassurance that things are moving, I have 2 young children and need to know where we stand at all times so we can plan for delay's etc:rolleyes:

We were exactly the same, and must have been a real pain in the neck. You can see why they use the office staff as a buffer. But as I said before, if we had some information they could act on, we suddenly got through.

Rick62

I would absolutely not tell your vendors. If they use slightly enefficient lawyers that are difficult to deal with that is their problem, it is unlikely to be so bad as to cause any real delay. But it is their business, not yours. Who would you advise them to use? What qualifications or experience do you have to give advice?

Also if my buyers called me (or whatever) saying I should not use my chosen lawyers I would think them a bit wiered to be honest.

cats!

Chill out Running Horse - you'll give yourself a stroke!

The point is there are many more people complaining about Countrywide then there are satisfied customers! Has the penny dropped yet?

This isn't about "demanding" that someone changes legal bods, it's about informing people and letting them make an informed choice about their decision.

If a buyer chooses a duff legal rep then it becomes everyone's problems eventually in the chain.

Suggestion was merely to let buyers know so that they could do their own research! Are people really that thick on here that they can't tell the difference between demands and helpful advice?

Conclusive proof the house buying process should be IQ tested by mortgage lenders at the point of offer!

diddlydum

You're not in a position to demand that the buyer changes solicitors, and really you shouldn't be doing that. The buyer is entitled to choose their own solicitor, even if you think that they are incompetent. If you have a good relationship with your buyer then you could raise it, but to be honest, if the vendor was telling me what solicitor to use I'd be deeply concerned.

But, speaking from professional experience, CPL are absolutely horrific, and they will not do anything to assist anyone. We even had the situation once where they refused to do a key undertaking for a client at 4.55pm when a chain had gone wrong; the reason was "it's 5 o'clock and we're off home". They really do have a can do, will do attitude...not.

If they do use CPL expect the buyer to be blaming you for every little problem- CPL are great at blaming everyone but themselves for their mistakes.

Tyders

As an ex employee of a Countrywide company (Taylors Est Agents) we would always try to persuade our clients (vendors or purchasers) to not use Countrywide Property Lawyers. Even though we were heavily targetted to get our clients to use CPL we actually liked our sales to go through thus earn us a salary - more often than not the sale fell through due to them thus we always tried not to reccomend them. On the other hand some people were no doubt very happy but not in my experience.

By using CPL they are basically jeapordising the entire chain but there is nothing that can really be done apart from hoping the other solicitors are really good and keep CPL in check.

Just my opinion.

Gwenrose

diddlydum wrote: »

You're not in a position to demand that the buyer changes solicitors, and really you shouldn't be doing that.

I don't think at any time I said any thing about demanding our buyers changed solicitor. What I said was, I have this information should I pass it on.

Thirty three years ago we purchased our first home, a two up two down terrace house, we already had a baby and were very grateful for my husbands company lending us the deposit. It took nine months to move into a house that was being sold by the son after his mother had died, the reasons being. Three months into the paper work we were tiped off that the solicitor was under investigation, the estate agent knew this, but never said a word. We nearly lost the house due to his stupid behavour and had to start from scratch with another solicitor, the first one was eventually prosecuted for fraud.

This is our fourth house and we've lived here for 24years, I have been told by my doctors I have a year to 18months before I will be in a wheel chair for the rest of my life and I'm not that old. We want to get into the bungalow as quickly as possible to make all the changes required, before I'm limited to what I will be able to do.

That is why it is so important that we don't miss out on this purchase, that there are no hiccups, or delays in timing, because time is a major factor. I hope you now understand why I have the jitters.

I would never demand any one do any thing, but has our buyer the right to know what I know, or do I sit tight and hope and pray that it all goes according to plan, would you want to know what other people had said and the experiences they had.

dattasatta

I hope everything goes fine for you Gwenrose, and I am sorry to hear about your circumstance's.

People on here get a little hot headed sometimes, but I like to think that they are trying to help ( or why would they bother posting? )

I will let you know if it goes pearshaped my end due to SOL's, but it looks pretty good so far.

Good Luck in your new home:D

Happy_saver_4

Hi Gwenrose, sorry to hear of your dilema and medical circumstances.

I also find my purchasers have instructed CPL to act on their behalf. They are in a small chain with their property under offer etc.

I am at the moment deciding whether to let my sale go ahead to these purchasers. First of all I will make them aware of the amount of adverse users comments regarding CPL and see if they wish to change their minds on their own volition. If not, I will probably withdraw from selling to them. If they want the property perhaps they will then change their conveyancing instructions. If not, I'll sell to somebody else.

If you wish,you have the right to avoid aggro and stress which may be looming on the horizon by withdrawing from the sale. Just as the purchaser has a right to also withdraw from his purchase.

Good luck