Solicitor reluctant to apply for authority to exchange despite deadline

ceminem

I reserved a new build at the beginning of February with a target exchange date of 24th March and completion date of 31st March. My solicitor has been quite slow to update me with progress and what they were waiting for until Tuesday when they sent final enquiries to the developers solicitor! Am I right to be annoyed at the lack of updates since I thought that everyone was working to the deadlines. At the very least I should have been kept updated with what my solicitor was waiting for, they say searches and title documentation only come back recently but won't tell me when.

Meanwhile my sale with the same firm but different solicitor has been ready to exchange all week but cannot due to the lack of news of dates on my purchase.

The enquiries to me seem to be confirmations and tick box exercises and only today did she finally say that meeting the deadline was not feasible! Only after I expressed my annoyance and concern and stated basically more explicitly as in no chance!

She said that once she is satisfied that the enquiries have been addressed (the replies came today and will be reviewed by her tomorrow) will she be in a position to send the forms and arrange for my contract signing. She does not seem to feel a sense of urgency to meet the deadlines which could see me lose the house. I requested that she send off the form 1 to Help to Buy to gain an Authority to Exchange but she refused until the enquiries were reviewed.

I have been in touch with Help to Buy who advised that if form 1 and 2 are submitted tomorrow then completion on 31st March would be possible but getting my solicitor to action it is another matter.

It has come to the point where I couldn't wait for her to advise me on the leasehold agreement and I asked for the draft to review myself before sending her my comments. Given the deadline surely she should have advised me on her comments on the leasehold by now but nothing.

Has anyone been in my position whereby they feel their solicitor is not pushing the issue. I understand that she has protocols but if I as the client accept the risk then she should oblige?

Cakeguts

Sometime developers cause problems. Your solicitor will not advise you to exchange until she is satisfied with all the information regarding the purchase.

Our solicitor once told us to withdraw from buying a new build property because there was piece of land over which the builders had put an access road that they didn't own so there was the potential for people to own a house that they couldn't get to because the access was owned by someone else. You can't get access granted across land belonging to someone else. We didn't want to own a new house that we couldn't get to.

When your solicitor is satisfied with the responses from the builder's solicitor you will be told. If the builders have held up your purchase then you won't make the deadline. Better that than a property that you have paid a lot of money for that is worthless.

You can't accept anything being wrong with the title document. If it arrived at the solicitor's office and they discovered that the land your house is built on doesn't belong to the builder then would you still want to exchange and take the risk that the land owner could come and demolish it?

Your solicitor is doing her job to make sure that the house you are buying is on land that belongs to the builder, that there isn't a new motorway planned to run through the plot, the access to the building belongs to the builder, all kinds of legal issues have to be checked for your benefit.

AnnieO1234

Your solicitor is also working as solicitor for your lender, they have a dual role which isn't commonly understood. He/she must ensure that searches, the lease etc are all satisfactory based on your lenders requirements and CML regulations.

Why isn't the same solicitor handling sale and purchase? That's unusual.

ceminem

My purchase solicitor specialises in new builds so I was advised to go with her on that side.

I understand that she is not ready to exchange but I countered with send off form 1 to HTB as its all based on factual information which is available and then this would be issued early next week. If by then she wasn't ready then we would hold fire. However by not even applying for the Authority to Exchange it gives no chance of meeting the deadline. I am not asking her to exchange now but simply to submit a form so we are ready next week if all of her enquiries are addressed adequately.

gembert83

The amount of work involved in a new builds and HTB is vast and unfortunately many clients simply do not have reasonable expectations as to a) what solicitors need to do and b) how long doing a proper job takes. I am sure that you would be more than quick enough to go back to a solicitor who had done a shoddy job just skimming over the papers to meet some required date which in reality means nothing - in 14 years I have never known a developer take any action/withdraw any incentives if the date they require exchange is not met. In addition if any of the queries were regarding any mortgage offer, the CML provided by the site office, anything really affecting value I do not think they would be in a position to submit Form 1 at this time.

ceminem

One thing for sure that could have avoided my reactive concern is by the solicitor managing my expectations properly from the beginning. A simple email either cc'ing me or forwarding emails does a lot to keep me up to speed with where things are upto like with my sale side which has been a dream.

By being silent then I assumed incorrectly that deadlines would be met, I suppose alarm bells should have rang when some of my questions were not being addressed such as when I should transfer the deposit over. However by keeping me in the dark and all of a sudden springing up emails saying that sorry date is not realistic is not going to cut it in this day and age. Coming from a professional services background myself I understand the importance of managing expectations.

Without being specific and people here assuming, none of the enquiries affect any of the statements included on form 1.

If the enquiries on title to adjoining land etc were valid then fair enough but with cooperation with the developer they will be addressed by the time exchange comes around. I still don't see why this simple form 1 cannot be submitted as its asking for authority to exchange and not the actual exchange itself.

fezster

Solicitors / Conveyancers like to work at their own pace. They usually have a high number of different cases and (in my experience) they tackle them in the following order:

1. Those which require immediate attention (ready to exchange or complete).

2. Those which have the most annoying clients who constantly chase them and are on their case.

Having said that, (2) can also mean they just start to ignore you.

It's a difficult situation and one which can usually be mitigated by using somebody who you either have a previous relationship with or who has been recommended. However, at this stage, you're not really in a position to go to anybody else so I'd recommend arranging an appointment with your solicitor and making sure you come away with expectations on both sides fully explained.

G_M

ceminem wrote: »

My purchase solicitor specialises in new builds so I was advised to go with her on that side.

Advised by who? The Developer :eek: !

If so big mistake!

2nd big mistake was then to decide to use a different solicitor for your sale.

You've really not been helping yourself.

ThePants999

ceminem wrote: »

One thing for sure that could have avoided my reactive concern is by the solicitor managing my expectations properly from the beginning. A simple email either cc'ing me or forwarding emails does a lot to keep me up to speed with where things are upto like with my sale side which has been a dream.

By being silent then I assumed incorrectly that deadlines would be met, I suppose alarm bells should have rang when some of my questions were not being addressed such as when I should transfer the deposit over. However by keeping me in the dark and all of a sudden springing up emails saying that sorry date is not realistic is not going to cut it in this day and age. Coming from a professional services background myself I understand the importance of managing expectations.

There seems to be a bizarre amount of what I can only interpret as sympathy for these poor, worked-off-their-feet solicitors on this forum - but I couldn't agree with you more. Most solicitors provide godawful customer service regardless of how well they do the actual conveyancing.

hazyjo

ThePants999 wrote: »

There seems to be a bizarre amount of what I can only interpret as sympathy for these poor, worked-off-their-feet solicitors on this forum - but I couldn't agree with you more. Most solicitors provide godawful customer service regardless of how well they do the actual conveyancing.

Kind of agree lol - but I do think so many buyers have completely unrealistic timescales in mind (as do developers!).


Jx

ceminem

G_M wrote: »

Advised by who? The Developer :eek: !

If so big mistake!

2nd big mistake was then to decide to use a different solicitor for your sale.

You've really not been helping yourself.

Read it properly I'm using the an independent firm but different solicitors as one did not specialise in new builds with HTB.