Hassling solicitor - am I being impatient?!

newbieFTB

I'm a newbieFTB as per my username so would like some input from seasoned housebuyers as to whether I'm being impatient please!

I'm in the early stages of buying a house, around 6 weeks since my offer was accepted (with three bank holidays inbetween though) - mortgage offer received, survey/valuation complete with no issues, draft contract received, searches applied for.

My solicitor sometimes writes and sometimes emails with information with regards the purchase, when I receive a letter I reply by email pretty much straight away (letters always seem to come on a Saturday though, making the wait for a reply even longer - sod's law!).

A recent email went unanswered for three full working days, I sent a polite chase up and received a response within an hour, I assumed it was a one off but my latest email (which was in response to a letter from her) has received no reply either, she's only had it for one working day so I was going to give her another full day before poking her but wondered if I'm being unreasonable/impatient to expect a reply the same or next day? My questions are not lengthy or complex, nor are they anything she would need to ask anyone else ie the sellers solicitor

I'm paying a lot of money for their services so am a bit dissappointed at the speed of reply. In my line of work I reply to all emails the same day, usually within an hour of receiving it!

So, in summary - in house buying land, how long is reasonable for me to wait for an email reply before chasing?

Rambosmum

Are they questions which will be answered in a 'conveyancing report' which you receive once all the contract queries and searches have been resolved?

newbieFTB

Rambosmum wrote: »

Are they questions which will be answered in a 'conveyancing report' which you receive once all the contract queries and searches have been resolved?

No, more general questions - but I accept probably very basic Q's to someone who has bought a house before though.

It's not something that I could google either, and there's not reems of Q's, just two simple questions - specific to the purchase and arising as a response to her letter - that she could answer in two minutes flat! I don't email her willy nilly with general queries thought up while laying awake at night, that's what google/MSE is for!

Rambosmum

newbieFTB wrote: »

No, more general questions - but I accept probably very basic Q's to someone who has bought a house before though.

It's not something that I could google either, and there's not reems of Q's, just two simple questions - specific to the purchase and arising as a response to her letter - that she could answer in two minutes flat! I don't email her willy nilly with general queries thought up while laying awake at night, that's what google/MSE is for!

There's nothing wrong with asking questions, and you are paying her so she works for you. I suspect however that she is prioritising her work, and your simple questions get a bit forgotten about. I think chasing after three or so days is fine.

newbieFTB

Rambosmum wrote: »

There's nothing wrong with asking questions, and you are paying her so she works for you. I suspect however that she is prioritising her work, and your simple questions get a bit forgotten about. I think chasing after three or so days is fine.

Thanks, I was going to chase sooner this time - last time I left it three days thinking it was a one off, don't want to be seen as unreasonable though as need her on side!

davidmcn

newbieFTB wrote: »

My questions are not lengthy or complex, nor are they anything she would need to ask anyone else ie the sellers solicitor

But are they urgent? Just because an email is transmitted quickly doesn't mean it needs to be replied to quickly.

In my line of work I reply to all emails the same day, usually within an hour of receiving it!

That's nice, but in many other lines of work that isn't possible, or at least only those emails which require a rapid reply will receive one.

Lawyers may well be in a meeting or phone call for an hour, come out of it and have another dozen new emails to look at - obviously they're not going to be able to get to all of them straight away, so the general queries from a client whose move isn't scheduled for another few weeks aren't going to be top of their list.

But by all means drop them another line after a few days or if it's something you have a reason for a more urgent reply about.

ThemeOne

The behaviour you describe is quite normal for solicitors in my experience, so therefore what seem like delays to you will probably not be seen as such by the other side.

You can chase if you like - I'm sure they're used to it and won't take it amiss, provided you're not rude about it.

newbieFTB

davidmcn wrote: »

But are they urgent? Just because an email is transmitted quickly doesn't mean it needs to be replied to quickly.

That's nice, but in many other lines of work that isn't possible, or at least only those emails which require a rapid reply will receive one.

Lawyers may well be in a meeting or phone call for an hour, come out of it and have another dozen new emails to look at - obviously they're not going to be able to get to all of them straight away, so the general queries from a client whose move isn't scheduled for another few weeks aren't going to be top of their list.

But by all means drop them another line after a few days or if it's something you have a reason for a more urgent reply about.

No, I wouldn't say they are urgent - I was definitely basing response times on my own job.

Surrey_EA

newbieFTB wrote: »

No, I wouldn't say they are urgent - I was definitely basing response times on my own job.

It would not be unusual for a conveyancing solicitor to be handling 100 or so cases at any one time. Therefore it is quite possible they have prioritising their work and dealing with more urgent matters first.

ThePants999

Sadly, this is normal. Like you, I have a job where this would be unacceptable. I think it's utter crap, but most others here are happy to cut them some slack because they take on a bajillion cases.

ThemeOne

Surrey_EA wrote: »

It would not be unusual for a conveyancing solicitor to be handling 100 or so cases at any one time. Therefore it is quite possible they have prioritising their work and dealing with more urgent matters first.

I've often wondered if solicitors ever turn down conveyancing work on the grounds they are already overloaded. I suspect not!