Advice? Accepted offer... seller is using Countrywide Solicitors

eveyean

Hi All,
We've spend ages reading through the 99.99% negative posts of using the Countrywide Solicitors for conveyancing and need some advice! We are first time buying couple so most of our knowledge is coming from intensive research and reading for the past few weeks.

We had our offer for the house accepted and were then advised that the owner has already signed with Countrywide to provide solicitor services... Now, there are hundred (thousands? more?) of posts out there saying how terrible their service is - from either buyer or seller perspective - from requesting crazy additional searches to zero responses to questions, delays, etc etc etc, the list is long.

Given that we love the house and will therefore have to deal with them, would you advise (to minimise grief and such) to also go with Countrywide on our end? We've already researched this and we know that as long as the seller and ourselves are represented by different solicitors there is NO legal conflict of interest.... and our thinking is that if they are in the same bloody office that it might avoid us some of the usual issues, and they would already be catering to each other's needs (however unreasonable they might be)... or maybe not?

As background, our mortgage will be going through HSBC, and Countrywide is also their preferred panel.. joy....(not!) We are not bothered by delays per se, we have no chain (FTB) and are not in a rush to exchange asap, but the owner needs to find a property before they sell.

Just trying to think what the best / least griefy way to deal with this would be. My mind is spinning a bit from all of this! Thank you to anyone who is willing to read and throw some advice at us!

tacticalbanjo

I would really just worry about your own solicitors and go with someone you feel comfortable with. This will probably be the biggest purchase you ever make so chose accordingly.

I'm awaiting completion on my flat sale at the moment and my buyer used an online warehouse place with terrible reviews. I used a local solicitors I'd had dealings with before. We didn't have too much trouble with the online place but they did release my buyers contract without a confirmation of completion date from the whole of the chain! My solicitors and my vendors solicitors refused to do so much to the consternation of the EAs but I'd rather have legal reps that are overzealous in protecting my interests than ones which are slipshod.

eddddy

As a general comment, I would think you'd be much better off if your transaction involves one good solicitor and one bad solicitor...

... than if it involves 2 bad solicitors.

Last year, the firm you mention claim they handled over 33,000 conveyances. You and your seller would just be 'names on a database'. I doubt you would get any kind of 'better' treatment.

Plus, if the seller's solicitor makes a mistake and you lose some money, I doubt your solicitor would be keen to help you sue their own employer.

AndyTails

tacticalbanjo wrote: »

We didn't have too much trouble with the online place but they did release my buyers contract without a confirmation of completion date from the whole of the chain!

Not sure why you've used a "but" or an exclamation mark there. Sending out the contract for signing, before completion is confirmed, is completely standard. Completion is only completely confirmed on exchange, and your solicitor can't exchange unless everyone has already signed and returned the contract!

csgohan4

only control things you have control over, i.e your own conveyancer, don't worry about other's

tacticalbanjo

It wasn't that they sent the contract out - obviously that's completely normal. But they released their clients deposit to my solicitor and tried to start the exchange process without a confirmation of completion date. And then complained that my solicitor wouldn't complete the process with them even though they couldn't because of the lack of completion date.

SquirrelRM

Having recently exchanged (new build so not due to complete until August) with our buyer using Countrywide, I would say find your own solicitor. We were advised to use them via our EA but as the quote was over £1500 dearer we decided not too and I am really glad we didn't. They are dreadful at responding to queries and didn't appear to know where to find info about regulations relating to permitted development which took me less than 2 minutes. My solicitor had no end of problems actually talking to anyone and we even got the EA involved as things were painfully slow.
Good luck in whatever you decide. X

eveyean

Thank you all for you advice - I was thinking that we might be setting ourselves up for a world of misery one way or another and the point of there being little to no incentive to pursue issues that would implicate their own firm etc. struck a really good point.

We have reached out to friends as well as started looking into local solicitors to explore our other options - here's hoping we survive the whole process without putting our stress levels through the roof!

Thanks again everyone! Your insight is very much appreciated.