Solicitor response times

NaughtiusMaximus

We had an offer accepted on a property in early December and are currently going through the conveyancing process.

I emailed our solicitor yesterday morning with a number of queries related to the purchase but have not received a response. The majority of the questions I think our solicitor could probably answer immediately but there were a few which would require contact with the vendors solicitor first (mainly ones relating to issues flagged on the homebuyers report) so maybe she's waiting until she has the answer to all our queries before responding.

Is it reasonable of me to follow up with a phone call today re the more straightforward queries or would I risk heading into annoying PITA territory if I did?

aneary

Leave it till next week.

Your solicitor will have 80 other cases and will also be catching up after the Christmas break.

lika_86

Never ring for general questions on a Friday until after at least 2pm would be my advice. Most completions tend to happen on a Friday and so they will have more pressing things to deal with than general queries about your file.

As for chasing them up, I would definitely leave it more than a day to follow up, even for straightforward questions (especially if combined with ones that require input from the Vendor's solicitor). Also, remember that this is the first week back after Christmas and so people are probably still catching up on everything received over Christmas.

NaughtiusMaximus

Thanks for the responses, I hadn't considered the fact they'd be working through the backlog of anything that came in over christmas.

Firsttimebuyers

Our solicitors seem to take around a week to respond to a query - it's annoying, but then we know they'll be prioritising those due to exchange / complete imminently as they're further along the process than we are.

Surrey_EA

aneary wrote: »

Leave it till next week.

Your solicitor will have 80 other cases and will also be catching up after the Christmas break.

It would not be unusual for a solicitor to have 120/130 live cases.

Margot123

In my experience, it takes a week for them to read a letter or email. Then another week to respond, once they have all the relevant information to hand. Each 'simple' query could, in effect, take a month.

It isn't until you are at the point of exchanging/completing that there will be much communication from your solicitor.

Just keep in mind, that you are not a priority, as they have dozens of people exchanging/completing on the day you email your queries, and those people have to (and should do) take precedence.

Thrugelmir

NaughtiusMaximus wrote: »

(mainly ones relating to issues flagged on the homebuyers report)

Contact the vendors through the EA. It's what they are getting paid for.

JoJo1978

Our vendors, via their EA, and towards the end of the process directly, were a useful alternative for us to putting every query via our solicitors. We reserved solicitors queries for larger and clearly legal issues, then covered all the minor questions ourselves.

G_M

If the questtions are not show-stoppers or urgent, they will not get priority over other files being dealt with.

I's also common for solicitors to deal with all issues together rather than piecemeal. When your file reaches the top of the pile, or is escalated there for some urgent reason, he'll deal with everythibg. when he has answers to all the issues, he'll update you.

It's early days so there is no urgency. Unecessary phne calls just interfere with his day and delay everything/everyone.

The best lessson you can learn is patience.

Oh - and non legal matters should not go to the solicitor anyway....

lika_86

G_M wrote: »

he'll deal with everythibg. when he has answers to all the issues, he'll update you.

She, according to the OP.