Seller's solicitor not giving information

Gazelle1985

Hello,

We're in a chain, our buyers are ready to exchange as are we. Our seller is (apparently) buying a vacant flat and had his survey about the same time we did. Our solicitor rang his solicitor to find out how far along the related purchase is and when we'll all be in a position to exchange, but they won't give any information. Is this normal practice? Surely, because it affects the whole chain, they should give updates?

Thanks

ThePants999

It's not an absolute given that they're using the same solicitor for sale and purchase - this one might not know anything!

In any case - chase the vendor themselves, or the estate agent.

Gazelle1985

Thanks - we do know that they're using the same solicitor for sale and purchase.

We don't have the vendor's details, but have been in regular contact with the estate agent. The problem is that we don't feel that we can trust a single thing he says!

eddddy

Gazelle1985 wrote: »

Is this normal practice? Surely, because it affects the whole chain, they should give updates?

They are acting for their client (your vendor), so broadly, they will do what their client instructs them to do - in terms of passing on info etc.

Assuming their EA is paid on exchange of contracts, their EA will be on your side - they want exchange to happen ASAP. So if you chase their EA, their EA should chase the vendor - and hopefully provide feedback for you.

What does your own EA say about the situation? Assuming they are paid on exchange, they should be progressing the sale with other EAs in the chain.

Gazelle1985

We have been told that the flat our vendor is buying is through the same estate agent, so he will get paid for both on completion. I'm not sure if that works in our favor on not. We originally made our offer on the condition that it was chain free, which obviously hasn't happened, and I have no idea if that was even passed onto the seller. I don't feel that we can trust anything anyone says anymore!

Our own estate agent has been good so far, and we are providing regular updates to our buyer. However, our buyer is starting to get impatient and pressurising us to complete, which isn't helping things.

JoJo1978

You do have the option of exchanging and completing on your sale to avoid losing your buyer. We did that when the chain above us stalled - yes, it's a complete pain in terms of arranging storage etc and a temporary place to live, but worth it not to lose the sale.

If your onward purchase does then stall or you pull out and look elsewhere you become very attractive buyers with cash in the bank.

As it turned out, us doing this caused our vendors to rethink their purchase (their vendors were the problem.) They broke the chain too and moved out to their holiday home, we ended up tying the sale and purchase completion dates together after all.

lika_86

Hmm. There could be a reason why their solicitor can't say anything, they may be dealing with money laundering issues and can't say anything for fear of tipping off, or there may be no progress update they can give because their client has told them not to say anything. Who knows?

Gazelle1985

The only info we've managed to get out of the seller's solicitor is that the transaction is in the early stages, which is contrary to what the estate has told us (they should be able to exchange next week)!

We have got the option of vacating our house in order to keep our buyer in the back of our mind, but would REALLY rather not spend an additional £1k on moving twice, paying rent and trying to find somewhere that takes pets. As we, and our buyer are both ready to exchange, and we made our offer on the condition that it was chain free, we really feel that our seller should vacate if it gets to it.

Why can't estate agents and solicitors just be honest!

Tiglet2

If the seller's solicitor has said that the transaction is in its early stages, then assume that it is. The EA won't know - they don't have access to the files. The EA can phone your seller and their solicitor but the information given may not be very detailed, but that will be the only way you can find out what is/is not happening.

Gazelle1985

Thanks for all your replies. It's hard to know who to trust, and I'm concerned that the seller's solicitor is not giving us any indication of where the related purchase is. We've spoken to the estate agent again and he's insisted that there is only one search and a couple of enquiries to come back, but who knows...