Exchange Failure - Lazy solicitor!!!!

markymark1983

So this is a bit of a rant, but we were meant to exchange today, keeping touch with my solicitor from early in the morning, all appeared on course and the chain was communicating with each other. Then at 4.30 today I get a call from my sols saying we can't exchange today as there is not time as the solicitor at the top of the chain leaves the office at 5pm and has been to busy today on other cases and will not stay late. Now this is just shear laziness if a solicitor commits to to doing something today they should do it. There are no problems its just the sols ran out of time!!! My solicitor works from 9am - 630pm every day and is first class.

We are still aiming to complete on Friday 25 but this does not give much time to prepare in terms of letter people know etc. What things could I do before exchange as I am sure it will happen. I was planning to use this weekend to start filing in forms to move council tax, utlities etc. I don't want to do this before I exchange as in theory it could still fall don on Monday.

If we can't move Friday 25 a person in the chain is threatening to pull the plug.

Highly frustrating, solicitors are paid a fortune and the won't work beyond 5pm its a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my solicitors said it would have only taken 10mins more!!!!!!

hazyjo

It really is very common - exchange is a hoped for date, it certainly isn't set in stone. It's why it's advisable to have at least a week or so between that and completion.


As you said, don't do anything until you've actually exchanged. Really, it's not that big a deal, most things will wait until you've actually moved in. You need to book removals (if using them) and sort your buildings insurance out upon exchange (and the obvious things like book time from work), post redirection, but that's really it.

PasturesNew

Some people do leave "on time" .... and that's the solicitor chosen by somebody (they probably weren't told when they went there though) .... maybe that solicitor had a huge fail of completion to deal with - and an exchange is 2nd in the pecking order to a completion.

hazyjo

Friday's a mad day to exchange anyway seeing as a lot of completions happen that day

markymark1983

Yes, I know its hoped for, its just hugely frustrating it did not happen because someone was not willing to work 10 mins beyond 5pm! If it was a last min hold up with funds for example I would be more than understanding but still annoyed. Its just because some one won't do their job!!! I am a professional and if I have a deadline which I had agreed to I make sure its met. I don;t just sulk of home at 5pm because its home time.

I had sorted insurance from today thinking exchange would go through, removals are provisionally booked although they wont accept confirmation until exchange, hopefully they will hold my space.

It just bugs me that a professional who commits to a date to exchange in the agreement that absolutely everything is ready to go does not pull it off because they have to go home at 5pm.

p00hsticks

It doesn't bode well for completing on the Friday before a bank holiday weekend, does it ?

takman

markymark1983 wrote: »

Yes, I know its hoped for, its just hugely frustrating it did not happen because someone was not willing to work 10 mins beyond 5pm! If it was a last min hold up with funds for example I would be more than understanding but still annoyed. Its just because some one won't do their job!!! I am a professional and if I have a deadline which I had agreed to I make sure its met. I don;t just sulk of home at 5pm because its home time.

I had sorted insurance from today thinking exchange would go through, removals are provisionally booked although they wont accept confirmation until exchange, hopefully they will hold my space.

It just bugs me that a professional who commits to a date to exchange in the agreement that absolutely everything is ready to go does not pull it off because they have to go home at 5pm.

I've seen this mentioned quite a lot on here. I don't understand why people arrange house insurance before exchange considering it only takes 15 minutes to use a comparison site and buy it.

I agree it's not very good for clients if they go home dead on 5pm every day. But If they can get away with not working later and still have lots of clients then you can't blame them!

Thrugelmir

markymark1983 wrote: »

It just bugs me that a professional who commits to a date to exchange in the agreement that absolutely everything is ready to go does not pull it off because they have to go home at 5pm.

No professional commits to exchange. They agree to target a date. So many things can crop up at the last minute. In reality you'll never know the truth of the matter.

shortcrust

I am not sure that leaving at five is lazy. Some people simply have no choice. I always made sure my employers thought I was one of those people...

dunroving

I was scheduled to exchange last Friday and it didn't happen until yesterday (so, a delay of 4 business days).

All were due to excuses from the seller's solicitor. Turns out the day of exchange he realised he hadn't actually sent the contract to the seller to sign (he'd only had it for about 6 weeks ....)

Worst excuse was on Wednesday, when my solicitor couldn't get the seller's solicitor to answer the phone. When she eventually got through, it turns out the acting solicitor was away on a training day and even though it was clear that everything was in place, both buyer and seller had given confirmation they were happy to complete next Tuesday, it couldn't be exchanged because the acting solicitor wasn't there and hadn't left instructions to exchange.

I understand that exchange is a target, but in my case it was a very, very simple transaction - no chain, cash buyer, searches completed weeks ago, etc., etc. So for 4 days I have had to put off calling removals, insurance, etc. It is a pretty poor show.

chucknorris

markymark1983 wrote: »

So this is a bit of a rant, but we were meant to exchange today, keeping touch with my solicitor from early in the morning, all appeared on course and the chain was communicating with each other. Then at 4.30 today I get a call from my sols saying we can't exchange today as there is not time as the solicitor at the top of the chain leaves the office at 5pm and has been to busy today on other cases and will not stay late. Now this is just shear laziness if a solicitor commits to to doing something today they should do it. There are no problems its just the sols ran out of time!!! My solicitor works from 9am - 630pm every day and is first class.

We are still aiming to complete on Friday 25 but this does not give much time to prepare in terms of letter people know etc. What things could I do before exchange as I am sure it will happen. I was planning to use this weekend to start filing in forms to move council tax, utlities etc. I don't want to do this before I exchange as in theory it could still fall don on Monday.

If we can't move Friday 25 a person in the chain is threatening to pull the plug.

Highly frustrating, solicitors are paid a fortune and the won't work beyond 5pm its a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! my solicitors said it would have only taken 10mins more!!!!!!

I agree entirely, I'm not a solicitor, I'm a chartered quantity surveyor, although I now lecture in that subject at university. But when I worked in industry I routinely worked late, as the demands of my work load dictated, which occasionally included working all night.