Humour me please - solicitors question

TamsinC

So humour me please,

Our solicitors have been absolute crap to say the least and I am beginning to doubt my own expectations now they are that bad.

We were meant to exchange on Wednesday - a one house chain (us buying) - solicitors had suggested the date, and the two parties agreed. Now it is Monday and we are on the 4th day of trying to exchange. Apparently, they are now at the stage of reverting back to the lender's valuer's over some buildings regs I queried about 5 weeks ago.

Surely solicitors shouldn't suggest an exchange date if we aren't ready to proceed. Surely?

Understandably our vendors are extremely annoyed as are we. Am I going insane? Should this have all been sorted before the suggestion and agreement on an exchange date?

ProDave

YOU put the spanner in the works with the building regs query. What is the issue?

nwithers1

ProDave wrote: »

YOU put the spanner in the works with the building regs query. What is the issue?

Not when the query was 5 weeks ago. Surely solicitors shouldn't have set an exchange date if they were still dealing with that query...

studentguy

ProDave wrote: »

YOU put the spanner in the works with the building regs query. What is the issue?

TamsinC wrote: »

Apparently, they are now at the stage of reverting back to the lender's valuer's over some buildings regs I queried about 5 weeks ago.

I think you need to re-read the message.

TamsinC

ProDave wrote: »

YOU put the spanner in the works with the building regs query. What is the issue?

No, I asked 5 weeks ago and was told by the solicitors it wasn't an issue - I put in a general enquiry and they assured me it wasn't needed - and now on the day of exchange have had this issue raised with the lender.

Surely I pay them to give me advice? If I hadn't asked and there was an issue that would have been remiss of me. 5 weeks is plenty of time for them to raise the issue, but they assured me it wasn't a problem and the work was too historic to be an issue.

So the issue is in a one house chain we are now on the 4th day of trying to exchange and it is looking like we won't exchange for a good few days more now because they raised this issue on the day of exchange instead of doing the work 5 weeks ago.

need_an_answer

Do you have a provisional day for completion?

Sometimes you can rejiggle exchange so there is a lesser gap between the two so the issue sorts its self out but I guess a lot depends on the timescale for getting this answer back on the query and processing it.

Hopefully now someone is onto the query the answer will be forthcoming quickly and not have too much impact on completion.

TamsinC

need_an_answer wrote: »

Do you have a provisional day for completion?

Sometimes you can rejiggle exchange so there is a lesser gap between the two so the issue sorts its self out but I guess a lot depends on the timescale for getting this answer back on the query and processing it.

Hopefully now someone is onto the query the answer will be forthcoming quickly and not have too much impact on completion.

Yes, luckily the provisional completion date is in mid September so lots of leeway, thank goodness - it's just so infuriating at the lack of communication etc and our vendors are the jittery type. We have been promised for 3 full days now that on each day we would be exchanged by the end of the day and each day we hear nothing and have to chase - this last one was particularly hard as it was over the weekend and we didn't know if we had exchanged or not. A simple email, text or phone call to explain would have been very welcome. We just get flannel when we do call and then radio silence.

G_M

TamsinC wrote: »

d.

We were meant to exchange on Wednesday -

No.


You were hoping to exchange on Wednesday. There is no such thing as a fixed Exchange date until..... Exchange takes place.


Given the long gap till Completion I see no problem, just a bit of frustration. Completion can probably still take place as hoped.

SG27

Have you asked your solicitor why something you were told was not an issue 5 weeks ago is now?

I expect its a mistake by them, maybe looking back on it whilst preparing for exchange they have realised they have a duty to inform the lender of it.

ellectrastar

If the issue you raised turns out to really be an issue you wouldn't want to have exchanged as then it'd be nigh on impossible to back out, but as you say this should have been dealt with when you first raised it.



I would definitely ask the question as to what has changed since you were told there was no problem. Solicitors are good at charging you a ton-load of money for their services and you expect them to be competent and timely in return; however in reality it doesn't always work that way.

TamsinC

Thanks for all your comments - yes, we were hoping to exchange on Wednesday, and the solicitor said it would happen all the way up to 5pm when it didn't. Same happened on Thursday, all the way up to 5pm when it didn't. And again on Friday. It is the disingenuousness of the solicitor that is annoying me. If the buildings regs were an issue why are they only being raised on the Friday, and not a) the 5 weeks before when I queried them, and b) on Wed or Thurs? Obviously if they ARE an issue it needs sorting before exchange. The lack of honest communication is what galls me most. However, hubby has complained to management and things are moving now and the solicitor is now emailing us with what is happening rather than trying to transmit it via telepathy. There is nothing to do but wait it out now.