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FTB - Bad solicitor or just part of the process?
akira181
Posts: 545 Forumite
My GF and I are both FTB and we've found a flat we liked, spoke with the vendor and negotiated a price that's been accepted. I called my solicitor to make the offer official but now I'm wondering if I have a bad solicitor or if being in this kind of limbo is just part of the process.
A friend at work recommended a solicitor so I called and told them our offer was accepted, can they make it official with the EA. The next day, the EA calls and tells me no offer or phone call has been received from my solicitor and tells me their fax machine is broken. I called my solicitor and she told me she sent a fax and has the send receipt. I told her a fax receipt doesn't mean it's been read or even received and she needs to email it across as their machine was broken. It seems very unprofessional, to me at least, that the fax was not followed up with a phone call.
2 weeks have passed and when I was on holiday during that last week, I called to get an update on what's going on as I haven't heard anything from them since. She said she just received some mail in the morning and put me on hold to open it. Told me it was the title deeds and she'll go through it. I asked if there's anything needed from my side and she said just the mortgage paperwork when it's through.
I got back from holiday yesterday and found a copy of their offer and terms and conditions had been sent to me. Upon reading it, it asks for copies of our passports, bank statements, etc within 7 days or all work will stop and my GF's name is wrong on all the paperwork. The documents I received don't even state what the costs of their services are either. just an estimate figure plus VAT and Outlays (not specified what constitutes as an outlay either). None of this matches well with what the solicitor told me on the phone.
Is this all part of the process or is my solicitor unprofessional and causing problems? I saw on their website that the solicitor I'm talking to is a trainee and is being supervised by one of the partners in the firm. Should I be looking for a new solicitor or should I write an email expressing my concerns to her and her supervisor? Or should I be chalking this up to FTB nerves?
A friend at work recommended a solicitor so I called and told them our offer was accepted, can they make it official with the EA. The next day, the EA calls and tells me no offer or phone call has been received from my solicitor and tells me their fax machine is broken. I called my solicitor and she told me she sent a fax and has the send receipt. I told her a fax receipt doesn't mean it's been read or even received and she needs to email it across as their machine was broken. It seems very unprofessional, to me at least, that the fax was not followed up with a phone call.
2 weeks have passed and when I was on holiday during that last week, I called to get an update on what's going on as I haven't heard anything from them since. She said she just received some mail in the morning and put me on hold to open it. Told me it was the title deeds and she'll go through it. I asked if there's anything needed from my side and she said just the mortgage paperwork when it's through.
I got back from holiday yesterday and found a copy of their offer and terms and conditions had been sent to me. Upon reading it, it asks for copies of our passports, bank statements, etc within 7 days or all work will stop and my GF's name is wrong on all the paperwork. The documents I received don't even state what the costs of their services are either. just an estimate figure plus VAT and Outlays (not specified what constitutes as an outlay either). None of this matches well with what the solicitor told me on the phone.
Is this all part of the process or is my solicitor unprofessional and causing problems? I saw on their website that the solicitor I'm talking to is a trainee and is being supervised by one of the partners in the firm. Should I be looking for a new solicitor or should I write an email expressing my concerns to her and her supervisor? Or should I be chalking this up to FTB nerves?
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Comments
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Why would the offer come from the solicitor, and not you (is this in Scotland?)?
Solicitors can only ever estimate, they don't know how much work will be required. It should give you a broad indication of the costs.0 -
Banks do, as it's more secure than email (and less hassle than expecting everyone to sign up to extranets etc). But ages since I've seen solicitors send missives by fax. Shouldn't be all that relevant anyway as they're usually put in the post the same day and the transaction has obviously progressed since then.It's 2018, who uses a fax machine?!!0 -
At least they're consistent! Just give them the correct info.my GF's name is wrong on all the paperwork
Everything they pay to third parties - so in your case, any LBTT, registration costs, bank transfer charges. Unlikely to be any surprises but they ought to be able to tell you.The documents I received don't even state what the costs of their services are either. just an estimate figure plus VAT and Outlays (not specified what constitutes as an outlay either).
Perfectly normal. How else do you expect trainees to learn? Residential conveyancing transactions aren't (usually) rocket science and you wouldn't expect partners to be doing the whole thing.the solicitor I'm talking to is a trainee and is being supervised by one of the partners in the firm0 -
A paralegal did most of the heavy lifting on my most recent sale and purchase, and a fine job they did too. The partner just provided oversight and signoff.0
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My experience as a FTB in Scotland (so not an expert) has been we called solicitor after agreeing price with vendors. Official offer letter went in that afternoon then they sent out a pack which we need mortgage number for and to return it with ID. We are now waiting for mortgage broker to send all our documents to lender and then it's cross fingers time (already had a DiP).
We have been given an estimated cost but it was explained to us if anything got complicated, they needed more information on land searches etc then the price could go up but we would be informed. They don't charge for offer letters so we don't owe them anything yet.
I keep thinking we should be doing something as our date of entry is beginning of November (suggested by solicitor), I'm assuming you had your mortgage all officially approved before the solicitor did anything else?0 -
It means the receiving machine confirmed it was correctly received.A friend at work recommended a solicitor so I called and told them our offer was accepted, can they make it official with the EA. The next day, the EA calls and tells me no offer or phone call has been received from my solicitor and tells me their fax machine is broken. I called my solicitor and she told me she sent a fax and has the send receipt. I told her a fax receipt doesn't mean it's been read or even received
Frankly, it's the EA that's being unprofessional here, if their equipment is not working.and she needs to email it across as their machine was broken. It seems very unprofessional, to me at least, that the fax was not followed up with a phone call.
Did you really not think that proof of ID etc would be required? Anti-money-laundering and Know-Your-Client is a legal requirement, not the solicitor's whim.I got back from holiday yesterday and found a copy of their offer and terms and conditions had been sent to me. Upon reading it, it asks for copies of our passports, bank statements, etc within 7 days or all work will stop and my GF's name is wrong on all the paperwork.
Did the solicitor explicitly tell you it would be a fixed-price service? If not, then of course it's going to be an estimate, since they don't know how much time will be required. If the searches come back raising questions, then that will increase their work.The documents I received don't even state what the costs of their services are either. just an estimate figure plus VAT and Outlays (not specified what constitutes as an outlay either). None of this matches well with what the solicitor told me on the phone.
The "outlays" are the money they spend on your behalf - searches, copies of documentation etc - and they'll vary depending on what it emerges you need as the process progresses.
While it sounds as if their comms could be better, it sounds like there's a very large element of this.Or should I be chalking this up to FTB nerves?0 -
thanks for the replies folks, I guess my FTB nerves are getting the better of me. A financial commitment of this size and not knowing what's going on is sending my anxiety/paranoia into overdrive.
Yes, I'm buying in Scotland, keep forgetting to mention that. I negotiated direct with the vendor and the EA requested the offer in writing from my solicitor to make it official and get things going.
It's just that communication from my solicitor seems to be very poor and I'm left wondering if it's a bad firm / inexperienced solicitor or just part of the process and is completely normal. I wasn't told she was a trainee at any point until I looked her up on their website, which wouldn't normally be a problem if communication wasn't an issue immediately from the start. I mean, surely calling the EA to confirm receipt of the offer is obvious if not even just plain common courtesy? Is a phone call to me telling me the formal acceptance is through and what they need from me too much to ask?
Only information I get is when I call asking for an update and after reading the stuff I received in the post, what she told me on the phone isn't even accurate. There are further documents required from me other than "just the mortgage paperwork".0 -
It means it was sent, not read or received. I agree the EA should have fixed it or told me beforehand, but a call to confirm is professional courtesy at the very least surely?It means the receiving machine confirmed it was correctly received.
Frankly, it's the EA that's being unprofessional here, if their equipment is not working.
I was expecting that yes, so why didn't she tell me that she was still waiting for it considering I told her I haven't received anything in the post yet? In fact, she told me the complete opposite and that mortgage paperwork was the only thing she needed.Did you really not think that proof of ID etc would be required? Anti-money-laundering and Know-Your-Client is a legal requirement, not the solicitor's whim.
The receptionist I spoke to first did say it was a fixed price thing and will only charge upon completion. She also gave a price and said it would be sent out with the offer information so I didn't write it down. What she said on the phone was definitely higher than the estimate listed in the letter I received thoughDid the solicitor explicitly tell you it would be a fixed-price service? If not, then of course it's going to be an estimate, since they don't know how much time will be required. If the searches come back raising questions, then that will increase their work.
The "outlays" are the money they spend on your behalf - searches, copies of documentation etc - and they'll vary depending on what it emerges you need as the process progresses.
I agree but the nerves are being made worse by their lack of comms and mistakes in my GF's name even though I spelled it out on the phone and put it in an email to them.While it sounds as if their comms could be better, it sounds like there's a very large element of this.0 -
That's to issue the Memorandum of Sale (or whatever the Scottish equivalent is), the first written confirmation to both sides of the offer and the legals....and the EA requested the offer in writing from my solicitor to make it official and get things going.
They have confirmation that the fax was reported as being correctly received by the EA's fax machine. They have no way of knowing the EA's fax machine then failed to print it correctly - or (more likely) somebody at the EA threw it away unread or simply stapled it to the back of the previous fax which then went into somebody else's file...I mean, surely calling the EA to confirm receipt of the offer is obvious if not even just plain common courtesy?
As an FTB, I presume you're of an age group who don't remember regular use of fax machines...It means it was sent, not read or received.
The machines "hand-shake". Nothing is sent unless it's received. The sending machine gets told "Yep, I've got all that" by the receiving machine, which is what triggers the "successful" send confirmation. If it doesn't get that, it will report a failure.
And that's the choice you have. Pay-as-you-go or fixed-no-sale-no-fee. If it's a simple one, the former will be cheaper. But there's less risk in the latter. Discuss it!The receptionist I spoke to first did say it was a fixed price thing ... What she said on the phone was definitely higher than the estimate listed in the letter I received though0
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