Is my conveyancer being useless?

mrsmortgage

We're buying a house, no chain on either side. Vendors are getting frustrated and want to complete in 4 weeks or so.

Conveyancer has done nothing event hough we have paid and most documentation is in place. (they were missing a certified copy of our passports and some letter about proof of deposit (a release of a charge on my ex marital home).

I don't think we'll be able to deliver that tight deadline, will we?

Would changing conveyancers be worth it?

pinkteapot

Need more info...

When was the conveyancer appointed?
Have they received the draft contract from the vendor's conveyancer?
Have they requested the searches yet? If so, when are the searches expected back?
Have they then sent enquiries to vendor's conveyancer?

If the process is a litte way through then four weeks is do-able but you might need to stay on your conveyancer's case. You need to ask them what's been done and what's left to do prior to exchange. Then keep chasing for stuff to get done!

shortcrust

A bit more information would help. We don’t know whether you’ve been waiting two days or two months.

In my experience four weeks is optimistic.

mrsmortgage

The conveyancer was appointed the day the offer was accepted (almost 5 weeks ago).

The conveyancer hasn't had any communication with the vendor's solicitors (as far as i can tell).

No searches have been requested, as they've waited to have all documentation in (but have been paid).

So in short my conveyancers have done absolutely nothing.

The vendors solicitors say everything can be done on their end in two weeks.

babyblade41

Is this a conveyance factory or a solicitor?

If it's the former the only way is to keep bombarding with calls... others will be doing it so their cases gets heard first, if you are not bothering then they won't either.

If you have a high st solicitor make an appt to see them face to face where you can ask why they haven't been pro active

shortcrust

What’s their explanation for the lack of progress?

pinkteapot

You need to speak to your conveyancer and ask whether they now have everything they want before requesting searches. If not, what's outstanding and why can't the searches be ordered?

Your conveyancer should also know what the waiting time is currently at your local council for searches to come back. Could be a week. Could be a month.

Your conveyancer will wait for the searches to come back before assembling their list of enquiries about the property which your vendor's solicitor will need to respond to.

My solicitor also took a long time to order the searches but it was because there was a delay in receiving the property title and they wanted that before ordering searches.

mrsmortgage

Conveyancing factory, but considering changing to a local solicitor.

the explanation for lack of progress is lack of documentation (so the certified passport copy as well as the document regarding the release of the charge).

but surely they could have started doing something?

babyblade41

With those type of conveyancers every box has to be checked before they do anything, so Pink teapot is right .

Have you checked the title? ..you can do this yourself for 3.00 from land registry.

mrsmortgage

babyblade41 wrote: »

With those type of conveyancers every box has to be checked before they do anything, so Pink teapot is right .

Have you checked the title? ..you can do this yourself for 3.00 from land registry.

What should I be checking on the title?

pinkteapot

It's a tricky one... If you change to a local solicitor they'll start over from scratch. Four weeks will be tight and will be entirely dependent on the current waiting time for your searches. You'd also have to ring round solicitors to get quotes and explain that you need a quick turnaround and ask if they're up for that!

We sold last year to a buyer who needed a very quick transaction. I asked the EA selling our place for a recommendation for a solicitor in town who he'd dealt with recently on a quick transaction - i.e. one that he was confident could do it for us. Used the one they recommended and we exchanged five weeks after accepting their offer.

If you stick with your current conveyancer, just keep on at them. Phone them regularly and ask what's next and if they're waiting for something, find out who needs to provide it and chase them. If the next step is for them to do something, ask when it'll be done by and chase them if it hasn't happened.