How long should I wait for solicitor to contact me?

FtbDreaming

Yay got a letter from them today! They said they'll be in touch when they've received the contracts from HA solicitor. Requested £400 for searches which i’ve just paid (never been so excited to pay a bill). And I've sent all ID and proof of deposit over to them so done all I can straight away from my side. The letter says it typically takes 6-8 weeks depending on chain etc so fingers crossed. I would be buzzing if it was all done and dusted in this timescale! 

Skiddaw1

annetheman

FtbDreaming said:

Yay got a letter from them today! They said they'll be in touch when they've received the contracts from HA solicitor. Requested £400 for searches which i’ve just paid (never been so excited to pay a bill). And I've sent all ID and proof of deposit over to them so done all I can straight away from my side. The letter says it typically takes 6-8 weeks depending on chain etc so fingers crossed. I would be buzzing if it was all done and dusted in this timescale! 

Hi there! I wondered what the update is on your purchase since it has been ~3 weeks now?

My solicitor is being very slow as well, I instructed them last week... The thing is, they aren't cheap either at a whopping £1,700 - they also need me to go into their office in person with 2 forms of ID (passport and driving licence) plus proof of address, plus usual 3 months bank statements etc.

This seems like a heck of a lot to ask in comparison to others' experience with solicitors, which is fine as I have it all ready, but add the fact that I am chasing them to take my money and proof of ID/address; well. Not the best service, I have to say! As long as it gets done but yet, I was also spoilt by an amazingly helpful and proactive broker and agent, so comparatively, this is not the best service by the most expensive person working on my behalf!

Tiglet2

My solicitor is being very slow as well, I instructed them last week... 
Today is Monday.  Exactly what do you expect them to have done before you've provided them with your ID and put them in funds to start the process?  Is this a sale, a purchase or both a sale and purchase?

annetheman

Tiglet2 said:

My solicitor is being very slow as well, I instructed them last week... 
Today is Monday.  Exactly what do you expect them to have done before you've provided them with your ID and put them in funds to start the process?  Is this a sale, a purchase or both a sale and purchase?

I expected them to have emailed me back with a time and date when I should come in for said ID check that they have stressed are imperative to have completed within 5 days of instruction - their deadline, not mine. I've given them a list of available days and free-reign over the exact time for said checks - their deadlines, not mine.

There is a 28 day time limit from memorandum of sale being issued (which it has been) and they have worked with the EA for years so I have hope they will speed things up when my purchase becomes more of a priority e.g. exchange is imminent.

This is just a purchase - my first one, tinged with a strange mixture of extreme keenness to get it all done and crippling fear, which up until now has been well-managed when dealing with responsive and proactive broker and agent. Now... I feel I'm dealing with the slowest person in the world!

  this housebuying is tense! Hope to hear positive news from you, OP!

kazwookie

I expected them to have emailed me back with a time and date when I should come in for said ID check

I phoned my solicitor up to get an appointment for this to be told, come in when you can, reception can do this. That is exactly what happened, went in, handed over docs / passport etc, lady when went off scanned / photocopied then, stamped them with their official stamp, signed them, got me to sign them, gave me back the originals, 15 mins later I was out of there. Job done.

Tiglet2

Did the solicitor say you had to make an appointment?  Where I work, clients just pop in with their documents and the receptionist checks it all and photocopies everything.  

Are you purchasing a new build?  In that case the 28 day exchange deadline is merely a preferred wish by the developer and is not set in stone.  It would count from the date that your solicitor received the draft contract pack, not a sales memorandum.  Have they had that yet?  EA can state what they like on the sales memorandum, but they are not party to the legal conveyancing and therefore cannot issue deadlines.

Falafels

When house buying/selling, it's very important to manage your own expectations. Solicitors take their time. Solicitors are also subject to delays from third parties e.g. local councils, land registry, developers etc as well as the other party's solicitors. There's nothing wrong with contacting every 2-3 weeks to see if there's an update when you know there's something specific pending, but if all their clients insisted on constant updates then it would considerably slow down the amount of work they can do.

The important thing here is not to let yourself get stressed when nothing appears to be happening. Brokers and estate agents can often move very quickly, but this is not true of the legal profession, for a variety of reasons. As has been said elsewhere, things like ID can be dealt with at your own convenience and do not need a face-to-face conversation with your solicitor.

Above all, stop worrying. The scenario you describe is par for the course!

annetheman

Falafels said:

When house buying/selling, it's very important to manage your own expectations. Solicitors take their time. Solicitors are also subject to delays from third parties e.g. local councils, land registry, developers etc as well as the other party's solicitors. There's nothing wrong with contacting every 2-3 weeks to see if there's an update when you know there's something specific pending, but if all their clients insisted on constant updates then it would considerably slow down the amount of work they can do.

The important thing here is not to let yourself get stressed when nothing appears to be happening. Brokers and estate agents can often move very quickly, but this is not true of the legal profession, for a variety of reasons. As has been said elsewhere, things like ID can be dealt with at your own convenience and do not need a face-to-face conversation with your solicitor.

Above all, stop worrying. The scenario you describe is par for the course!

Thank you, that's good to know then - I am worrying about being penalised for taking too long but I have answered any requests within the hour and knew what I had to have in place before I started e.g. bank statements, pay slips etc. So just a waiting game, I guess! I definitely don't want to slow them down and haven't called/emailed daily or anything. 

Previously they said: please let me know the best day/time and I will arrange an appointment with one of my colleagues. I then sent a list of days and said I can attend any time between 08:30 - 17:30, since I can work flexibly around the appointment.

Did the solicitor say you had to make an appointment? Yes. Where I work, clients just pop in with their documents and the receptionist checks it all and photocopies everything. Would be nice!

Are you purchasing a new build? Yes  In that case the 28 day exchange deadline is merely a preferred wish by the developer and is not set in stone. Phew! It would count from the date that your solicitor received the draft contract pack, not a sales memorandum. Quoted: 

"The exchange deadline is 28 days from Memorandum of sale being issued with completion deadline being 10 days after the exchange."

Have they had that yet? No contracts, no word of anything after instruction and payment actually EA can state what they like on the sales memorandum, but they are not party to the legal conveyancing and therefore cannot issue deadlines. Phew!

Thanks, this is extremely helpful for someone new to this!

FtbDreaming

Hi. Basically not got anywhere! I think its 4 weeks on Wednesday since they were instructed. I paid for the searches then last week had an email saying the source of deposit is unclear on the mortgage offer. I got ky broker to email them the same day then this morning got a very snotty email saying theyve informed halifax that my HTB discount is £9000 and ill be contributing £3300. 

I called this afternoon to clarify that my broker had also contacted halifax (and I'm not telling any fibs as they've implied) and she said the searches havent been requested yet and neither have the contracts been recieved from the housing association, she also said the solicitor is on a weeks holiday this week so in a nitshell nothing has been done apart from cast an eye over my mortgage offer which was already ready the day I instructed them. 

I am not happy at all and am feeling super anxious. I think I've been super patient too only emailing twice in almost 4 weeks. I hope your purchase progresses quicker. Im gonna start getting grumpy as time goes on as im terriffied of the mortgage offer expiring.