Seller solicitor taking too long to respond

davidmcn

dipesh010 said:

davidmcn said:

dipesh010 said:

davidmcn said:

dipesh010 said:

greatcrested said:

dipesh010 said:

greatcrested said:

You have two choices:

1) be patient. Accept that property purchases always take longer than seems necessary and longer than you want

2) start looking for a new property

I am concern that the seller might pull out and want to put this house on market again.

That's always a possibility whatever speed the process goes at

If I engage with the seller solicitor is thats okay?

No. You are not his client. He will not respond to you.

I cant go with 2nd option I already spent money paying my lawyer and wasted my time here.

Then that leaves option 1

If things dont go according to the plan then can i claim back my money for searches, lawyer and my time as its lawyers fault not my

No. Until Exchange of Contracts there is no contract so neither side can claim anything from the other. That's the whole point of Exchanging the Contract.

No. You are not his client. He will not respond to you.

You are correct but my lawyer cannot move forward because his being negligent. He responds to estate agent who is not his client so he should be able to respond to a buyer too if I cc my lawyer to as they usually talk?  

No, solicitors are not allowed to talk directly to other solicitors' clients. The estate agent is not another solicitors' client, they're another professional engaged by the seller.

I've looked around  and according to this post: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5861179/seller-pulled-out-of-house-sale-as-the-solicitor-took-too-long it says peopler can make formal complain to both solicitor?  

I can't see that being said anywhere in that thread. And from the vagueness of the info you've given us, I can't see that the other solicitor is actually blameworthy here.

So you dont think he has only sent half of the paperwork to my lawyer and taking around 3 weeks to send the remaining paperwork is blameworthy (which he haven't done yet)?

Like I said above, you seem to be assuming that he was sitting there with the "paperwork" all along. Which is unlikely. He needs to get "paperwork" from his clients. He needs to get "paperwork" from other sources. Which might involve paying money, for which he first needs to get funds from his clients. As you've mentioned a lease, and "some pack", is that a management pack from the freeholders? Those can take a notoriously long time to turn up. I would first check your facts before firing off complaints to anyone.

Disjoint

With your current solicitor you would have paid him a set fee at the start to likely cover some of his cost and a bit extra. If you pull out you can tell him to shove it for the rest of the cash, he might or might not chase you for the cash. You argument is that he did not do his job properly. You can likely settle for less than £2k as he won't go through the hassle of taking you to court for the balance and justify why he deserves his fee. Also £2k?! That's a lot of money for conveyancing, unless property is over £1m.
For the seller threaten to pull out unless they hurry their solicitor.
Finally - you certainly can chase the seller's solicitor. They are not forced to reply to you, but if you are a royal pain and keep calling it will certainly help. I've done it in the past - it has worked in my favour.

dipesh010

davidmcn said:

dipesh010 said:

davidmcn said:

dipesh010 said:

davidmcn said:

dipesh010 said:

greatcrested said:

dipesh010 said:

greatcrested said:

You have two choices:

1) be patient. Accept that property purchases always take longer than seems necessary and longer than you want

2) start looking for a new property

I am concern that the seller might pull out and want to put this house on market again.

That's always a possibility whatever speed the process goes at

If I engage with the seller solicitor is thats okay?

No. You are not his client. He will not respond to you.

I cant go with 2nd option I already spent money paying my lawyer and wasted my time here.

Then that leaves option 1

If things dont go according to the plan then can i claim back my money for searches, lawyer and my time as its lawyers fault not my

No. Until Exchange of Contracts there is no contract so neither side can claim anything from the other. That's the whole point of Exchanging the Contract.

No. You are not his client. He will not respond to you.

You are correct but my lawyer cannot move forward because his being negligent. He responds to estate agent who is not his client so he should be able to respond to a buyer too if I cc my lawyer to as they usually talk?  

No, solicitors are not allowed to talk directly to other solicitors' clients. The estate agent is not another solicitors' client, they're another professional engaged by the seller.

I've looked around  and according to this post: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5861179/seller-pulled-out-of-house-sale-as-the-solicitor-took-too-long it says peopler can make formal complain to both solicitor?  

I can't see that being said anywhere in that thread. And from the vagueness of the info you've given us, I can't see that the other solicitor is actually blameworthy here.

So you dont think he has only sent half of the paperwork to my lawyer and taking around 3 weeks to send the remaining paperwork is blameworthy (which he haven't done yet)?

Like I said above, you seem to be assuming that he was sitting there with the "paperwork" all along. Which is unlikely. He needs to get "paperwork" from his clients. He needs to get "paperwork" from other sources. Which might involve paying money, for which he first needs to get funds from his clients. As you've mentioned a lease, and "some pack", is that a management pack from the freeholders? Those can take a notoriously long time to turn up. I would first check your facts before firing off complaints to anyone.

When the property contract pack is expected i believe a seller solicitor need to send basic paperwork? the property is been in market for long time (previous buyer mortgage did not go through). Seller solicitor who is a partner of that company had enough time to make sure he gathered/acquired relevant paperwork. As a partner he should know what papers should be sent so not sure why he sent half of the paperwork. If some paperwork takes long time to acquire then he should proactively inform my lawyer so she is aware rather than saying 'all send'

dipesh010

Disjoint said:

With your current solicitor you would have paid him a set fee at the start to likely cover some of his cost and a bit extra. If you pull out you can tell him to shove it for the rest of the cash, he might or might not chase you for the cash. You argument is that he did not do his job properly. You can likely settle for less than £2k as he won't go through the hassle of taking you to court for the balance and justify why he deserves his fee. Also £2k?! That's a lot of money for conveyancing, unless property is over £1m.
For the seller threaten to pull out unless they hurry their solicitor.
Finally - you certainly can chase the seller's solicitor. They are not forced to reply to you, but if you are a royal pain and keep calling it will certainly help. I've done it in the past - it has worked in my favour.

Thanks. This has very helpful 
Please name me a solicitor that is below 2k and i will go to him next time. I have called few and most comes at 2k or above 
property price is 247k 1 bed.
Yes I'll write him an email cc'ing my lawyer saying he need to pull his finger out and do some work 
A follow up question, what if my lawyer do take me to the court? and if i loose do i have to pay extra?  

greatcrested

dipesh010 said:

Disjoint said:

With your current solicitor you would have paid him a set fee at the start to likely cover some of his cost and a bit extra. If you pull out you can tell him to shove it for the rest of the cash, he might or might not chase you for the cash. You argument is that he did not do his job properly. You can likely settle for less than £2k as he won't go through the hassle of taking you to court for the balance and justify why he deserves his fee. Also £2k?! That's a lot of money for conveyancing, unless property is over £1m.
For the seller threaten to pull out unless they hurry their solicitor.
Finally - you certainly can chase the seller's solicitor. They are not forced to reply to you, but if you are a royal pain and keep calling it will certainly help. I've done it in the past - it has worked in my favour.

Thanks. This has very helpful 
Please name me a solicitor that is below 2k and i will go to him next time. I have called few and most comes at 2k or above 
property price is 247k 1 bed.
Yes I'll write him an email cc'ing my lawyer saying he need to pull his finger out and do some work 
A follow up question, what if my lawyer do take me to the court? and if i loose do i have to pay extra?  

In most cases, if you lose a civil case in court you have to pay your own legal costs, the other party's legal costs, plus,of course, whatever the court awards the winning party.

Slithery

Disjoint said:

If you pull out you can tell him to shove it for the rest of the cash, he might or might not chase you for the cash. You argument is that he did not do his job properly.

What? It's not the OP's solicitor that's being slow, it's their vendor's solicitor whom the OP has no contract with.
Solicitors always chase unpaid bills.

Caramac

I think you need to be patient. I can’t see the seller pulling out and remarketing the property because his solicitor is slow as he would only have the same problem with any new buyer. 

Kyresa

Honestly. these solicitors lately.    They should be replying instantly.   I mean It's not like it's the busiest period in a number of years because of the stamp duty holiday. 

They have no other client but you I'm assuming? 

Thrugelmir

dipesh010 said:

Thrugelmir said:

What position is your vendor in, i.e. the chain above?  Not just about you and them. 

Sorry i forgot to mention there is no chain, property has been empty for months and I am happy to move quickly as possible 

Something is causing a delay to the proceedings though. Solicitors work on their clients instructions, or are unable to progress matters due to something else. 

hazyjo

How long did you think it was all going to take?

How long exactly has it taken from offer (and completed chain) to now?

The solicitor may be in the office, but are you sure all staff are in, or even working and not furloughed?

Personally, I think you're being impatient. It takes as long as it takes. If it's been 6 months, fair enough. But if the 2 months you mention are from the start, then it's not been at all slow. I'd be expecting 4 months ish.