Is the solicitor too slow or do we have high expectations?

hopeitwill

Hi everyone,

We have been trying to purchase the house we have been renting (3 years) for the last 10-11 weeks now. We got a mortgage right away, the bank society instructed one of their chosen solicitors on the same day and we started the progress. There is no chain.

Now the solicitor has neither answered our e-mails nor our calls in the first 10 weeks. After complaining once last week, they said they were waiting for an email answer from the seller's solicitor which they sent at the beginning of October. Our landlord (the seller) who uses the same solicitor for all of her house bidding swears they haven't received anything.

Now they are requesting certified docs of the persons who gave us the gift but they live in a different country(EU) which will extend it even more, and possibly longer than normal because that country is also in a lockdown.

This may be more of a rant than a question, but is it normal that it is taking this long? Can they go beyond their quoted price by dragging this along?

MaryNB

No responses for 10 weeks? I would have changed solicitor. I instructed my solicitor 8 weeks ago and am due to exchange next week. Although my solicitor isn't helping with trying to meet that deadline thanks to the gifted deposit requirements. Things are moving much slower during Covid but not answering any calls or emails for 10 weeks is ridiculous. 

Regarding the EU gift, I'm going through a similar scenario and it's like pulling teeth trying to get it sorted. Especially since my gift is coming from Ireland where the lockdown travel limit is 5 km and my dad should be shielding because of his age...
My parents needed ID and proof of address certified by a doctor, accountant or solicitor. They didn't just have to provide bank statements, they had to show proof of how the funds accumulated. A few years of savings account statements, proof of income, letter from former employer regarding pension payout, and cover letters explaining how the funds accumulated. 
The financial docs were emailed over as scans but now my solicitor wants photocopies by post... 

Make sure you know EXACTLY what the solicitor needs in terms of proof and in what format (originals/copies/by email/by post). My solicitor keeps asking vague questions and then keeps asking for more and more info. Why she couldn't be clear in her first email I don't know. 

hopeitwill

Thank you so much for your answer, we thought about changing the solicitor at first but then we thought because they work with the banking society, they would just be doing their job because they need to keep a reputation.

The banking society actually has raised the first complaint for us, but we are now experiencing the same thing. No responses to our emails.

And as to how the gift has accrued to the amount that it has, it really is quite complicated, like there is not an end to it. It was sent from my in-laws' joint account. But part of it came from my mother-in-law and a part came from my father-in-law. And the part my mother-in-law sent was a gift to her from her mother (my OH's grandmother). And this was due to losing her husband. It could just go on and on.

And on top of that, they may be able to get the banking docs etc. in English but the certified IDs, proof address will definitely be in Dutch. We don't know if the solicitor needs all these documents to be in English.

We have sent a few emails to clarify what exactly they need but again unfortunately no responses. Again, thank you and we either will complain again or count our losses and change solicitor.

MaryNB

If you do change solicitor when you ask for a quote make sure they're on the banking society's panel. You'll still need to chase and chase. My solicitor's firm is a local one with great ratings. Even the seller's estate agent commented that they were good. He's changed his tune now that's he having trouble getting mine to answer the phone or emails. 

For the funds I would recommend putting together a step by step explanation of how the funds accrued with references to the relevant attached statements. For my mother she didn't need proof of 100% of the funds but they could see that her savings were gradually increasing as she received her monthly income (I say that, my solicitor might decide in a few days that she needs more info). My father's was a bit more difficult because of the lump sum he got when he retired. Every time you send anything call up and ask if it's sufficient. My solicitor sits on info for ages before saying its not enough. 

Definitely check if you need certified translations of anything. At least that was one thing I didn't need to worry about. I just hope my solicitor can read roman numerals because for some reason my dad has an deposit slip where the teller wrote all the dates in roman numerals 🤦

hopeitwill

    Thank you MaryNB, that puts a smile on my face.

We will definitely put a package together as we are aware how important it is, it is just the lack of information we are given by the solicitor that makes it difficult for us. We usually end up doing our own research on google.

Like you said, why they couldn't have told us about the documents needed from the beginning, it is beside us.

trex227

One of the issues you have is as there is no estate agent if you’re not chasing the solicitors no-one is. It’s incredibly busy in the conveyancing industry at the moment (my spouses firm are at 130% of maximum capacity and it sounds like it’s a similar story across the whole industry) so if your solicitor isn’t being chased by anyone then your file keeps going to the bottom of the pile. 

hopeitwill

Thanks trex227, we're definitely not trying to bombard them with questions, there are a lot of people trying to get their purchasing done asap, but we're also trying to contact them when we have a question about what they need which will go unanswered most of the time.
They also seem not to use the conveyancing system that the banking society provides, which makes it even more difficult.

davidmcn

To be fair, whoever dealt with your mortgage application ought to have warned you that you would need to get ID and evidence of the source of funds from whoever is providing the gifted deposit, so that shouldn't have come as a complete surprise to you.

hopeitwill

Thanks davidmcn, we went straight to the bank and they haven't told us anything. Then we have received all the docs needed from the conveyancer but again nothing about the gift givers. We are also first time buyers so we don't have any experience on purchasing a house but we're definitely learning our lessons now

hopeitwill

Just to add do this, our solicitor really has been horrible. He does not confirm anything, he does not answer to queries which we had maybe only once every fortnight, he does not use the online processing, he won't answer his phone. He will only answer if our adviser raises a complaint on the online conveyancing system, and he stopped doing that even.

And granted our case has just turned a bit sour with leasehold and freehold issues but what happens if you choose another solicitor? Do you simply pay for the disbursements that they can show that incurred and they forward all of your file to the new solicitor? Or do you start with the new solicitor from the beginning? Any help is appreciated.