Can I do anything about vendors' solicitor not replying?

Jd843

Hi
My solicitor has been waiting for my vendors' solicitor to respond to queries for nearly two weeks.  They ignore emails, and their phone goes to voicemail most of the time.  On three separate occasions, they've told the estate agent "we'll get back to them by [date/time]" then not done that.  I know that the vendors have given their solicitor the info they need to respond, so that's not the issue.  Is there anything I can do apart from keep asking the estate agent to chase them?  

frogglet

If your vendors have copies of documents you need, get them to send them either  direct to you/ your solicitors or via the estate agent.

NameUnavailable

And also get your vendors to get onto the solicitors - they're paying for them and it's holding them up, so surely they should be complaining as well!

White_rose

This happened to me - I put a polite note through the door of my vendor with my phone number. She rang me and her solicitor had told her all enquiries were sorted when they hadn’t - it soon got the process moving. 

Jd843

frogglet said:

If your vendors have copies of documents you need, get them to send them either  direct to you/ your solicitors or via the estate agent.

I don’t think it’s documents they’re waiting for - I asked my solicitor and she said they were waiting for responses to “legal enquiries” and they needed to come via the solicitor 😕 we still haven’t had a response and doubt we will get one today.

GDB2222

3 choices:

1. Nag the vendors
2. Be patient
3. Pull out of the transaction

I'd do 1. I couldn't manage 2. I'd soon be threatening 3.

Jd843

GDB2222 said:

3 choices:

1. Nag the vendors
2. Be patient
3. Pull out of the transaction

I'd do 1. I couldn't manage 2. I'd soon be threatening 3.

I can't nag the vendors directly as I don't have any way of contacting them except through the EA.  I've asked the EA multiple times to get the vendors to nag their solicitor, but for some reason they always seem to dodge the request and do the chasing themselves.  

I'd find it easy to be patient if their solicitor didn't keep over-promising, setting deadlines for themselves that they must know they can't keep (promising to reply by the end of the day etc.).  I don't understand why they can't be honest and just say "look, we've got xyz that we need to prioritise before this so we won't be able to respond until..."  They need to manage expectations better if they want us to stop chasing them every day.  

If I didn't love the house more than any other I've seen on the market in the last six years (renting before we could afford to buy - I haven't been searching for a property that long!), maybe I'd consider threatening pulling out, but it seems pointless if we don't mean it.  The estate agent know we are annoyed, so I hope that they're already worried we might pull out even without us saying it.  

AnotherJoe

Jd843 said:

GDB2222 said:

3 choices:

1. Nag the vendors
2. Be patient
3. Pull out of the transaction

I'd do 1. I couldn't manage 2. I'd soon be threatening 3.

I can't nag the vendors directly as I don't have any way of contacting them except through the EA.  I've asked the EA multiple times to get the vendors to nag their solicitor, but for some reason they always seem to dodge the request and do the chasing themselves.  

I'd find it easy to be patient if their solicitor didn't keep over-promising, setting deadlines for themselves that they must know they can't keep (promising to reply by the end of the day etc.).  I don't understand why they can't be honest and just say "look, we've got xyz that we need to prioritise before this so we won't be able to respond until..."  They need to manage expectations better if they want us to stop chasing them every day.  

If I didn't love the house more than any other I've seen on the market in the last six years (renting before we could afford to buy - I haven't been searching for a property that long!), maybe I'd consider threatening pulling out, but it seems pointless if we don't mean it.  The estate agent know we are annoyed, so I hope that they're already worried we might pull out even without us saying it.  

How about a half way house to (3), start looking again via the same EA.

Tell them you think its going to fall through because the vendors arent concerned enough to chase the solicitor so maybe are getting cold feet, and you want to be prepared. (and this might be the case so no harm you doing this)

Jd843

AnotherJoe said:

Jd843 said:

GDB2222 said:

3 choices:

1. Nag the vendors
2. Be patient
3. Pull out of the transaction

I'd do 1. I couldn't manage 2. I'd soon be threatening 3.

I can't nag the vendors directly as I don't have any way of contacting them except through the EA.  I've asked the EA multiple times to get the vendors to nag their solicitor, but for some reason they always seem to dodge the request and do the chasing themselves.  

I'd find it easy to be patient if their solicitor didn't keep over-promising, setting deadlines for themselves that they must know they can't keep (promising to reply by the end of the day etc.).  I don't understand why they can't be honest and just say "look, we've got xyz that we need to prioritise before this so we won't be able to respond until..."  They need to manage expectations better if they want us to stop chasing them every day.  

If I didn't love the house more than any other I've seen on the market in the last six years (renting before we could afford to buy - I haven't been searching for a property that long!), maybe I'd consider threatening pulling out, but it seems pointless if we don't mean it.  The estate agent know we are annoyed, so I hope that they're already worried we might pull out even without us saying it.  

How about a half way house to (3), start looking again via the same EA.

Tell them you think its going to fall through because the vendors arent concerned enough to chase the solicitor so maybe are getting cold feet, and you want to be prepared. (and this might be the case so no harm you doing this)

I really hope it's not a case of cold feet.  Last time I went to view the house, it looked like they were having a clear out in preparation for moving.  I do wonder if they're dragging their feet because they can't be bothered moving before Christmas. 

Do you think it's worth me asking the EA if the vendors are changing their minds about selling?

EDIT: We had the offer accepted 3 months ago so it would be very late for them to pull out, and they would probably lose a lot of money from being so far along in their onward purchase.

youth_leader

I am sorry and wish you good luck.  I do understand your frustration, and the pandemic has made everything more difficult with people working from home. I instructed my solicitor on 28 October.  I was anxious my vendor had cold feet as I'm seven weeks in, and to date my solicitor has heard nothing from the vendor's solicitor.  When I rang my EA on Wednesday to chase, she said they'd had a directive from HO to contact solicitor's every fortnight, not weekly as before.  The vendor chased and rang the EA with an update on Thursday,  her solicitor unfortunately has the virus.  Her file was passed to a new solicitor on Thursday morning, hopefully something will happen before the Christmas break. 

GDB2222

My own experience is that everybody blames the solicitor, but it is never the solicitor at all. The vendor is probably stalling because they are simply not ready to proceed. That may be cold feet, or their purchase may be falling through or being delayed. On one occasion, the sellers got a better offer and sold to them, whilst keeping me in reserve.

Of course, with Covid and solicitors working from home, it's possible that the solicitor genuinely isn't coping ... 

At the very least, you should be looking at every suitable property that you can. It sends a strong signal to the EA, and it means that at least you know that the property is worth waiting for. Or, you'll find another place equally good.