Solicitor searches

chloeH95

Solicitor searches were started on the 29th Jan.. apparently these are not due back to them until this week (around 26th) so that’s would have been 4 weeks. Sounds to me like they have gone through a 3rd party search as I was told initially it would be 2 weeks. We even offered to pay more to get them done quicker but solicitors wasn’t interested in our request. How likely is it that they will actually be back on the 26th.. do I need to prepare myself for a much longer wait? 

Also I’ve just found out that my seller has changed solicitors half way through our sale! Do I need to do anything or should I be worried? 

Anyone else been in this situation? 

Irishpearce26

The searches timeframe depends where you live/moving to. My searches through a 3rd party took 9 days. I wouldn't worry about your seller changing solicitors as it means your sellers weren't happy with the progress they were making, your solicitor will have been notified and will pick up from there.

denideth

Out solicitor submitted our searches at the beginning of January and they are due back in the second week of March. They were able to see on their system the exact date they are due to come back though - is this what your solicitor has done?

chloeH95

denideth said:

Out solicitor submitted our searches at the beginning of January and they are due back in the second week of March. They were able to see on their system the exact date they are due to come back though - is this what your solicitor has done?

We asked her on the second week and she gave the date of 26th Feb so I’m hoping she’s got the date of the system. 

Irishpearce26

denideth said:

Out solicitor submitted our searches at the beginning of January and they are due back in the second week of March. They were able to see on their system the exact date they are due to come back though - is this what your solicitor has done?

Ouch! Are you hoping to make the 31st March SDLT deadline?

Hollylyon95

My searches were applied for on 18th December and got them back on 12th February, I think they're taking a lot longer at the moment!

parkingadvice1212

Hollylyon95 said:

My searches were applied for on 18th December and got them back on 12th February, I think they're taking a lot longer at the moment!

It depends on the local authority, ours were requested on the 12th of January and returned on the 20th.

Seashell517

I think in Hackney they still can't do them at all after a cyber attack?
Someone posted this link from a third party search company on their estimated time scales per council: http://search-acumen.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus

Natbag

Seashell517 said:

I think in Hackney they still can't do them at all after a cyber attack?
Someone posted this link from a third party search company on their estimated time scales per council: http://search-acumen.co.uk/covid-19-coronavirus

That's so helpful, thank you. Not sure which one mine falls under, but it looks like either 7 or 14 working days. That's more information than I have been able to prize out of my solicitor. I'm having to move out of my rented flat in 7 days and all I need is an approximate estimate on timescales so I know roughly how many months to arrange storage of my stuff, post redirection, etc for. Also what seasons/occasions I might need clothes for. Are we talking spring, summer, autumn, winter? Who knows?! Nightmare.

amandacat

I’ve just paid for searches, waiting for solicitor confirmation that they’ve actually been ordered. Been told the timescale for this area is 40 working days, so that’s 8 weeks eek. My solicitors use a private company rather than direct with the local authority but I’ve not idea if that will speed things up or not. 

v_rouge

amandacat said:

I’ve just paid for searches, waiting for solicitor confirmation that they’ve actually been ordered. Been told the timescale for this area is 40 working days, so that’s 8 weeks eek. My solicitors use a private company rather than direct with the local authority but I’ve not idea if that will speed things up or not. 

We paid for searches and it took our conveyancer 3 weeks to actually order them (even after the contract pack came from the vendors) so make sure you follow up if you haven't had confirmation soon