Stamp duty holiday stress

Tiglet2

arrows123 said:

Most of the issues with solicitors could be resolved by setting the right expectation. I sold a house in Jan, was completely reasonable, was in no rush but it did start to annoy me that whenever I spoke to them, they’d tell me they had enquiries to send across and they’d do it by the end of the next day then didn’t meet their own deadlines so I had to chase. If they’d told me five days I would have waited five days before chasing.

I agree that client expectations need to be managed better, however clients don't want to listen or don't want to believe what they are being told and will start trying to micro manage the transaction by constantly wanting to know who is doing what and when, and when that fails asking what they can do to speed things up.  Do you know what helps speed things up?  Not answering the phone or email to a client with yet another update.  Clients were told in December and then again in March that new instructions were unlikely to beat the stamp duty deadline and yet still there are demands to complete by the end of June from clients who think their case is simple.  The reason solicitors cannot meet their own deadlines is because they waste large parts of the day on pointless phone calls when they should be working on their files.

Octothorpe

Hmmmm i think sometimes chasing up is needed.

Our solicitors are amazing. Emailed them Saturday afternoon and they responded this evening!

Get emails from them at like midnight sometimes. 

If I ask a question, i get an answer and can then relax as they've stated how long it takes so I know to leave them alone!

My vendor's solicitor....never responded when being chased about stuff they should have sent over,  then said they'd sent it already,  but low and behold it had never been received.  Finally got it 2 weeks later. Ridiculous! But they are a purple bricks recommended solicitor so what do you expect??

If EA hadn't chased them up repeatedly we probably still wouldn't have had it it sent!

alexwonghk

Octothorpe said:

Hmmmm i think sometimes chasing up is needed.

Our solicitors are amazing. Emailed them Saturday afternoon and they responded this evening!

Get emails from them at like midnight sometimes. 

If I ask a question, i get an answer and can then relax as they've stated how long it takes so I know to leave them alone!

My vendor's solicitor....never responded when being chased about stuff they should have sent over,  then said they'd sent it already,  but low and behold it had never been received.  Finally got it 2 weeks later. Ridiculous! But they are a purple bricks recommended solicitor so what do you expect??

If EA hadn't chased them up repeatedly we probably still wouldn't have had it it sent!

Really surprised to find out the solicitor reply to your email during weekend.

lookstraightahead

Whilst I don't think the stamp duty holiday needs extending (or should have been there at all), I do wonder how long 'some' solicitors can carry on using the old fashioned reputation of 'go at our pace and wait'. There are a couple of other professions who might do this, but they're in the public sector so funds come in to play. Solicitors are largely private organisations making a lot of money. They do seem to think they're in charge (or maybe feel they are superior or their clients think they are superior).

That said, I couldn't work in the conveyancing field at any time, let alone now where vendors have an unrealistic idea of their potential wealth and buyers are clambering to save a few thousand because they've pushed themselves beyond their affordability.

Redwino222

I agree there is an attitude by some in the profession that they don’t have to deliver a good standard of customer service as displayed by some comments on this thread.

Solicitors surely know their clients want updates and will contact them.  Instead of complaining bitterly and allowing that inevitable human desire to slow down things, why not set up better communication processes?

It is an expensive service which many could deliver better.  

rudesupermarkets

I'm with a large firm that does a pretty bargain basement price and I've been quite impressed.  They have assistants that handle the drudgery of forms, funds etc and responses have been fairly swift on the occasions I've had a query.  I have been careful not to chase anything unnecessarily - much to the chagrin of the vendors agent - and this far have no complaints. That's aiming for July August completion though and expected to miss June the whole way through.

Octothorpe

alexwonghk said:

Octothorpe said:

Hmmmm i think sometimes chasing up is needed.

Our solicitors are amazing. Emailed them Saturday afternoon and they responded this evening!

Get emails from them at like midnight sometimes. 

If I ask a question, i get an answer and can then relax as they've stated how long it takes so I know to leave them alone!

My vendor's solicitor....never responded when being chased about stuff they should have sent over,  then said they'd sent it already,  but low and behold it had never been received.  Finally got it 2 weeks later. Ridiculous! But they are a purple bricks recommended solicitor so what do you expect??

If EA hadn't chased them up repeatedly we probably still wouldn't have had it it sent!

Really surprised to find out the solicitor reply to your email during weekend.

I know! It's not the first time they've replied on a weekend either. Shows how busy they must be, working round the clock.

After we complete I'm leaving them a glowing review and sending them a gift for their brilliant service. 

btcp

If solicitors firms invested in automation systems, there would not be a need to call and check what’s going on. You log in to your online account and see all updates yourself. I am not understanding  a comment  re “micromanaging the transaction”. This is my transaction, I pay a lot of money and I want to know where I am at a time convenient for me. Most of us are not selling/buying properties every day and the process is unknown for many of us. Transparency makes everything less stressful. 

Irishpearce26

btcp said:

If solicitors firms invested in automation systems, there would not be a need to call and check what’s going on. You log in to your online account and see all updates yourself. I am not understanding  a comment  re “micromanaging the transaction”. This is my transaction, I pay a lot of money and I want to know where I am at a time convenient for me. Most of us are not selling/buying properties every day and the process is unknown for many of us. Transparency makes everything less stressful. 

btcp said:

If solicitors firms invested in automation systems, there would not be a need to call and check what’s going on. You log in to your online account and see all updates yourself. I am not understanding  a comment  re “micromanaging the transaction”. This is my transaction, I pay a lot of money and I want to know where I am at a time convenient for me. Most of us are not selling/buying properties every day and the process is unknown for many of us. Transparency makes everything less stressful. 

My solicitor have this system, I can track what stage of the process I am in, when they contacted the vendors solicitor, lender etc. When they begun searches etc and when I contacted them. I can access this information when I want.

btcp

Irishpearce26 said:

btcp said:

If solicitors firms invested in automation systems, there would not be a need to call and check what’s going on. You log in to your online account and see all updates yourself. I am not understanding  a comment  re “micromanaging the transaction”. This is my transaction, I pay a lot of money and I want to know where I am at a time convenient for me. Most of us are not selling/buying properties every day and the process is unknown for many of us. Transparency makes everything less stressful. 

My solicitor have this system, I can track what stage of the process I am in, when they contacted the vendors solicitor, lender etc. When they begun searches etc and when I contacted them. I can access this information when I want.

You are lucky, unfortunately not all of us are! My transaction is with a reputable firm but they are still behind in digital experience.