Solicitors are no good to anyone.

Jduk90

Hi all, get a cup of tea and brace yourselves. 

In December 2019 we sold our house within a week and in Jan 2020 sols were recommended from the estate agents, property we went in on was a disaster, in July 2020 when our mortgage offer of 5% deposit expired they wanted us to renew at 15% which we couldn't afford. The solicitors were awful, never answered the phone, didn't reply to emails and when we did get through was told that our case gets looked at once a week even though I knew enquiries had been replied to from the seller as we swapped numbers and were staggered how bad it all was. Anyway that was then.

Move to April 2021 and we sold our house before it went online, first viewing on the day it was due to go online it sold above asking price. September 2021 and I am still sat on the same toilet in my original house.

Apparently, my new agents and their recommended sols would do a better job, but now I feel like I'm in groundhog day.

I ring up, they say we're awaiting replies, I ask them to chase, they say they "send emails"

I asked why don't you call and they sounded very politician like and said they were doing everything they could.

I called today saying I had found out that the information we require can be obtain from..... and turn around time is 10 working days, so the sellers solicitors should have had a reply now.

my solicitor said that basically they have to wait, I said email or CALL them and explain that the customer has found out that..... why are you taking so long.

my solicitor seems reluctant to apply pressure and the sellers solicitors seem in no hurry considering stamp duty holiday ends 30th September.

I'm tempted to pay my sols, break this whole thing off and build an extension.

solicitors are good for nothing in short, a boys club who seem to protect their own?

does anyone know how I can apply more pressure?

I have been on to my agents, the sellers agents, my sols and done some Internet digging.

I apparently can't talk to sellers sols as a conflict of interest, I call it they don't want to be bothered by me.

the seller is a little old lady who wouldn't say boo to a goose.

I feel were both being led up the garden path.

rant over. 

NameUnavailable

I'm currently buying - chain free and buying an empty property and it's been over 4 months now since the offer was accepted.

I chased my solicitors today and was told they had only received responses to queries on Friday which they were in the process of checking and would then report back to me. I too am hoping (really hoping) to complete by the end of the month and save £2K in stamp duty. 

It's frustrating but it is a process and your and my files are one of many they're dealing with so it is very much a sausage factory process.

I guess when you think of what they charge for conveyancing - compared to other representation - it's not surprising. I mean I know someone who engage solicitors to deal with a property dispute several years ago, it's still ongoing and last I heard she was down about £20K in solicitors fees.......

elsien

You have no contract with the seller’s solicitor. If they need pushing it needs to be the seller, as she is the one paying them, regardless of what information you want to share with them. 

TBG01

You didn't sell your house. You accepted an offer. There's a big difference. That being you have many weeks and months ahead of you. When sold you don't have that.

JCarmello

Given the bad first experience, would you not have shopped round for one with good reviews and reputation?

A good solicitor is the best money you can spend if you ask me

dimbo61

The very first line in your post made me shudder the fear.
The estate agent recommended solicitor !
Please please find a local firm of solicitors who deal in conveyancing and have a high street office close to you.

Jduk90

thank you to everyone's replies.

Its just wholly frustrating, and yes we did shop around and we checked the reviews of the people we are using and they were all positive and the people who the seller are using also were on our list to use but their reviews were hit and miss.

I hope this is our last house and never move again.

I deal with solicitors in my field of work and find the bigger the firm the less attention to detail. but these 2 smaller firms seem painfully slow.

As for above about offer and sold, conveyancing shouldn't take this long. Many people will testify to a quick great experience, I am obviously stuck with the leftovers and it should not be this way imo. 

Thrugelmir

Jduk90 said:

 conveyancing shouldn't take this long.

Pay for a premium service you'll receive one. As time costs money. Chasing other parties is an inefficient use of time. When there's actual work to be done.  

Jduk90

Thrugelmir said:

Jduk90 said:

 conveyancing shouldn't take this long.

Pay for a premium service you'll receive one. As time costs money. Chasing other parties is an inefficient use of time. When there's actual work to be done.  

but surely you are serving your paying customers?

someone is paying for your service so the mantra of an inefficient use of time just smacks in people's faces.

Sector needs more scrutiny. 

980233

Basically you earned a commission twice for the agents for signing up to 'Dewey, Cheatham & Howe'.

Always reject theirs and conveyancing battery farms full of failed solicitors.

Ask around friends and family, shop around and NEVER go for the cheap end of the scale just to save a few hundred.

london21

I find that reading reviews before instructing any solicitor. Saves a lot of stress later. There are few outstanding ones but many crap ones. 

I will never use a recommended conveyancing company unless I have done my due diligence and they are good value with reasonable positive reviews. 

The estate agents get commission and would sometimes push their recommendations on clients. 

Sometimes cheap conveyancing companies are overstretched and offer crap customer service. 

Sometimes do not be afraid to change if you are seeing signs they are not the right choice for you. 

I use a comparison site then check their reviews. Google reviews helped me with choosing the right solicitor but my conveyancing was complex and had to change my conveyancing company, glad I did.