In what order does a solicitor do things? [slow purchase!]

user1977

Strummer22 said:

GoogleMeNow said:

On Wednesday he emailed us to say that our lender requires a “highways search” and a ground stability report, although was not specific on the type of either. I asked why, if these requirements were issued with our mortgage offer at the end of August, they were only being dealt with now? The response was that they needed a full picture from the seller before they could properly consider the lender's requirements.

Have you read your copy of the mortgage offer?  It wouldn't be there as it would not be a requirement of the offer at that stage.  More likely to have been advised within in the 'standard' searches, which were returned and reviewed when?  If the searches recommend further reports, then the solicitor advises the lender that further reports are necessary and the lender will agree that the offer is agreed, subject to the further reports.

Our mortgage offer did not include this detail - but we were told by our broker that a separate legal pack was sent from our lender to our solicitor when the mortgage offer was issued. Presumably the requirements were in there, as I gave our solicitor an opportunity to explain whether the lender's requirements were received at some later date and he did not say so.

Rather than presuming, get a copy and tell us what it says. As above, it would be unusual for lenders to have non-standard search requirements. Who is the lender?

Strummer22

The lender is Swansea Building Society.

I actually don't want to rile our solicitor by asking to see what our lender sent him (and when) unless we can determine that his actions, or lack of, have been below the standards one would normally expect of their conveyancer. The replies in this thread have not convinced me of that.

Besides, I can't see how else our solicitor would have been informed of these requirements - he received a legal pack witth our mortgage offer at the end of August, and had not talked to our lender between then and last Friday.

Thrugelmir

Strummer22 said:

I actually don't want to rile our solicitor

I expect you already have. If you wanted priority attention then you could have opted to be charged on a time basis rather than fixed fee. 

GoogleMeNow

Right, let's take this back  bit.

You got a mortgage offer from Swansea Building Society.  The lender will send a copy of the offer to you and a conveyancer's copy of the offer to your solicitor.  While there are some additional instructions in the conveyancer's copy, I would not expect non-standard searches to be amongst them.

Because you are purchasing with a mortgage, you have to purchase the standard searches.  In those searches (such as the Environmental and Local Search), it may advise that further searches/reports are needed/recommended.  If you have copies of the searches, read them and see if it's there.

Your solicitor in representing the lender, would need to report the need for further searches/reports to that lender.

From the way your post reads, your solicitor reported this to the lender last Friday.

Your lender acts upon the advice of the solicitor, so they would then write to confirm that they require those additional searches before agreeing to release the mortgage monies for your purchase.

It might be that your solicitor is still looking for the right searches to protect the lender and that's the reason for the vague responses.

I suspect you are trying to micro manage your solicitor's work.

Strummer22

Thrugelmir said:

Strummer22 said:

I actually don't want to rile our solicitor

I expect you already have. If you wanted priority attention then you could have opted to be charged on a time basis rather than fixed fee. 

About that.. we are