So.... my offer to buy a house is accepted but the seller's solicitor is not responsive.

Misthios

MaiTai said:

Take a read of “A Week in the Life of a Conveyancer” (Google it!) for an honest view of how things work in a busy conveyancing solicitors.

Its an interesting read!

To be honest, I, can't take accept this. If any solicitor is unable to send a single email, just a tiny email to say:"" Yes, I am instructed and working on the case, I will be in touch", then shut the office and do something else. 

sidneyvic

Misthios said:

sidneyvic said:

I was expecting to find you were months in, not a couple of weeks..... Patience is a virtue and the estate agent is perfectly correct these  thing take time. If you do pull out what are you going to do when next purchase takes just as long ? You will also be blacklisted by this agent and probably all his mates and may find it hard for anyone to take you seriously. Maybe do a bit of researched the average time a house purchase takes . ? 

Well I appreciate and totally understand what you re saying but you have probably miased out 2 points. A) They asked me to commit in a quick sale and be responsive before they accept my offer, they asked me for a proof of issued mortgage and not just in principle, they asked me for a proof that I have a solicitor on standby and I have provided everything. On top I have paid for a top solicitor who prioritise the case in order to meet the seller's and agent's demands. If the seller is demanding I think it's only fair to ask for some commitment on his behalf.The only thing I asked was to confirm that the seller and his solicitor are on ball to preparing the draft document. So.... Just telling me that it takes time, It's so vague when the average time to draw draft contract is about 2 weeks. Furthermore, there's no such a blasklist thing. The estate agents are legally binded to not hide offers they receive from the prospective buyers. 

I think you will find estate agents will advise their clients not to accept offers or even viewings from prospective buyers they consider to be time wasters. Once they tell their client you pulled out of a purchase in two weeks simply because you didn't feel it was processing quickly enough despite them confirming acceptance of your offer and instructing solicitors, I doubt they will want to let you even have a viewing.....

Tiglet2

Misthios said:

sidneyvic said:

I was expecting to find you were months in, not a couple of weeks..... Patience is a virtue and the estate agent is perfectly correct these  thing take time. If you do pull out what are you going to do when next purchase takes just as long ? You will also be blacklisted by this agent and probably all his mates and may find it hard for anyone to take you seriously. Maybe do a bit of researched the average time a house purchase takes . ? 

Well I appreciate and totally understand what you re saying but you have probably miased out 2 points. A) They asked me to commit in a quick sale and be responsive before they accept my offer, they asked me for a proof of issued mortgage and not just in principle, they asked me for a proof that I have a solicitor on standby and I have provided everything. On top I have paid for a top solicitor who prioritise the case in order to meet the seller's and agent's demands. If the seller is demanding I think it's only fair to ask for some commitment on his behalf.The only thing I asked was to confirm that the seller and his solicitor are on ball to preparing the draft document. So.... Just telling me that it takes time, It's so vague when the average time to draw draft contract is about 2 weeks. Furthermore, there's no such a blasklist thing. The estate agents are legally binded to not hide offers they receive from the prospective buyers. 

Well done for being responsive as requested by your seller.  Absolutely everyone wants a "quick" sale, but the only way that happens is when the transaction is easy and everyone involved is very responsive.  No one knows if a transaction is easy until mid through the work.  If there are problems with the title, the transaction will not be quick no matter what the seller demands.

However, look at this from the other side.......

Your seller accepted your offer 7 working days ago.  Your seller instructed their solicitor.  Their solicitor would have to send out initial paperwork to get the seller signed up, a file to be opened, ID and AML checks done.  The solicitor would also send the Property Information Form and Fixtures & Contents form out to the seller to complete and return.  Once the seller's solicitor has opened the file, got the ID and AML checks done and received the paperwork back from the seller, they would need to download copies of the title and plan from Land Registry, for which they would also need the seller to put funds in the solicitor's client account.  

There is actually quite a lot of work involved in collating all the information the seller's solicitor needs in order to draft the contract and send the pack to your solicitor.  There is more work at this stage to do for the seller than the buyer.  If the seller's solicitor were to waste their time confirming to all their clients and estate agents that they are on the ball to preparing the draft contract, it would take longer still.......!

The firm I work for would struggle to do all of the above within 7 working days to be honest.  The transaction will take as long as the slowest link and you still have a long way to go.

MalMonroe

Hi, I'm also thinking that you may be expecting too much too soon. 

Also, you say that the property is empty - so you don't know if the seller might be trying to cope with having recently lost a family member who used to live there (for example, a parent). They may be having difficulty tying up that relative's estate, or anything. They may be grieving and feeling depressed (very understandable when someone is bereaved) and they may find that they can't cope with things sometimes. All manner of things. Yes, they said they wanted a quick sale but you never know other people's circumstances.

It's understandable that you are now itching to get into your own place but try to think of the seller as someone who may be struggling at the moment. Someone who is not being deliberately awkward but someone who has to wait for all the legal issues to be sorted out. It's all for your benefit as well as for theirs.

If you pull out now then you'll have to start all over again with a different property and who's to say that things will be better with that? 

Buying and selling property is up there with all the most stressful life occurrences - bereavement, moving house, divorce, major illness, job loss - all great life-changing events. Taking things easy and not trying to rush is really the best way to proceed. I don't think anyone's trying to drag things out, it's just the way house buying and selling happens in the UK. Imagine if you were having to sell a property as well - it's very stressful. I'm sure you will find that your new home was well worth the wait once you're there. Most good things are. 

Voyager2002

Buying a house is not like picking up groceries at a supermarket.

You are engaging professionals who need to carry out checks and do things properly. This of this as like being seen in a hospital A and E department: it will take as long as it takes, and rather than complaining about it just be thankful that you will eventually receive the treatment/service that you need, so long as you are still alive at the end of the waiting period. If you don't like the way we do things in England, you are free to move to Scotland and see if life is any better there.

jonnydeppiwish!

Misthios said:

Many Thanks everyone, to be honest I just came off the phone from the estate agent who said to me ''these things take time''.......

Ehmmmm just to receive a confirmation that they are on the ball? A single answer? I only asked form the ventor and it's solicitor for a confirmation that they are working on preparing the draft contract which according to many it doesn't take more than 1-2 weeks? Am not talking about exchanging contracts, am talking about preparing and send the draft contract.

To be honest, I was not amused by the agent's attitude and I might withdraw the offer if I don't have any re assurances next week. 

Is this your first house?  I think a quick dose of reality needs to be had first. Whatever the status of the house, you’re looking at 4 months for the sale to complete.

The vendor’s solicitor isn’t just dealing with their sale, but possibly 20-50 at the same time. It’ll take 7 days for the first set of paperwork to come out to the vendors and end the events of this month, it’ll be further delayed.

As for pulling out, that’s a very immature approach showing impatience. 

TBG01

Whatever your Solicitor earns from this transaction, it won't be enough. 

You're already giving of 'one of those' client vibes and you're only two weeks into a 12 - 15 weeks transaction.

p00hsticks

Misthios said:

sidneyvic said:

I was expecting to find you were months in, not a couple of weeks..... Patience is a virtue and the estate agent is perfectly correct these  thing take time. If you do pull out what are you going to do when next purchase takes just as long ? You will also be blacklisted by this agent and probably all his mates and may find it hard for anyone to take you seriously. Maybe do a bit of researched the average time a house purchase takes . ? 

A) They asked me to commit in a quick sale and be responsive before they accept my offer, they asked me for a proof of issued mortgage and not just in principle,

That doesn't really make sense - until you have had an offer accepted on a specific property and the mortgage issuer has carried out a valuation on it then you can;t gete an 'issued mortage', only a mortgage in principal.

Have you instructed your solicitor to start carrying out all the relevant searches,  sorted out a surveyor etc ?

By far the most conveyancing work is on the side of the buyer, not the the seller, so the fact that the sellers solicitor is not immmediately responding shouldn't be of great concern. In my experience some some solicitors will produce draft contract packs early on in the process, others will wait until closer to exchange.  

Misthios

Voyager2002 said:

Buying a house is not like picking up groceries at a supermarket.

You are engaging professionals who need to carry out checks and do things properly. This of this as like being seen in a hospital A and E department: it will take as long as it takes, and rather than complaining about it just be thankful that you will eventually receive the treatment/service that you need, so long as you are still alive at the end of the waiting period. If you don't like the way we do things in England, you are free to move to Scotland and see if life is any better there.

Ohh... Be careful... Your comment reaches closely discrimination and racism. Don't generalise the situation like "This is England, if you don't like it go elsewhere ". It's not nice at all. 

Misthios

MalMonroe said:

Hi, I'm also thinking that you may be expecting too much too soon. 

Also, you say that the property is empty - so you don't know if the seller might be trying to cope with having recently lost a family member who used to live there (for example, a parent). They may be having difficulty tying up that relative's estate, or anything. They may be grieving and feeling depressed (very understandable when someone is bereaved) and they may find that they can't cope with things sometimes. All manner of things. Yes, they said they wanted a quick sale but you never know other people's circumstances.

It's understandable that you are now itching to get into your own place but try to think of the seller as someone who may be struggling at the moment. Someone who is not being deliberately awkward but someone who has to wait for all the legal issues to be sorted out. It's all for your benefit as well as for theirs.

If you pull out now then you'll have to start all over again with a different property and who's to say that things will be better with that? 

Buying and selling property is up there with all the most stressful life occurrences - bereavement, moving house, divorce, major illness, job loss - all great life-changing events. Taking things easy and not trying to rush is really the best way to proceed. I don't think anyone's trying to drag things out, it's just the way house buying and selling happens in the UK. Imagine if you were having to sell a property as well - it's very stressful. I'm sure you will find that your new home was well worth the wait once you're there. Most good things are. 

I couldnt agree more with anything you said. All I am looking for is an update and they don't provide one. Thanks for the advice though, I appreciate it.