Solicitor not ready to share file

hopscotch12

Hi, 

I am first time buyer and facing issues with contract exchange as solicitor is not giving go ahead. They said they are waiting for management company to respond on couple of points. When I asked for the file, they responded back saying if they provide me with the file they will no longer be able to continue working for me. Is this correct? What are my options as I was looking forward to close the deal with couple of days. I have to vacate my current flat in next 4-5days. 

user1977

No, it isn't correct and is a load of weird nonsense. However, why are you asking for the file? 

hopscotch12

I am asking for the file to understand if the delay is really from management company or the request was sent late

saajan_12

hopscotch12 said:

Hi, 

I am first time buyer and facing issues with contract exchange as solicitor is not giving go ahead. They said they are waiting for management company to respond on couple of points. When I asked for the file, they responded back saying if they provide me with the file they will no longer be able to continue working for me. Is this correct? What are my options as I was looking forward to close the deal with couple of days. I have to vacate my current flat in next 4-5days. 

What exactly do you mean by "the file"? Usually solicitors will fire off several queries and follow up on any subsequent queries based on the answers. When the last reply is back which doesn't spark further queries, they'll summarise everything into a report for you. If they completed the report in between, they'd have to keep changing and updating it, which may mean duplicated work. 

Saying they can't work for you further is an untactful way of saying this (has there been tension already?) but perhaps they mean that they would only compile the report at the end, so if that's now then they won't follow up on the outstanding enquiries. 

anselld

hopscotch12 said:

I am asking for the file to understand if the delay is really from management company or the request was sent late

It really makes no difference, you are still not ready to exchange.  Efforts would be better spent finding out what exactly are the outstanding enquiries and asking the vendor to chase them up with the management company.

Devongardener

You might find the estate agent could help, our vendors solicitors were incredibly slow in answering our solicitors queries and the agent stepped in, even offering to take the documents from on office to another to speed the process up.

user1977

hopscotch12 said:

I am asking for the file to understand if the delay is really from management company or the request was sent late

Well, if you’re effectively saying to your solicitor that you think they’re lying to you, they might prefer that you instruct somebody else instead.

gm0

Solicitors routinely resist transparency.  And sharing work in progress.  Which would reveal their turgid self serving processes - which delay transactions routinely.  All the while charging by the touch and the item for correspondence and cost plus time spent.  Long established racket.  Little fundamental change to working practices in decades.

And quite sensible processes at one level for working across many files. Nothing too complex about status for task switching file to file.

And why give the customer the evidence you haven't done your job in a timely fashion.  When you can bill for time served. Inconvenience them further with a threat of forced change of lawyer and so get them to go away and put up with it.

As here

But they aren't going to play individual issue tracking games with you.  It's culturally not the way they think


With leasehold and service charge apportionment and arrears - the official response from the man co - is something they are going to wait for.  And be unhappy for you to assume risk on.  Lest you find out something nasty post exchange/completion.  Then attempt to blame them for not stopping you doing the silly thing.  
Very resistant.  If there are debts to be resolved around completion (seller doesn't have other funds to just do it)

While there are a legal core of things that they must do.  That you cannot really change.  The issue stack on a property purchase requires them to inform you of the legal risks of any facts, absences, or documentation glitches thay they find.  And so informed - their accountability is discharged.  Not everything they find for you is created equal.  Some is trivia. Some is important.  They present legal risks - without ever seeing the property or site.  You decide as the client whether these are show stoppers, require indemnity, or can be ignored - with a proceed to exchange.  Their incentive is to resolve it all and tick each box - at greater expense - to you.  Not to take risk or be pragmatic on your behalf. That requires pressure - from you - on which of the found issues you care about. And which you do not.

Few properties of any age at all have perfect paperwork.  

The process by which lawyers collect money for informing you of legal risk incentivises them to make sure you have been documented as properly told.  So you have no comeback on them for their fee.

Tabieth

hopscotch12 said:

I am asking for the file to understand if the delay is really from management company or the request was sent late

That’s something I’d focus on after exchange, if at all. Right now I’d be contacting your solicitor to expedite the process. Make a (polite) nuisance of yourself. Your main focus should be to unblock the delay to enable exchange. Not to attribute blame. 

hopscotch12

Devongardener said:

You might find the estate agent could help, our vendors solicitors were incredibly slow in answering our solicitors queries and the agent stepped in, even offering to take the documents from on office to another to speed the process up.

I have tried seeking help from estate agent , they are just sending reminders over email