Conveyancers during sale of house

slatz

I'm in the process of selling a former BTL property.  We went with the conveyancer recommended by the estate agent, possible error, as it isn't local to where I live and they said they were great and very fast.

I'm really struggling getting information out of them.  They seem to forget who is paying their fees and are not very customer focussed.

The latest I've had from them is a series of questions from the buyer.  Things like have I always abided by the terms of the relevant covenants, is the oven included in the sale, trivial stuff I think. I've answered all the questions referred to me.  They said there were additional questions from the buyer that they would answer.  I've asked to see what these questions are and to be copied in on the answers provided.

They have responded that they can't do that as it could be seen as a conflict of interest.

What possible conflict of interest could there be in them providing full transparency to me of all the questions asked and all the answers provided?

I am genuinely flummoxed as to what they could be.

user1977

Nope, no idea. Possibly something lost in translation.

It's not the same firm acting for your buyer, is it? That's even worse an idea than using the EA-recommended firm.

But I would guess there's a bunch of "lawyer" or inapplicable questions which they can answer without needing any input from you, and they possibly just want to save the time going through those.

HobgoblinBT

Conflict of interest of conveyancers?  Are they acting for both parties?

Albermarle

HobgoblinBT said:

Conflict of interest of conveyancers?  Are they acting for both parties?

Probably the same company recommended by the estate agent to both vendors and buyers.

Bigphil1474

They should have sent you a form for you to fill in to identify what is included in the sale and what isn't - TA6. Saves a lot of hassle. 

EssexHebridean

Bigphil1474 said:

They should have sent you a form for you to fill in to identify what is included in the sale and what isn't - TA6. Saves a lot of hassle. 

This is relating to enquiries before contract, rather than to anything on protocol forms, I think. 

I would agree that there should be no conflict of interest here unless the firm in question is acting for both parties - which can be legitimate in some situations but most people would suggest that transparency would demand both parties being made aware of this. 

doodling

Hi,

I would respond to the conveyancer with a naive approach along the lines of:

<
I note from our communication on X that you have stated that you have a conflict of interest in dealing with the sale of my house.

This is extremely concerning to me.

Please can you confirm the following:
1. the nature of the conflict;
2. the time / date when you became aware of the conflict: and
3. what steps you are taking to ensure that you continue to act in my best interests in progressing the sale?

If there is any risk that you may be unable to act for me then I will need to urgently find an alternative conveyancer, I therefore expect a response to this email within three working days.

Best regards,
>

If they don't respond to that then you need to use whatever complaints process they offer straight away.