Solicitor charging for emails?

mathie

Hi
Im selling my house.
I was quoted a cost of 1K + VAT + outlay.
Now I've been asking a few questions over the last few weeks and I just get an email there saying 'Oh by the way Ill be charging for each reply to your emails'

Is this usual?

Thanks
M

maidhc

mathie wrote:

Hi
Im selling my house.
I was quoted a cost of 1K + VAT + outlay.
Now I've been asking a few questions over the last few weeks and I just get an email there saying 'Oh by the way Ill be charging for each reply to your emails'

Is this usual?

Thanks
M

No it isn't!!

Out of interest how many times have you emailed?

mr.twist

are you getting legal advice in the emails- if so then yes it is normal

Rhonda9000

Its likened to billable time spent in the solicitors office etc.. If clients are excessively phoning and so on (not saying you are), its taking time and should be billed

EdgarAllenPoo

mathie wrote:

Hi
Im selling my house.
I was quoted a cost of 1K + VAT + outlay.
Now I've been asking a few questions over the last few weeks and I just get an email there saying 'Oh by the way Ill be charging for each reply to your emails'

Is this usual?

Thanks
M

I bet he starts sending you spam so he can buy a new car:D

1K + VAT is bloody cheap for a house sale.


Slightly OT but could someone give me a step by step guide as to what a solicitor does when they do a conveyance.

I'm starting a law degree in a few weeks and from personal experience it takes about six weeks to buy and sell a house.

Why exactly does it take that long. I always said that if and when I qualified I;d never take that long;)

mathie

Thanks guys.

I'd say abotu 15 emails.
Its been a very tricky sale.
Questions about the land registry etc.
Very few have been 'legal advice', more communication about what's needed from myself (i.e. to find out about ownership of a lane beside the property etc)

I do understand that if phone calls are billable time then emails should be too.

Am I in for a big bill

Thanks

Rhonda9000

GDM wrote:

Why exactly does it take that long. I always said that if and when I qualified I;d never take that long;)

The Land Registry

Victor

So if he is charging for every last moment, what is the €1,000 for?

Rhonda9000

In reality they wont bill for a few extra emails / reasonable queries, just say this to try and dissuade hyperactive clients (again, not saying you are OP!).

A friend of mine tells her more highly strung clients (eg. that phone up 4-5 times a day with nothing substantive to say or enquire about) that she is billing for each phone call, to make the calls cease.

I think a lot of people don't appreciate the time it genuinely takes behind the scenes to sort a clients affairs; all they see is the fee note and remember seeing the solicitor for just 15 minutes and are under the illusion that the answer to their problem was simply plucked from the solicitors memory in 10 seconds and the practice has zero else happening.

mathie

Victor wrote:

So if he is charging for every last moment, what is the €1,000 for?

My sentiments exactly!

Rhonda9000 wrote:

In reality they wont bill for a few extra emails / reasonable queries, just say this to try and dissuade hyperactive clients (again, not saying you are OP!).

A friend of mine tells her more highly strung clients (eg. that phone up 4-5 times a day with nothing substantive to say or enquire about) that she is billing for each phone call, to make the calls cease.

I think a lot of people don't appreciate the time it genuinely takes behind the scenes to sort a clients affairs; all they see is the fee note and remember seeing the solicitor for just 15 minutes and are under the illusion that the answer to their problem was simply plucked from the solicitors memory in 10 seconds and the practice has zero else happening.

Thanks!
Yeah I probably am one of the borderline hyperactive cases so I guess it doesn't hurt to calm down a little

Cheers for all the input guys!
M

johnnyskeleton

GDM wrote:

Slightly OT but could someone give me a step by step guide as to what a solicitor does when they do a conveyance.

Purchasor's Solicitor: Checks the contract of sale, gets the client to sign the contract, researches the title, raises objections and requistions on title, deals with the bank (if a mortgage), waits for reports (such as surveyors etc), certifies title, draws up a mortgage deed, and sometimes applys to the land registry to have the land registered. These steps cross over e.g. gets mortgage approval from bank, then checks the contract, then draws down the rest of the money and lodges it to their account, objections, requisitions etc, and then on closing (I think) the final balance is paid to the vendor's solicitor.

Vendor's Solicitor: Draws up the contract of sale, responds to objections and requisitions and acts on requisitions (e.g. declaration of solvency or that a property is not a family home etc), looks after the vendor's interest at all stages.

GDM wrote:

Why exactly does it take that long. I always said that if and when I qualified I;d never take that long;)

Because correspondence takes a lot of time, independent experts and the bank take their time, there are often disputes between the parties, sometimes counsel's opinion on title is required (again, taking a fair bit of time), conveyancing is complicated and, most importantly, with so much possibility of something going wrong it is much better to take your time and be sure than have a speedy but potentially negligent service. If a conveyance could be done by one person sitting alone in a room, they could be done in a matter of days, but because there is a lot of correspondence etc that prolongs the process.

While there is talk that a conveyance could be performed at a lower price by a new conveyancing profession (who are only trained in conveyancing practice) this ignores that solicitors often have to deal with issues of contract, land law, equity, planning & environmental law and taxation. Therefore the quickest option is not necessarily the best.

Have a look at the Law Society Manual on conveyancing, it has a more detailed step by step guide and also goes through some of the issues that need to be looked at.

EdgarAllenPoo

Thanks for that it explains a lot.