Conveyancing solicitor slow

Sarah 1111

Is it possible to change solicitor for conveyancing in the early stages? We went sale agreed 6 weeks ago and our solicitor has apparently swapped details with the vendor's solicitor but since then nothing. We needed the map so our engineer could do the survey. I have been patient, then asked if they had heard anything - they said they had chased up the other solicitor but not heard back. Eventually I went to the agent who contacted the owner and I got the map the next day - it was drawn up 3 weeks ago.

Now wondering if our solicitor is actually chasing - every time I ring he is 'in court'. Can I switch at this early stage? Would we be charged? We are cash and wanted a quick settlement.

Dolbhad

Sarah 1111 wrote: »

Is it possible to change solicitor for conveyancing in the early stages? We went sale agreed 6 weeks ago and our solicitor has apparently swapped details with the vendor's solicitor but since then nothing. We needed the map so our engineer could do the survey. I have been patient, then asked if they had heard anything - they said they had chased up the other solicitor but not heard back. Eventually I went to the agent who contacted the owner and I got the map the next day - it was drawn up 3 weeks ago.

Now wondering if our solicitor is actually chasing - every time I ring he is 'in court'. Can I switch at this early stage? Would we be charged? We are cash and wanted a quick settlement.

The delay doesn’t seem to be on your solicitor’s side but the vendors solicitor. Have contracts been issued yet? If so has your solicitor raised any queries that haven’t been answered? It could be they are waiting on info. This is where it’s great to have an auctioneer who’s very involved. They can contact the seller directly who can put pressure on their solicitor much quicker than you or your solicitor can. You can switch solicitor but only do if if you know your solicitor is the delay.

Otherwise you will have the same issue. Remember contracts have to go back to sellers solicitor to reissue to new solicitor which adds to delay. You’ll be billed for work done from previous so if previous solicitor has reviewed contracts already, they will bill you for it. Also new solicitor will also have to do that again and you’ll be billed again for it.

Sarah 1111

Dolbhad wrote: »

The delay doesn’t seem to be on your solicitor’s side but the vendors solicitor. Have contracts been issued yet? If so has your solicitor raised any queries that haven’t been answered? It could be they are waiting on info. This is where it’s great to have an auctioneer who’s very involved. They can contact the seller directly who can put pressure on their solicitor much quicker than you or your solicitor can. You can switch solicitor but only do if if you know your solicitor is the delay.

Otherwise you will have the same issue. Remember contracts have to go back to sellers solicitor to reissue to new solicitor which adds to delay. You’ll be billed for work done from previous so if previous solicitor has reviewed contracts already, they will bill you for it. Also new solicitor will also have to do that again and you’ll be billed again for it.

Yes, I agree, so far the delay does seem to be on the vendor's solictor side and apparently the vendor was surprised we had had no contact when the auctioneer rang him - and obviously did act immediately as we had the map the following day. I am just not convinced that our solicitor is actually chasing theirs... we haven't had any contracts or anything yet so any delay caused by that hasn't even arisen yet.
I was advised by a solicitor friend not to hassle them - they will be working on it... but everyone else says to ring them every day or nothing will be done! So I think I will start to push much more from now on... and keep talking to the auctioneer who is in contact with the vendor.
I was just worried when every time I have rung (only twice) he is 'in court and will call you back' and never calls...

Sarah 1111

Dolbhad wrote: »

The delay doesn’t seem to be on your solicitor’s side but the vendors solicitor. Have contracts been issued yet? If so has your solicitor raised any queries that haven’t been answered? It could be they are waiting on info. This is where it’s great to have an auctioneer who’s very involved. They can contact the seller directly who can put pressure on their solicitor much quicker than you or your solicitor can. You can switch solicitor but only do if if you know your solicitor is the delay.

Otherwise you will have the same issue. Remember contracts have to go back to sellers solicitor to reissue to new solicitor which adds to delay. You’ll be billed for work done from previous so if previous solicitor has reviewed contracts already, they will bill you for it. Also new solicitor will also have to do that again and you’ll be billed again for it.

Actually, you have raised a point - do you know if our solicitor might have received the contracts and be querying something without us knowing? I just assumed he would contact us as soon as he received them and tell us if he had any queries?

Dolbhad

Sarah 1111 wrote: »

Actually, you have raised a point - do you know if our solicitor might have received the contracts and be querying something without us knowing? I just assumed he would contact us as soon as he received them and tell us if he had any queries?

I can’t speak for every solicitor. But our solicitor sent us a copy of the contracts and all relevant legal documents and also a copy of the letter raising queries so we knew what she was waiting on. It was a new build so it was very quick but have heard from friends buying waiting weeks for contracts. Because if buying a second hand house and there is a mortgage, the sellers solicitor has to request documents from the HQ of bank in Dublin and that can take weeks. So if seller is really organised and instructed their solicitor before house went on market, you’d expect contacts straight away. If they only got a solicitor once sale agreed, contacts could be 4-6 weeks to issue cause the sellers solicitor is waiting on title deeds.

Map is ordered from land registry, not the bank, and that arrives in only a few days so can be that you have a map but nothing else. So maybe contracts haven’t issued yet so your solicitor has no news for you yet. Your Solicitor can’t do anything at the moment until contracts are issued.

Dolbhad

Sarah 1111 wrote: »

Yes, I agree, so far the delay does seem to be on the vendor's solictor side and apparently the vendor was surprised we had had no contact when the auctioneer rang him - and obviously did act immediately as we had the map the following day. I am just not convinced that our solicitor is actually chasing theirs... we haven't had any contracts or anything yet so any delay caused by that hasn't even arisen yet.
I was advised by a solicitor friend not to hassle them - they will be working on it... but everyone else says to ring them every day or nothing will be done! So I think I will start to push much more from now on... and keep talking to the auctioneer who is in contact with the vendor.
I was just worried when every time I have rung (only twice) he is 'in court and will call you back' and never calls...

Sorry never saw this message. I’d agree with solicitor friend. If auctioneer told you contracts have issued and sitting on your solicitors desk who’s not doing anything, I would say ring the solicitor and annoy them. But in this case it will annoy your solicitor and still won’t move things any quicker. It’s not their fault if contracts haven’t issued. They can’t speed the banks up nor can the sellers solicitor either. Our solicitor would always say I’ll call or email if any update. If you haven’t heard from me it’s because there is no news.

awec

In my experience the solicitor will only really contact you when they need something from you. If you haven't heard anything it's because they've nothing for you to do yet.

It's not in your solicitor's interest to be slow. The faster the sale proceeds the faster they get paid.

Sarah 1111

Dolbhad wrote: »

Sorry never saw this message. I’d agree with solicitor friend. If auctioneer told you contracts have issued and sitting on your solicitors desk who’s not doing anything, I would say ring the solicitor and annoy them. But in this case it will annoy your solicitor and still won’t move things any quicker. It’s not their fault if contracts haven’t issued. They can’t speed the banks up nor can the sellers solicitor either. Our solicitor would always say I’ll call or email if any update. If you haven’t heard from me it’s because there is no news.

Ok, thanks. I have emailed our solicitor saying that I have the map (which is what I was waiting for so we could at least get going with our engineer) and reiterating that we were wanting things to be as quick as possible. We are cash buyers, the vendor has owned the property for at least 70 years so we were hoping things would be simple - and quick - but I am learning that my quick isn't always the same as other peoples!

Sarah 1111

awec wrote: »

In my experience the solicitor will only really contact you when they need something from you. If you haven't heard anything it's because they've nothing for you to do yet.

It's not in your solicitor's interest to be slow. The faster the sale proceeds the faster they get paid.

Well, I would normally agree with you. But every single person I have spoken to who has bought a house (other than by auction which is instant) says that they have had to chase solicitors who seem to have more exciting work to do than boring conveyancing! Maybe everyone else is as impatient as me...
My main worry was that they know I have been waiting for this map so that our engineer can do the survey, and not charge for two visits to check boundaries, and I managed to get it with one call - it was done three weeks ago according to the date on the map.

Dolbhad

Sarah 1111 wrote: »

Well, I would normally agree with you. But every single person I have spoken to who has bought a house (other than by auction which is instant) says that they have had to chase solicitors who seem to have more exciting work to do than boring conveyancing! Maybe everyone else is as impatient as me...
My main worry was that they know I have been waiting for this map so that our engineer can do the survey, and not charge for two visits to check boundaries, and I managed to get it with one call - it was done three weeks ago according to the date on the map.

I always thought engineers do the survey and mark the site when out there and compare it to the map afterwards so the survey of the house can happen very quickly?? They can see a rough version of boundaries on land direct so can see instantly if there is a potential boundary issue.

It seems the sellers solicitor is holding things up and there is nothing your solicitor can do about that. So I’d hold off annoying them now. Maybe later on you can. But solicitors don’t get paid until it closes so I find they can move things along. However...

I think this comes down to the type of your solicitor you hire. Our solicitor wasn’t the cheapest. Solicitor was recommended and primarily does only conveyance but I remember getting quotes elsewhere and chancing my arm at a cheaper rate to see if I could knock her down. And she said no - she know she wasn’t the cheapest but she know what work was involved on her side and that included giving us all the time we required. And she was worth the small extra. But I agree with other poster no contact = no news.

But I wouldn’t change solicitor as you’ll be in same boat. But keep on auctioneer - they can contact seller directly who can light a fire under their solicitor. Cash buyers are king so you have leeway there. But I’d want to know if title deeds have even arrived at seller’s solicitors office. Because if not - you still have a wait.

Sarah 1111

Dolbhad wrote: »

I always thought engineers do the survey and mark the site when out there and compare it to the map afterwards so the survey of the house can happen very quickly?? They can see a rough version of boundaries on land direct so can see instantly if there is a potential boundary issue.

It seems the sellers solicitor is holding things up and there is nothing your solicitor can do about that. So I’d hold off annoying them now. Maybe later on you can. But solicitors don’t get paid until it closes so I find they can move things along. However...

I think this comes down to the type of your solicitor you hire. Our solicitor wasn’t the cheapest. Solicitor was recommended and primarily does only conveyance but I remember getting quotes elsewhere and chancing my arm at a cheaper rate to see if I could knock her down. And she said no - she know she wasn’t the cheapest but she know what work was involved on her side and that included giving us all the time we required. And she was worth the small extra. But I agree with other poster no contact = no news.

But I wouldn’t change solicitor as you’ll be in same boat. But keep on auctioneer - they can contact seller directly who can light a fire under their solicitor. Cash buyers are king so you have leeway there. But I’d want to know if title deeds have even arrived at seller’s solicitors office. Because if not - you still have a wait.

Yes, if I knew what the delay was I wouldn't be worrying so much. The acre we are buying had to be mapped by the vendor's engineer - and was done very quickly. Our engineer said to wait until that map was done before he went so he could do the house structural survey and check the boundaries all on the same visit. The map is dated three weeks ago but we only got it (after I went to the auctioneer) on Friday, the day after I asked for it.
The solicitor was recommended by a friend. Keeping in contact with the auctioneer is the thing I think - it worked last time... thanks.