AIBU to feel like an idiot? Buying a house

[SillyNameChanger]

FTB here. Name-changed because I feel so embarrassed, but long-time lurker. I am an intelligent woman usually but this house-buying process is breaking me. I keep crying from frustration.

I can never get my solicitor on the phone. Emails get answered, but not adequately. If I don't understand something and ask for clarification, I get a reply days later. I am frustrated and have never in my life felt so stupid. They are online, there's a portal to log in to and it's all very slick. They were recommended by the estate agent and I've regretted listening to them every since.

So far I think I have completed and sent back everything that they need to exchange, but apparently a couple of docs that I sent last week have gone missing in the post.

On the portal I have 2 outstanding actions:
Please return your signed mortgage
Please return your signed contract

However, I have an email from the solicitor confirming receipt of the mortgage deed, which I posted a month ago. It was the contract and a questionnaire that has gone missing. I don't understand what the signed mortgage is, if not the mortgage deed?

I have combed through my emails and the mortgage deed was the only thing that they sent through for me to sign.

They are not taking my calls and not answering my emails and I am constantly on the verge of tears. I feel so stupid. I kept calling yesterday but it was just going straight to voicemail.

Can anyone who has been through this throw some light on what the hell they want from me and also maybe why they are behaving like this? Is this normal??

Was is 'simplypropertylawyers'? I used them recently, an online solicitors, but they were actually quite good. The case solicitor was often away from their desk but they always called back or there was a junior to ask. I also got in a muddle with the document names- I would persistently call til someone answered, and email at the same time with your one question (don't just reply in a chain of emails that might get overlooked). I found it quite straightforward in the end although always stressful as these things naturally are!

Honestly as a Property Lawyer who is sick of other lawyers being shit, send an email saying it will be escalated to a complaint. There's just no excuse for ignoring your clients.

Personally though, whilst I have Assistants, I review everything that comes in and everything that comes out. Premier property lawyers are absolute buggers for this it drives me insane.

This drives me insane. I'm a property solicitor predominantly commercial but sometimes dabble in the odd resi matter..

The utter incompetence shown by online firms isbreath taking. The have unqualified people dealing with the file using a computer based case flow system. How else can they do it so cheaply. They have no ability to vary the order of things or god forbid use their brains

Not every solicitor is shit. In my firm for example you are expected to reply to an email within the hour.

Op start a complaint and name and shame as much as you can

Two very similar posts from people in the profession who are equally frustrated

It’s fairly normal. IME.
Buying houses requires the patience and tolerance of a very saintly saint.

Couldn't agree more. I could not believe how stressful and FRUSTRATING the whole process was - absolute misery, took the joy out of (finally) being able to buy a house. However, I can honestly say that somehow it all gets done and this will all be a distant memory. I'll never forget actually sitting in my living room thinking "it's done! I'm here!" Didn't quite believe it until the first mortgage payment left my account

Unused DezRez and they were a lot like this. Not terrible but not that great either. All in all it took 12 weeks from offer acceptance to move in which isn't bad, but isn't great either considering...
Modern house, nothing unusual or bad in searches, mortgage approved quickly, me a ftb buying off a builder who had part ex this house for another and who wanted to sell quickly to bank the £.

I'd also pick a local solicitor next time. Someone I could speak to in person.

Buying houses requires the patience and tolerance of a very saintly saint.

Also agree with this. Like some form of torture.

I once used a local solicitor and never again! They were a nightmare! I always preferred the online ones for this reason.

I think solicitors for conveyencing in general are nightmares. Having worked in mortgages I can tell you some nightmare stories of both local and larger case worker firms like your current one.

Get the EA to chase they recommend them so then they can chase. Just chalk it up to a lesson and try and focus on completion and move on.

Oh poor you Op - you aren't stupid at all - buying a house is God-awfully stressful and bloody tough. We bought our current place 5 years ago and despite the fact that everything was more or less obstacle free and the house we bought empty with no upper chain, it took effing months. I agree that you should get tough and threaten them with the complaints procedure. When it's all over write a really scathing review online.

Try to comfort yourself with the following facts: you will soon own the property of your dreams; secondly, they are bastard wanker morons and you are clever and wise .

Also, if possible you should take a really really long time to pay them. Tell them you learned by their example

I've experienced this even with local.
On our last move, I had details of all people, solicitors and estate agents in the chain (we all knew each other). I basically did all their work for them. Before I would ring with a query and they'd take days to get back to me, so I started ringing the different people myself and giving my solicitor the info. I truly believe we would have lost the sale of our house if I'd just let the solicitor do it all, because they were threatening to pull out it was taking so long.
The stress I felt was absolutely huge and I never ever want to be in a chain again

Yes IME local solicitors are just as bad as online ones (but at least you can visit them to have a moan at them). I'm a solicitor though not property, but it is correct that all the day to day stuff is pushed down to unqualified staff - don't see how it could be otherwise given the level of the fees charged - compare what a solicitor with a degree, a years, post grad study and two years of traineeship gets on a property sale compared to what the estate agent gets. Fees are just too cheap to give a client centred service.

I'm currently waiting for my local solicitor in Bath to send me anything at all on my purchase when they were instructed 5 weeks ago and I know they got the contract from the OS in week 1 and searches take a few days locally unlike some parts of the country.

Thankfully its not a rushed purchase but if no movement by the time I get back from holiday I am sacking them and doing it myself (downsizing so no mortgage).

When we sold a btl house a few years ago we made the mistake of using the firm recommended by purple bricks. They were an absolute nightmare. I'd always use a local solicitor now. Good luck op!

Purple Bricks are a horror show, sadly many taken by their energetic PR.

I've had some shocking solicitors but love my current one. He is so quick and always answers his phone. He is so reasonable I've left him something in my will - always upsets me that EA are generally quite lazy and rake it in but conveyancing solicitors are so badly paid.

OP, I would escalate your complaint and say you will write a review revealing your terrible experience. A bad review on Google or whatever, usually has a miraculous effect. I see this as being public spirited as if more people bothered to shout out bad companies, it would save the rest of us having to go through terrible service. Why not mention them here so others can avoid.

@Gamble66 that's who we are using ! Premier property lawyers. Absolutely shocking. I am tempted to complain about their shit service as well, we've had exactly the same experience.

Complain @Paulinespenstash I asked to speak to a manager and it was surprising how attentive my case manager suddenly became.

Did you send all documents via registered post ?

Act10nPlan

No, I've been using first class post. All has been fine up until now, e.g. the mortgage questionnaire and deed of trust that I sent managed to get through.

Post issues aside, it's maddening that they aren't stating clearly WHICH documents are missing and not clarifying if the "signed mortgage" is the same as the mortgage deed that they acknowledged receiving weeks ago. And if it's not the same thing then maybe tell me what it is, email it through so that I can get access??

Property is potentially the largest purchase made in one's life
If I am unable to deliver locally, I've always used registered post for important documents. It's worth the extra cost

Hope everything gets resolved soon

Once purchase is complete, ensure you receive a copy of all the documents

I agree, house purchases are extremely stressful in general. We recently bought a house and used a conveyancing only firm not local to us (conveyancing direct Scotland), so everything done online with the very occasional phone call.

I have to say they were fantastic, they were recommended by a family member and I couldn’t be happier with their work. Miles cheaper than anywhere else I got quotes from, answered emails quickly, clearly advised me what they needed and when. Offer accepted to completion 6 weeks.

Am wondering if we got lucky, reading some other posters experiences.

@Sillynamechanger.

The mortgage offer has to be signed by yourself & sent back to thelender. Your broker & your solicitor will both get a copy but yours will need to be signed & sent back

hadthesnip2

It's with Santander - it was all done online. There is nothing to sign other than the mortgage deed, I've checked the offer several times now.

Conveyancing is all electronic and has been for years. The system loves to present to the paying customer that it is a long convoluted process as if they are sat at a Bob Cratchett style lecturn with an ink and quill. They also love to send letters for everything as it spins it out and hopefully jacks the bill up,,,they are parasites,,just like so many EAs.

A bit late now for the OP, but I'm another who would always advocate using a local solicitor. We saved days by nipping into their office to sign documents as soon as they were ready, so no postage was needed and no hanging around. As a result, when we had a protracted sale of MiL's flat in which the feet-dragging and clueless buyer tried it on after the sale over something pathetic that they had failed to notice on any of their multitude of visits, she did us a free letter. We discussed its contents over the phone - she had never heard of the case of Arkell vs Pressdram, being a conveyancing solicitor - but took enormous delight in including it in the letter

I think the problem is that legal advice (and any professional advice business) is expensive. And, under pressure from clients, conveyancing solicitors (and licenced conveyancers) now offer fixed-price conveyancing for a few hundred pounds, which I guess is the deal you've gone for. Those deals have no leeway priced in for anything other than a bare-bones service. If you need a more personal and supportive advisor you can still find firms that will do conveyancing priced in the usual way for legal advice - by the hour. They'll be much happier to chat to you on the phone as guide you through any problems personally. You might be less happy though when you get the bill!

(It's a bit like getting the cheapest Ryanair flight and then complaining that there are no free drinks on the flight and the crew spend the flight trying to flog scratchcards and Mars bars!)

FiddlesticksAkimbo

I do see your point, however we are paying almost £4,000. Other solicitors were cheaper but we went with these as EA assured us they were great and everything going through an online portal streamlined and sped up the process, reduced risk and increased data privacy safety. Ha! I fell for the sales pitch hook, line and sinker.

Hindsight is everything, I suppose.

I will print off everything they have ever sent me and sign/send back by recorded delivery.

I want this done asap, I'm feeling hugely overwhelmed and fed up. Not as upset as I was yesterday, but still...