Frustrated at property purchase

[Charltonstrek]

Hello ive posted about this before but trying to establish if my solicitor hasn't done good by me in my purchase of a leasehold flat.
From the beginning my solicitor hasn't really communicated a great deal and anything to do with getting the leasehold management pack he has consistently abruptly told me to speak to seller and sellers estate agent My
Offer was accepted on this flat 26th October 2025 and and all along I hasn't realised that normal procedure is for this pack to be ordered at the outset. However I just happened to ask my solicitor as to why this been a crucial document it's ordered so late in the process and he replied it should have been ordered at the outset and he doesn't know why it wasnt he always gives brief abrupt answers and I had to push him previously as to whether he had done the searches then he decided to send me copies. I Wil admit I sent some stern emails about lack of updated and communication from him which he didnt take too well and I was threatened with extra charges for my emails I was sending. Anyway since then I've tried to be patient but im now frustrated it's no chain either side and the management pack wasnt ordered until January 29th 2026 I've questioned sellers estate agent as to why such a delay and she hadn't replied which is unusual for her. What do you think has gone wrong here and do you think my solicitor should have been questioning from the outset about getting the pack.

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To be honest, I think even the best solcitor can take time with leasehold properties. They are complicated.

I recently sold my leasehold flat (started in May and completed 31st Oct so 6 months exactly but if I wasn't so pushy it could've easily taken another 2-3 months!) to buy a house.

I'd say my solictior ordered the pack pretty quickly, maybe a months or so in and even then it took another month to come. My solictior was good but even she was dealing with issues constantly, constant issues, new paperwork that needed dealing with. It was hard, hence paying more for leasehold sales. But I was the seller, it shouldn't be so hard as the buyer, other than a lot of waiting... but sales at the moment are taking a long time so it doesn't feel like you've waited an escessive time so far.

Are you using a big firm? We used one recommended by our mortgage adviser that wasn’t local but cheaper! Biggest mistake we made! Ended up costing us more money due to all the delays they caused! Never replied to emails. Never answered the phone. Had a portal that was pointless! Complaints made no difference!! Our was ONP!

Given the length of time leasehold properties take to go through and in fact all properties these days id ask yourself …will it really cause a delay ?

I actally started this way too but ended up changing solcitors a week or so in to a local, more expensive solicitor as I could see how things were going.... I'd always recomend someone smaller, more local that you can get recomendations from

I checked reviews all good however somebody bad ones have popped up since I instructed them. They do have a office i can drive to however my solicitor just keeps saying he doesn't know why the pack was ordered so late and pushing me to chase it myself with the seller and sellers estate agent.

Some bad ones not somebody