Is solicitor being slow?

[Liverbird77]

Anyone with experience of selling please tell me: if we have completed all paperwork and handed in all documents requested, how long should it take our solicitor to send a contract to the buyers' solicitor?

It seems it has been a week with no action taken whatsoever. Surely this isn't reasonable? I would've expected the contract to be with the buyer so their solicitor could start searches etc.

I am happy to be corrected if I am being unreasonable. It's the first time we've sold. What makes me more angry, is that she has now gone on leave for another week.

As a buyer I didn't get the contract to sign until after the searches were done and all enquiries back. Has their solicitor sent all the property information and fixtures and fittings forms etc?

So you've returned the Property Info Form and F&F form, yes? Have you placed funds in the account so the solicitor can obtain deeds from Land Registry? Do they know who the other solicitor is and their contact details? Have you handed in your ID? If yes to all the above, your solicitor has to copy/scan all the documentation and draft the contract and send over to the buyer's solicitor.

You say a week has passed. but what day were the documents handed in? Don't forget solicitors work Monday to Friday only and Friday is usually spent dealing with completions which take priority. If you handed in documents last Monday, then it is 5 working days. Normally that would be enough time but you do have to allow some leeway in turn-around times. They will have other clients and other matters which may be more urgent than yours.

This can be the most stressful part of buying and selling. Once offers are accepted it all goes quiet for a few weeks while searches and enquiries are carried out. Your buyers probably need to get a mortgage offer and surveys done as will you if you are buying another property. Then solicitors send letters of enquiry back and forth. Unlikely you will get to exchange of contracts before 10-12 weeks.

Every single thing they asked for has been completed and handed in. Today, after chasing them, they are miraculously starting to work on it and have requested other documents which were not asked for initially. We have been there in person on two occasions... With the first set of paperwork and documents they sent, and then with another form and documents they sent through a week later. Everything was handed in on Monday last week.
I have a cash buyer for my flat, and we have also offered in a house, so I don't want this sale to be messed up!

You need to take a deep breath if you are only a week into the process! Have you bought and sold before? I am waiting to exchange on my sale and purchase and it has taken us 10 weeks to get this far - and that is quick! If you dont calm down you will give yourself a nervous breakdown. You now need to wait whilst solicitors do searches and raise enquiries - you will have more questions to answer before you get anywhere near exchanging contracts!

Sorry, I haven't been clear perhaps. I'm not talking about exchanging contracts. I am fully aware the whole process can be lengthy.
My issues are: they have dripfed what documents they require (the second lot were handed in last Monday, the first lot the Monday before that), and they have not given our buyer's solicitor the initial draft contract. They've done nothing. This means that our buyers haven't got on with searches etc yet.
They have sat on this all week and the solicitor dealing with it has now gone on annual leave!
I called this morning to ask where they were at and was told someone would call between 4 and 4.30. No one called. My husband called after this and the woman "covering" for the solicitor on leave sounded embarrassed and flustered. She said she was "about to start" looking at it.

Meanwhile, we've put an offer in on a house. It is a very competitive market in this part of Manchester and I worry that if someone else is further along with their sale we'll lose it.

Your buyer's solicitor does not need a contract to start the searches. They have your address so unless you are selling a piece of unregistered land or the property has undefined boundaries I think your buyer's solicitor may be holding up the process.

A standard contract takes about 2 minutes to draw up and can be done shortly before exchange when everyone is happy they want to proceed after all searches are back and enquires are answered.

Thanks. Well hopefully things are moving on the other side then. That's good to know. Our solicitor said their first action would be to draw up the contract, and that's what they are doing now.

The other side may not need a contract to start searches, but many of them won't order searches until they do receive draft papers.

I notice you are selling a flat, i.e. leasehold. Have you paid for the leasehold management pack yet, because your buyer's solicitor will want that and it can take some time to get it?

It isn't leasehold, it is share of freehold. They've had all the paperwork relating to that, including share certificate, details of service charge, three year's worth of accounts management arrangements... even a fire risk assessment!
I think you're right in saying they won't proceed without this contract. They are really keen to get moving with it. It's for an elderly relative and they are paying cash.

Do you have a copy of your title? I think you'll find it is leasehold. Have they had the paperwork from the management company or from you?

We bought the freehold three years ago. Each flat has one share. They have the original leasehold document. We formed our own management company and they have all the documents they requested from that.

In my experience of buying both residential and commercial properties there is sometimes a quiet period as things are sorted through, it is very frustrating!
And one thing I have learnt is that as a buyer or a seller you are never privy to all the details of the others positions and there can sometimes be deliberate hold ups as things are sorted through.
Good luck