Solicitor (not ours) has gone silent and we NEED to exchange this week! Meant to be completing next week!

[Spritztime]

Hi,

So we are a chain of 5 and for the past couple of weeks we've had a lot of "we're ready to exchange!...Oh..hold on, no we're not - xy and z needs doing. We're ready to exchange! Hold on.....", conversations and it's honestly been sending me insane!

We are waiting for someones mortgage amendments to come back (not an extention - just an error on the form...apparently) which should be in by tomorrow or Thursday, but even if it is, we still have this radio silence from one of the solicitors who still won't confirm that her client is good to exchange, although the client herself believes she is.

We can't exchange without that confirmation, so right now the completion date is only agreed and is not official, although we all have removals companies booked in.

Nobody seems to know what to do. I can't contact the solicitor directly. Our EA has been trying for almost a fortnight to get hold of them, as have our solicitor, but she just won't get back to anyone....so how the hell do we actually exchange and officially agree a completion date?!

It's an absolute sham. It's looking likely we'll lose next weeks date and this will drag on for another god knows how many weeks

Any words of comfort? Is this a typical house buying/selling story?...

Persistence pays off, the estate agent and other solicitors need to be chasing this aggressively. However, it's not what the other solicitors are paid for, so there's probably a limit to what they'll do, and depending on how busy they are. The client could phone repeatedly and persistently, and if they don't get a response ,go to the senior partner. There should at least be a stated reason why the solicitor isn't available - are they ill/prioritising other work? Is their client being honest? A decent agent should be able to ascertain what the hold up is- it could be a case of final documents now received, but they need to be formally reported on to client, which takes time, and client has to read, sign and return paperwork and deposit before an exchange can happen. Ask them if they've done that.

Get the EA to tell these people their chain is in danger of falling apart if their solicitor doesn't pull their finger out. Only the client has any power there.

And the completion date is only officially agreed on exchange, before then it's not official. That means that if the solicitors are all doing their jobs properly, they need either to speak to their client on the day of exchange to check that their instructions re the date are still current, or have irrevocable instructions from them in writing.

@DelphiniumBlue, I think that's what our EA is doing, but it clearly isn't getting him/us anywhere. If they don't reply, they don't reply. I'm not sure what else anybody can do.

I have said quite firmly, that this chain could collapse, but all I get is, "there's nothing we can do but wait and be patient" I ran out of that quite some time ago now.

Also just heard that a couple of the removals are now applying pressure and are likely going to offer up that date to another client if we don't get this sorted asap.

There goes my dry week!

Huge sympathies to you, but it may not be as straightforward as you think. We’re on the other side - waiting for amendments to our mortgage documents (which our brokers royally screwed up) and the post is taking FOREVER at the moment and our solicitor can’t manoeuvre or confirm any exchange/completion dates until she has the paperwork. We’re also supposed to be completing next week, which is looking increasingly unlikely.
It doesn’t matter how much I chase and chase and get irate and speak to head office - the bank’s process is the bank’s process and we’re smacking our heads against a brick wall.

I feel your pain, and really the solicitor should at least be responding, but apparently the banks are deluged at the moment and that is slowing everything down.

Doesn’t help stress levels though. Am about to pour myself a stiff gin!

@MinnieMountain, apparently their client is furious, but it doesn't seem to bother the solicitor. She still remains silent.

@FiveGensOfLove......we're not in the same chain are we?

Have you at least been given an estimated time frame for when the amendments will be back?

By persistent, I mean going as far as calling hourly until a response is received. Asking to speak to an assistant or secretary might help- they will know or be able to find out what the delay is. Or, as I said previously, the client can complain to the senior partner. Another solicitor in the chain is most likely to get a response, maybe yours.
But it’s looking unlikely you’ll complete next week. Has everyone at least received the paperwork to sign? These could be emailed and printed off for signature and returned by hand/ courier- there are ways of getting things done quickly but only if everyone is prepared to put themselves out and play ball. It doesn’t sound as if they are.
If you’re buying, start looking at other properties and let everyone know that’s what you’re doing. Their desire not to make a fuss is currently trumping your wish for completion next week- maybe that completion date just isn’t that important to them, whatever they are telling you about be furious etc.
I’d tell them your offer is only on the table for a specified amount of time,eg till the end of this week, and after that you will review your position.
Or just hang on. How crucial is it?

@DelphiniumBlue, I'm worried if we do that, we'll lose our buyer. Our number one priority is keeping them.

If we were just talking another week, then we could do that, but with so many in the chain, getting everyone to agree a date that works for them, including finding available removals, it's likely going to drag on a lot longer.

We're always looking at other properties as a back up - chain free, as our buyer must be getting itchy feet too. We accepted their offer 7 months ago!

Could you split the chain?

@Spritztime wouldn’t that be something?! No, we’re not in a chain at all otherwise I’d be wondering the same thing!

No indication of timeframe, although documents from the bank have been taking anywhere from a month (!) to a week to arrive. Apparently they are immediately uploaded to a central database when approved, and solicitors can access them there. But our solicitor says she needs the actual paperwork, so we’re stuck waiting. It’s horrible, and I really feel for our vendors, but nothing we can do.

OP I feel your pain, we're supposed to exchanging/completing next Friday and my purchasers solicitors are being soooo slow then in a conversation with my Estate Agent yesterday I found out their solicitor is furloughed! Fucking furloughed!

I am raging!

@Perch, if we knew our buyer was happy with this, then yes, but I know our EA won't give us an honest answer, because they have another property in the chain, so it's in their interest to keep this chain as it is.

@FiveGensOfLove, damn. I thought we could join forces

Our sellers (the amenders) have been told it should take 4 days, which means it could be back in today ha! but as you mention, if their solicitors require a paper copy, then bah! Who knows how much longer this could take

The silent solicitor remains silent so far today, but I'm hearing their client has given them more of a "kick" today, than the usual nudge, so we'll see.

@IsolatedIzzy, and you're only just being told this now?! So how long has your file been left untouched then? Ridiculous.

Our EA is now saying that because the silent solicitors client is a cash buyer, he's not concerned about it so much, but regardless of their situation, we can't exchange without that solicitor confirming can we?

I don't understand what he means!

@Spritztime

Our EA is now saying that because the silent solicitors client is a cash buyer, he's not concerned about it so much, but regardless of their situation, we can't exchange without that solicitor confirming can we?

I don't understand what he means!

I suspect he means that getting to the point of exchange is quicker because they don't have to confirm and order funds to be released from a mortgage company.

The solicitor still officially has to exchange the contracts though so it's not like it can be done without them!

What a nightmare for you. I despair of the house buying/selling process. We feel like we're in our forever home now, thank god, so hopefully we won't have to deal with all that stress again until we're old(er) and grey(er).

@CharmingB, exactly! So I don't really understand why he's making the point.

I'm honestly losing my mind! Feel like screaming tbh.

2 years it's taken to get to this point. 2 years!

Really trying hard not to burst into tears.

I'd assume that your solicitor means there will be no delay from that particular buyer and they can just sign the contract when they are ready - not wait a further 5/7 days for the mortgage funds to be agreed/drawn/whatever as the PP said - it can be quicker if you are not waiting for a mortgage lender to agree a change like your sellers/vendors have made while the paperwork goes round the circle of underwriters again!

Good luck OP, hope it comes together this week for you.

@ChicCroissant, thank you.

Apparently the amendments are in, but I'm only hearing that from our sellers EA and now our solicitor has gone quiet 🤦‍♀️😒 so we still haven't got official confirmation.

Nobody seems to know if the solicitor needs a hard copy of the amendments or not. I would imagine so, so I just can't see this happening tomorrow, which is definitely the cut off point.

I feel your pain. We are in a chain of TEN... aiming to exchange on 25th but it sounds like it might be the following week, completing about 6th, 7th, 8th or whenever everyone can agree.
It is so infuriating and stressful, it has taken us 15 months to get to this stage, I will cry if it falls apart.

@Fern204 whaaaaat?! 10?! Wow, you really must be keen to get it over and done with.

The really annoying thing is, now there is absolutely NO reason why we can't exchange! It's all down to the solicitors communicating with one another, but apparently that just doesn't happen.

I'm honestly not sure how anyone buys/sells a house in this country. It's utter madness.

We had this last year and I basically used to turn up daily to our estate agent and the our sellers estate agent on a daily basis to ask for updates as well as our solicitor calling our sellers solicitor (they were the ones who went awol) on a daily basis as well as emailing them several times a day if required. Basically we just pestered and pestered and then one Thursday we were told we'd exchange the next day and move the week after!

@ranoutofquinoaandprosecco, well I believe all the involved EAs and solicitors are WFH, so I think if I went to their house the police might be called

I have become a "pest" though. Initially I was quite reluctant go get tough, but now I'm just so desperate to actually move that I'm on it constantly!

Please send positive vibes and lots of luck for today everybody 😬🤞

Keeping everything crossed for you, send positive vibes my way too 🤪

Good luck! Our paperwork was sorted yesterday and bank is emailing it to avoid postal delays. Our solicitor will now accept the emailed details, so that’s a huge relief.

Only hurdle now is the completion pack which was apparently sent by first class post to us on 4 June - and has never arrived.....

@Fern204, 🤞for you.

@FiveGensOfLove, so what are they doing then? Can it be printed off? So frustrating!

Well it sounded like we were exchanging this morning, but then the top of chains removals dropped out, so they now can't do that date. We're now trying to agree a new date quickly, as we can't exchange until that's agreed, so I can't see it happening today