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Original poster

Property solicitor

564 replies

MummytoGeorgie · 24/05/2021 23:03

I'm on maternity and I miss my work!

I'm a property solicitor, if anyone has any questions I would be more than happy to give some free advice to do with conveyancing i.e moving home, enquiries, searches, title documentation etc (no landlord tenant as that's not my area of expertise).

TIA

OP posts:
Thread gallery
8
jesper1 · 02/06/2021 14:14

Thanks
I hope you can see the pic, its this bit in particular i was concerned about, although the rest of the document has other elements on as well

Property solicitor
Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 02/06/2021 14:17

@jesper1 hey can you pm me you email and I'll email you my email so you can then just send the whole doc xx let me know once pmd xx

OP posts:
jesper1 · 02/06/2021 14:30

@MummytoGeorgie have sent you a PM
thank you

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 02/06/2021 14:37

@jesper1 hey. I've pmd you back. Xx

OP posts:
Izzybizzy5 · 02/06/2021 18:16

Hi Op,
I want to transfer a mortgage free property to my brother as a gift. (want to get rid of it fully)
Can this be done without a solicitor
If using a solicitor what is the timescale and the fees.
Thank you for your time.

Yellowflowerfan · 02/06/2021 19:32

Thank you so much for this offer of advice. We are buying a house and my question is a little cheeky. We are buying an empty house and our buyer is a first time buyer so no chain to speak of. Our buyers solicitor has been very slow and two dates have gone by without completion. Even now two days before the date that everyone has agreed to, (June 4th) there is no actual confirmation of this date. I have never been more frustrated in my life. We are not young and are not coping with the stress very well. In another post you answered that some solicitors can be slow. Sometimes taking weeks to do something that should take days. So how come nothing can be done about this? It would seem that solicitors take on more work then thy can handle so let their clients down. Now I know you are not like this. And it’s always the good ones that get asked these questions but other businesses could not carry on like this and survive. Can nothin be done to make the legal profession more accountable and house purchasing mor expedient?

CatAndHisKit · 03/06/2021 01:20

Thank you, OP.
The price adjustment is a discound of a few thousand, that's all - I ;m not sure the lender would have any issue with that or would need to revise anything?
Funny you should say about chasing twice daily - the agent was doing that all last eek and in the end been told byy the buyer's solictor's assistant that it doesn't help that she's contactng them daily! rude and no explanation either.
I'll askk her to resume after a short break that's been. Why would you say the agent is likely to know - they aer muy agent as a seller and she got really fed up with the buyer several times (been month) and at some point didn't speak to him, though he's then become nicer. I can't see at all why wouldn't the agent tell me anything to alliveate my worry - or indeed if she knew she didn;t have to be chasing them. Any info is better than no info.
My solicotor doesn't really want to chase - I've asked a few times, she's not really doing it probably thinking it wouldn't really work 0- she obviously does request things but not repeatedly. Have asked her today to put pressurre on them, no reply so far.

CatAndHisKit · 03/06/2021 01:22

sorry again for typos, terrible!

SeekingSpace · 03/06/2021 11:40

@MummytoGeorgie Thank you for starting this thread! I have an odd question that i suspect only a property solicitor could answer.

I house that I much very would like to buy has been on and off the market for a number of years. The land registry says that the owners are partners at a local solicitors acting as executioners of someone who died 8 years ago. They had a will but the beneficiaries may also have died by now.

House is currently off the market (I presume because the solicitors are too busy with other work) but i would like to approach them with an offer for the previously listed asking price. Is there a proper mechanism for doing this or is it simply a case of writing to them and outlining my offer and funding source? It's worth saying that i've tried with the agent the house was previously listed with and they don't seem to know much about the owners or house, even though it marketed by them!

Yellowflowerfan · 03/06/2021 12:18

Thank you so much for this offer of advice.
We are buying a house and my question is a little cheeky. We are buying an empty house and our buyer is a first time buyer so no chain to speak of. Our buyers solicitor has been very slow and two dates have gone by without completion. Even now two days before the date that everyone has agreed to, (June 4th) there is no actual confirmation of this date. I have never been more frustrated in my life. We are not young and are not coping with the stress very well. Especially having to cancel removal companies at this busy time of year. In another post you answered that some solicitors can be slow. Sometimes taking weeks to do something that should take days. So how come nothing can be done about this? It would seem that solicitors take on more work then thy can handle. The result being many clients are just left hanging. Now I know you are one of the good ones and it’s always the good ones that get asked these questions but other businesses could not carry on like this and survive. Can nothing be done to make the legal profession more accountable and house purchasing more expedient?

Sorry if you’ve seen this already. I’m new to mumsnet and not sure how to post stuff.

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 03/06/2021 18:08

@Izzybizzy5 hi Izzy, hope you're ok! You will need to have a solicitor for the transfer and the fees vary between each company so it'll be worthwhile to get a few quotes. Timescale again varies but really it shouldn't take more than 2-3 weeks for the solicitor to do the work it just depends how much work they have xx

OP posts:
Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 03/06/2021 19:58

@CatAndHisKit Hi, even if the price changes by £1000 it still has to be reported to the lender and some do send out new mortgage offers. Agents usually know what's going on but hold information back to avoid a chain collapsing or the other party getting spooked.. I hope you've had some news now! Xx

OP posts:
Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 03/06/2021 19:59

@SeekingSpace you can definitely put your offer to them in writing xx

OP posts:
Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 03/06/2021 20:03

@Yellowflowerfan hey, I can understand your frustration. Unfortunately nothing can be done there's some solicitors that I work with that are notoriously slow and others that aren't, it just depends on their workload but they shouldn't take on the work if they can't do it in a timely manner. The supervisor should really be notified if a solicitor is struggling with their workload to get help but it depends on the company you work for if they do this and get the help they need. I worked for an awful company once upon a time and at one point had 296 live cases with no assistant I was working 12/14 hour days 7 days a week just so I could meet my 24-48 hour turnaround and have clients my personal mobile number because I didn't want to let them down but I worked myself into the ground with no support and therefore left. It's horrible depending on where you work especially when there's no support. I do hope you get some answers soon xx

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CatAndHisKit · 03/06/2021 21:44

thank OP - ok, if that's the case (though I don't get why would a bank be bothered by a lowered price - at least no more negotiating up involved), then why notjust tell me? I wouldn;t have minded hearing that - asuming it wouldn;t take that long. Surely three weeks enough for the adjustment?
Also if the agent isnt telling me, which I doubt as she knows I@MummytoGeorgieAlso I wouldnt haev minded a smaller exchange deposit instead of the bank getting involvedm of thats possible.

CatAndHisKit · 03/06/2021 21:47

Yikes, something gone wrong in the last paragraph - I didnt type that @ thing - and the rest of that sentence disappeared.
Anyway I meant to say, she knows I'm worried that he'll pull out so telling me re bank adjustment would actually be reassuring.Hence I'm worried it's smth else.

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 03/06/2021 22:10

@CatAndHisKit hey, it well could be something else but try not to worry speak to the agent again and see if they can speak to the buyer directly.

The mortgage offer has to always be correct re the price whether it's lowered or higher as the loan to value may be affected and sometimes the product offered isn't always valid anymore and a new product needs to be put to the buyer... on exchange the solicitor has to submit request for funds for the lender in a document called the 'certificate of title' which has to have the same purchase price as the mortgage offer hence the need to inform the bank if there are any price changes.. the offer has to be accurate to the pound.

I hope you get some answers soon xx

OP posts:
CatAndHisKit · 04/06/2021 01:53

thank you for explaining - I just don't get it why wouldn't they tell me that this is what they aer doing - it's a nightmare not knowing what's going on.
Oh she tried (and did) speak to the buyer directly, well mostly he emails back, he just kept saying that he'll speak to his solicitor and let her know, but never came back with any answers. She then moved on to his solicitor, also no result. Yes, I do hope so - thank you for our support.
Do you know hpw long does it take for the bank to do the adjustment? It's been three weeks.

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 04/06/2021 07:15

@CatAndHisKit hey, that might not be the reason but it's defo a possibility. I would check with the agent to see if they know whether a new offer was needed and if so has the buyer received it... has it been reported to the lender...

Usually the lender would take 1-2 weeks max to do this.

Have a lovely day and fingers crossed you'll hear something today, try and do some chasing as it's Friday again I hope you're not sitting in the dark for the weekend.

Xx

OP posts:
Yellowflowerfan · 04/06/2021 08:53

Thanks for your reply, that’s what I thought. 926 live cases is beyond crazy. I wonder what good solicitors think of a system where sloppy solicitors give the whole profession a bad reputation. With our buyers firm there were some glowing reviews of one guy, then, when the whole process seemed to stall, we pushed for answers and found that he had left the firm and nobody had dealt with the file for three weeks. After nothing was happening fast we discovered that the chap with the file was an assistant who had been handed most of his files files. I guess the good solicitor just up and left when he found himself with 1000 live cases.

It’s meant to be moving day today. We cannot get a yes or no from solicitors so we’re moving our stuff into storage as we speak.

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 04/06/2021 09:08

@Yellowflowerfan oh I'm sorry you have to move your stuff into storage. Get on the phone now agents should be open you need to know what is going on!! Hope it all works out for u xx

OP posts:
Yellowflowerfan · 04/06/2021 09:59

Sorry 296. Bit dyslexic and have the paperwork to prove it.

Panda2021 · 04/06/2021 10:45

@MummytoGeorgie
Morning! A quick question- we have sale agreed and well on the process with completion date in a few weeks. Something cropped up which means one of the rooms will look different by the time of completion ( plastering and a paint finish) . We explained this to the purchasers who called over and they were happy to proceed and they will rectify this when they move in, were disappointed as they really liked the look of that room as it was and also means one room couldn’t be used for the first week they are here while getting it redone. I said we would be happy to give them the money (£3k) for the work- said if they wanted to revise their offer they could or we could send them a bank transfer on completion. They said they rather the cash .No prob we are trustworthy people and will send them the money no problem. Thought very little more about it until I read your earlier post and then did some Googling and realising that giving them cash transfer shouldn’t be done for something like this? Don’t want them or us to get into any problems. Genuinely the suggestion was from a place of this is the simplest solution rather than trying to avoid issue an issue with mortgage. The estate agent knew my suggestion and said great you got sorted between yourself- he didn’t mention this wasn’t allowed! As we are so close to exchange I’m now worried when I tell my solicitor and she makes them revise the offer with bank etc then this could hold it all up? What do you think? Assuming the other party haven’t told their solicitor/ mortgage advisor either. They are ftb and we are first time sellers so all as clueless as each other!

Original poster
MummytoGeorgie · 04/06/2021 11:12

@Panda2021 hey, you are definitely not allowed to give cash/transfer on or after completion. The buyers could be done for mortgage fraud.

I would advise urgently that the price is reduced by £3,000 but yes, the buyers solicitors will need to report it to their lender to get their consent and they may need to send a revised offer out with can take a week or two.

I would recommend dealing with this promptly as you do not want any repercussions post completion.

Xx

OP posts:
Panda2021 · 04/06/2021 11:19

Thanks great will ask my solicitor today!