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Original poster

Not allowed to chase buyers solicitors

54 replies

Nurse1980 · 05/04/2022 22:00

Hi, we had an offer on our house ten weeks ago.

Our solicitor and estate agent are chasing their solicitor once a week. Apparently morgage is sorted, all searches are back and enquires are done. When chased, their update will just say they are not ready to exchange and will let them know when they are ready.

Anyway it came to the weekly update today, the buyers solicitor was annoyed and said that the update requests are stopping them from getting on with their work, and we will hear from them when ready to exchange.

Is this normal? I wouldn’t have thought a weekly update was excessive?

No mention of any dates or timescales.

OP posts:

senua · 06/04/2022 09:53

we will hear from them when ready to exchange.
That sounds very arrogant! It's a mutual agreement, surely?

I would be thinking about finding another buyer - start getting your ducks in a row. I would get on to the buyer and tell them what their solicitor has said and perhaps subtly let something slip to the effect that their purchase could be in jeopardy if they don't start pulling their socks up. It's still a sellers' market, isn't it?

Margaretmatcher · 06/04/2022 10:14

Solicitors have to adhere to client confidentiality so should only update their clients nobody else

Kyrae · 06/04/2022 10:50

It feels like no matter how fast everyone in a chain wants to move, and quickly returns all queries and paperwork etc, we're all at the mercy of the solicitors who never seem in any sort of rush at all, it's so frustrating. From experience here it always seems to be solicitors taking ages to reply to another solicitors queries, rather than waiting for external reports or paperwork etc. Even when someone in our chain has been threatening to pull out over how long it's taking, the solicitors still aren't moving any faster! :(

Topbird29 · 06/04/2022 10:58

Can you ask for a rough idea of an exchange / completion date - give the reason that you are getting moving quotes and need to check their availability for some potential dates. Might make the buyers think about this too. And also ask the question if anyone in the chain has holidays approaching that need to be worked around. Nothing more frustrating than being ready to go, then finding out someone in the chain (or their solicitor) has annual leave booked.

blobby10 · 06/04/2022 11:43

After moving in October 2019, sold to a friend (who was either texting or phoning me daily at one point he was so wound up) I came to the conclusion that, as buyers/sellers we all naturally think that our case is THE most important and should be dealt with quickly. In reality, to our solicitor we are just one of many and need to take our turn - things will happen when they happen sort of thing. Thankfully, I do not intend to move house again until I need a nursing home so won't have to deal with selling or buying ever again.

girlmom21 · 06/04/2022 11:49

Your estate agent needs to call the buyer and say you're going to pull the plug if you don't get an update.

All the solicitor needs to tell you is what's left to do.

Mildura · 06/04/2022 13:25

@Margaretmatcher

Solicitors have to adhere to client confidentiality so should only update their clients nobody else

It is quite possible to update other parties involved in the transaction without breaching client confidentiality.

Not for the first time, I really do wonder if some of the people who comment on matters in the property board have ever bought or sold a house before.

DameCelia · 06/04/2022 13:35

@Mildura
I think the point is that the OP can't ask the buyer's solicitor for an update. The only solicitor she should be speaking to is her own.
Signed
A solicitor

user1497207191 · 06/04/2022 13:44

Personally, I'd take what both solicitors say with a pinch of salt.

I bought my small office from the guy I used to rent it from who lived in the flat above (kind of the old fashioned flat above the shop type of place). I'd been renting from him for years so knew him well, especially as he still owned/used the garden behind the office so walked past my office door/window daily.

He offered to sell it me, and I jumped at the chance. We agreed everything between us, i.e. rights of access, rights of light through windows, who could park on the shared driveway, etc etc., and then both signed an informal agreement which we gave to our respective solicitors to make happen.

Both solicitors seemed to take forever, both asking questions that we'd already given them answers to in our shared informal agreement, both asking irrelevant questions that they should have known from a simple review of the information we gave them (which included pictures, site plans, etc). Then the killer was when I got a letter from my solicitor saying the delay was because the seller's solicitor was waiting for answers from the seller - I showed it to the guy above who went ballistic with his solicitor as it was just a pack of lies - his solicitor said it was my solicitor holding it up, so I went ballistic with my solicitor. They were so used to blaming each other and their respective client, that they lost sight of the buyer/seller talking almost daily with each other so their "lies" came out. After we both gave our respective solicitors a final warning to sort their act together, it was amazing how quickly they dealt with the transaction!

user1497207191 · 06/04/2022 13:45

[quote DameCelia]@Mildura
I think the point is that the OP can't ask the buyer's solicitor for an update. The only solicitor she should be speaking to is her own.
Signed
A solicitor[/quote]
That's part of the job of the estate agents, i.e. to liaise with buyer and seller, and their respective solicitors.

senua · 06/04/2022 14:14

[quote DameCelia]@Mildura
I think the point is that the OP can't ask the buyer's solicitor for an update. The only solicitor she should be speaking to is her own.
Signed
A solicitor[/quote]
Yes but the quotation was that the solicitors should "only update their clients nobody else ".
Isn't it normal to speak to the other side in a negotiation? You don't get very far otherwise.

Mildura · 06/04/2022 14:23

[quote DameCelia]@Mildura
I think the point is that the OP can't ask the buyer's solicitor for an update. The only solicitor she should be speaking to is her own.
Signed
A solicitor[/quote]
I don't think in this case the OP was intending to speak directly to the solicitors acting for her buyers.

It seems that there is frustration on the part of the OP that her buyer's solicitors are not in fact updating her own solicitor or her estate agent. Which would be perfectly normal to expect in a property transaction, and would not breach client confidentiality.

Headabovetheparakeet · 06/04/2022 15:24

I'd be looking to my EA to sort this. Can they call your buyer and try to find out what's happening?

SatinHeart · 06/04/2022 16:18

Your EA needs to put pressure on your buyer to start hassling their solicitor. Solicitor should update their own client on what is outstanding for exchange at the very least.

Original poster

Nurse1980 · 06/04/2022 17:51

Well our estate agent messaged me this morning to say he was going to find out what the hold up was and I’ve heard nothing since.

I have got our buyers email and I’m tempted to email him. I have said to our EA in the past that I don’t mind if our buyer has my phone number but he said he prefers not. So I will probably really piss my EA off if I email our buyer.

OP posts:

CalpolOnToast · 06/04/2022 18:11

We are on 6 months, there's no chain and the buyer is renting the bloody place off us already. He's on his 2nd solicitor as the first wasn't on his lenders panel 😳🤯🙄

Robin233 · 06/04/2022 18:37

Email him.
I went round to the house our sellers were buying.
Introduced myself and had a nice chat.
Their property had a Minor building reg they needed to adhere to.
Once this was rectified we were a go.
Everyone was wanting to move.

Original poster

Nurse1980 · 07/04/2022 08:49

I emailed our buyer yesterday but no reply yet.

OP posts:

ExConstance · 07/04/2022 09:43

I might be an old fogey but i have moved from a house i owned four times in my lifetime, all some years ago. What tended to happen then was that the vendor and purchaser would discuss everything between themselves and then inform the estate agents and solicitors what it was they had settled on. Everyone did their own viewings too. I can't help but think the current day reluctance to actually talk to other people causes a lot of these problems.

Sarkymarky · 07/04/2022 10:15

Mildura A Solicitor MUST adhere to client confidentiality no way would I tell an EA anything. There was an article in the Law Society Gazette some years ago reminding Solicitors that client confidentiality was to be adhered to at all times and EA are not your clients. Please do not post anything unless you know what you are talking about because it can mislead people

Mildura · 07/04/2022 10:47

@Sarkymarky

Do you work as a conveyancing solicitor?

RidingMyBike · 07/04/2022 11:23

It's possible to go a LOT faster than this - we got from offer to completion in 30 days last year but that was just us selling, no chain either side and everything as straightforward as it could be. 16 weeks seems very long when so much has already happened for the sale to proceed.

We're now in the middle of buying and, whilst it's slower than our sale was last year(!), our solicitor and EA have kept us updated really well. There is a delay whilst probate is granted on the property our vendor is buying which we didn't know about initially, but solicitor told us as soon as he knew and gave an expected completion date of end May. Which will be about 12 weeks from offer accepted. So longer than we'd thought but at least we know what we're working towards!

Original poster

Nurse1980 · 07/04/2022 18:21

Well it was a big no no to email the buyer! He didn’t reply and went straight to our EA to complain. So that backfired!

OP posts:

LoudingVoice · 07/04/2022 20:34

@Nurse1980

Well it was a big no no to email the buyer! He didn’t reply and went straight to our EA to complain. So that backfired!

I’d email back to both EA and say if your buyer doesn’t get things moving you’re going to put the house back on the market because they don’t seem like a serious buyer and appear to have no interest in giving any reasonable timescales.

Andacherryonthetop · 07/04/2022 20:43

I would also inform buyer (via EA) that as things are not progressing you will be putting the house back on the market. It might give your buyer the push he needs.

I feel your pain though. We’re in a chain of 6. Had offer accepted in January but vendors couldn’t find a property for ages. Now the chain is complete and it’s a total waiting game and I’m worried someone somewhere will pull out. My solicitor thinks we will complete in May but no dates yet

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