Why can't solicitors just be honest?!

[perfectdreaming]

I'm feeling fed up and frustrated today with this whole buying business and just need a moan! Please do tell me if I'm being unreasonable.

I'm a first time buyer and had my offer accepted 15 weeks ago. This is a vacant property with no chain btw. Both solicitors have been pretty good in all fairness, it's mainly the seller that's slowed things down by not being organised or having paperwork ready which I know isn't the solicitors fault and there's only so much chasing they and the estate agent can do, but really frustrating nonetheless.

My solicitor sent enquires nearly 4 weeks ago and informed the sellers solicitor that I was aiming to complete by the 24th October and asked if this was achievable for his client. He confirmed the date would be accepted in principle. The reason I want to complete before then is because I’m going on holiday for 2 weeks (this holiday has been booked for months and I didn’t expect it to be an issue as I thought we would have completed by now).

Now, I know that isn’t anyones fault and I don’t expect solicitors to cut corners in order for us to complete on time, but the seller/sellers solicitor has only just responded and two of those said “to follow” so it’s fairly obvious that we are not going to complete before the end of this month. I have no idea why he said the date would be accepted in principle as he must have known it was going to take a few weeks for them to respond to enquires.

Anyway, I emailed my solicitor yesterday and asked her to confirm if we would be able to complete before the 24th and she wouldn’t comment. I understand she can’t “promise” anything but surely from a legal point, with it only being a week away, she must know if it’s achievable or not, so why can’t she say? Why can’t they just be transparent? I would rather her just to say it’s not achievable if that’s the case so I can at least plan things. It’s incredibly difficult when you work or have commitments, holidays planned etc and are just in limbo and have no idea how close you are to the finish line! I have already accepted the fact that we won’t complete on time but I just wish people would be honest and more straightforward!

I know it's frustrating, but I'm sorry the title of your post is very misleading, this is nothing to do with solicitors' honesty or otherwise. They don't know if you can still complete on 24th because it depends on when the responses to the remaining queries come back, and that may well be in the hands of the vendors and not their solicitors. What are the outstanding queries? Depending on their complexity, perhaps someone here can give you an idea of how long it should take to resolve them.

I'm afraid I agree with the previous poster.

This isn't the solicitor being dishonest. It's just that things take an unpredictable amount of time, with no one person being in control of all the variables.

No reason why completion can't take place whilst you're on holiday, then the property is yours as soon as you get back.

@AlohaRose I'm not sure how my title is misleading or what other word I could have used instead of honest, perhaps transparent?

Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that surely my solicitor must know how much notice is required before completing and since we are very close to the date now, I don't understand why she can't confirm yet.

I'd understand if we were 3 weeks away as anything could happen, but not a week. Even if the paperwork came back tomorrow, would that be enough time? Only she knows how long it will take to review the paperwork (if it came back tomorrow for example), sign everything off, request funds etc.

@AlohaRose also, no I don't know what the outstanding enquires are unfortunately as they didn't say

@perfectdreaming no one (including solicitors) can predict the future particularly when the variables are outside of their control.

It's not a fixed time period because your solicitor won't know when the vendor or their solicitors will return paperwork. I don't think anyone is lying to you. It is a frustrating process but there are many moving elements which are not within any one person's control.

I don't think you're question is misconceived. Basically you're saying that your solicitor is an expert and is in a better position than you are to anticipate how long things are likely to take and could give you some advice (not a guarantee) on that basis.

@RadioBamboo you've hit the nail on the head and I'm sorry if I worded it badly, but yes this is basically what I mean.

If all of the outstanding queries have responses this afternoon, that are straightforward, complete and do not require further clarification, then there may be a chance you can still complete next week. If the queries are not answered until the middle of next week then completion will not happen next week.

Have you signed your contract and returned it to your solicitor?

Have you got your deposit ready to transfer to your solicitor?

Have you investigated options for buildings insurance? (You will need to insure the property from exchange)

Assuming you are buying with a mortgage and that the seller lets their solicitor have the answers to the outstanding enquiries it would be possible to get a report on title to the mortgage company and get your funds from the mortgage company in time but it would probably mean exchanging contracts and completing on the same day.

That isn't ideal if you are then off on holiday as the seller could delay the process yet again - spoiling your holiday when you won't be around to sort problems out.

Your best bet may be to find out via the estate agent when the replies will be answered . Don't forget the solicitor is getting paid a few hundred pounds and the estate agent will get thousands in commission if it is a high street firm - so they will be invested in getting the transaction to complete.

If it was me I would push for exchange of contracts before your hols with completion on your return- that seems more realistic and less stressful

Using the word honest suggests a deliberate attempt to deceive or mislead you. As several people have mentioned, if the solicitors genuinely don't know when the other side will respond to queries then they can't advise you. It's entirely possible (although not usually advised) to exchange and complete on the same day. so if the queries are all answered today or tomorrow or even the day after then it's certainly possible to still complete next week. You need to be proactive though, ask your solicitor what the queries are and what is being done to resolve them. Readiness to complete also depends on you though – Have you already signed all the necessary paperwork, got house insurance ready to go from the point of exchange, transferred your deposit amount to the solicitors client account, etc?