Conveyancing - why cant it be done in 1-2 weeks?

Conveyancing - why cant it be done in 1-2 weeks?

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Discussion

fridaypassion

Original Poster:

8,503 posts

227 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
I'm sure over the years most of us will have experience of this. We are mid move at the moment having had our sale side fall through we are up and running on attempt 2. On the purchase side we pressed on and have now signed our contracts but not exchanged of course. During the conversation (about 10 days ago now) our solicitor went wide eyed at the prospect of having things sorted by the end of March. Why!?

As far as I understand it this is the basic process of making a house purchase:

Memorandum of sale and instruction from client
Mortgage offer in principle
Searches (all online and available instantly)
Survey
Mortgage offer
Queries on deeds
Exchange
Complete

Why can this not be done in 2 weeks?

13m

26,271 posts

221 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
fridaypassion said:
I'm sure over the years most of us will have experience of this. We are mid move at the moment having had our sale side fall through we are up and running on attempt 2. On the purchase side we pressed on and have now signed our contracts but not exchanged of course. During the conversation (about 10 days ago now) our solicitor went wide eyed at the prospect of having things sorted by the end of March. Why!?

As far as I understand it this is the basic process of making a house purchase:

Memorandum of sale and instruction from client
Mortgage offer in principle
Searches (all online and available instantly)
Survey
Mortgage offer
Queries on deeds
Exchange
Complete

Why can this not be done in 2 weeks?
It can be done in 2 weeks. But generally it isn't because each stage of the process has a lead time. Searches aren't all online and available instantlly, by the way.

Also there is a culture issue, particularly amongst solicitors, of not doing stuff quickly.





Squiggs

1,520 posts

154 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
It can be done - but - your average solicitor arrives at the office at about ten, leaves at about four and has to fit in a 4 hour pub lunch between those times biggrin

jmsgld

1,010 posts

175 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
I think the searches are more like 6 weeks.

There are always various queries going back and forth which take time.

In a chain someone has invariably chosen the cheapest conveyancing they can find who delay at every contact and the chain is as slow as the weakest link.

If you buy at auction it is usually 20 business days, but the searches have already been done and the sale is largely at the risk of the buyer as contracts already exchanged etc.


jmsgld

1,010 posts

175 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
I think 3 months from the agreed sale would be doing pretty well...

MTech535

613 posts

110 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
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Managed to buy my first home in about 2 weeks, but there was no chain and I was quite pushy with the solicitor.

fridaypassion

Original Poster:

8,503 posts

227 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
We had all our searches back 10 days after instructing the colicitors or at least that what we were told.

Ziplobb

1,348 posts

283 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
It can be done
solicitors in general want to draw it out because mentally it helps them justify the level of charges that they sometimes make for a simplistic transaction. In my experience they also dont like being told to do things by various others parties.

guindilias

5,245 posts

119 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
In my experience, female solicitors are a LOT better - when I bought this house, the conveyancing took 3 months. No chain. Male solicitor.
My mum bought her house, no chain, conveyancing done in 3 weeks. We paid the same, they both work for the same firm, her solicitor was much more "let's get this done" than mine, who was feeding me all sorts of crap - like he had to make sure my house wasn't built on agricultural land (3 bed semi in the suburbs, built in the 60s, identical to every other house in the street), anything to stretch out his time. He's not even particularly busy, was just looking forward to retirement.

blueg33

35,574 posts

223 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
Fastest ever for me is 2 working days from offer to completion. It can easily be done in 2 weeks but domestic conveyances just are not geared up for that.

The legal fee for the 2 day job was about £45k so a bit more than your average £500 conveyancer

Gingerbread Man

9,171 posts

212 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
6 months and counting. There was a freehold issue, but my main issue is the who owns the other 50% of the freehold who has stopped replying to emails as he doesn't care, yet this is costing me thousands on the exchange rate for every week that goes by that he won't pull his thumb out. I have to beg via email to motivate him, and even that is hit or miss. I'm tempted to fly back to England and give him a slap as he obviously doesn't quite grasp how he's affecting matters.

I don't know why it takes so long though on a straight forward sale. I bought with no chain, future house was empty, yet still took 4 months. In the world of email, it seems to have gotten no quicker. Yet costs more.

TheAngryDog

12,394 posts

208 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
I'm hoping for an 8 week completion at most. Hoping my solicitors don't drag their heels.

13m

26,271 posts

221 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
TheAngryDog said:
I'm hoping for an 8 week completion at most. Hoping my solicitors don't drag their heels.
Have you told them what your timescale is?

roofer

5,136 posts

210 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
From viewing to purchase, we were in in 6 days, no mortgage, and Solicitor is a family friend, so go figure.

Rude-boy

22,227 posts

232 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
The process would be sped up somewhat if people spoke to and instructed their solicitor before or as soon as they started to think seriously about selling and/or buying a property.

Different properties have different requirements. A 3 bed on an estate may be freehold, or leasehold. It may be subject to an annual service or rent charge. The Sellers may be slow on con pleating their forms. The Buyers may have a wedding the one week in March the Sellers are on shore. The Grant of Probate in the estate of the last property in the chain has yet to be applied for whilst the family raise the IHT.

Many of these issues can be dealt with or communicated better if pre instructed.

Some people confuse solicitors with other types of conveyancer. One broken part in any chain or a collection of minor in themselves unavailable dates can lead to delays.

Sometimes it's a st solicitor.

It can be done in 2 weeks but you'd need everyone ready to roll day one.

TheAngryDog

12,394 posts

208 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
13m said:
TheAngryDog said:
I'm hoping for an 8 week completion at most. Hoping my solicitors don't drag their heels.
Have you told them what your timescale is?
Yes. No response yet.

Rude-boy

22,227 posts

232 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
TheAngryDog said:
Yes. No response yet.
Typical timescale with no major issues should be 4-6 weeks after your solicitor receives papers from sellers solicitors. Swifter ways are sometimes possible but can require extra disbursements and costs. If you can't get to speak to or email your solicitor or someone with authority dirctly you're using the wrong person.

The very worst thing you can do is use anyone an estate agent hands you the paperwork to sign up for. Certainly without reading the small print...

Tomo1971

1,127 posts

156 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
We have just moved (November) and yes, the conveyancing and missives did seem to take ages.

It doesnt help that they seem to be all done by letter, even in this day and age. Every little question on the contract was done by mail, either the question itself or the qualified reply via ourselves for confirmation of answer.


TheAngryDog

12,394 posts

208 months

Saturday 4th March 2017
quotequote all
Rude-boy said:
TheAngryDog said:
Yes. No response yet.
Typical timescale with no major issues should be 4-6 weeks after your solicitor receives papers from sellers solicitors. Swifter ways are sometimes possible but can require extra disbursements and costs. If you can't get to speak to or email your solicitor or someone with authority dirctly you're using the wrong person.

The very worst thing you can do is use anyone an estate agent hands you the paperwork to sign up for. Certainly without reading the small print...
I aren't using an agent recommended one, but one recommended my mortgage broker. The broker is highly regarded on here so I have the utmost confidence in their recommendation

wiggy001

6,542 posts

270 months

Sunday 5th March 2017
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It's to give your buyers time to pull out, letting the whole chain collapse so you have to start again if you still want to move or (as in our case) give up with the idea of moving. mad