Who should I punch first?

[Spikey Shrimper]

Me and my lady are currently trying to buy a flat at the moment and we seem to be getting told different stories and given different information by everyone!!! We are first time buyers, at home with parents, there is only one other in the chain and it is taking months and months. Our mortgage is also about to expire and it seems to be us that's doing all the phone calls and work!! I certainly agree when people have said that buying property is one of the most stressful things in life.

Anyway, who should I punch first to make me feel better?


PS I won't really punch them!

 

[Smiffy]

Solicitor all day...

They are f%&king useless people who dont deserve the money they get paid.

 

[hexagon_sun]

Quote[/b] (Smiffy @ July 26 2006,22:39)]Solicitor all day...

They are f%&king useless people who dont deserve the money they get paid.

Amen to that!

I've moved three times now and it's always been pretty much as you described - you will get there in the end though, and it will all be worth it. Hang on in there

 

[Guest]

Spikey get yourself over here for some advice:

Forum for House Buying, Renting, Selling & Property Prices

 

[southendstrett]

Definitely solicitor, they're idiots who live in their own little bubble.
Nearly lost out on two houses. Once, because the solicitor was on holiday on the day of completion and didn't tell us so the funds couldn't be authorised, we had to beg another partner to complete for us.
Another time, our solicitor took so long because he got hung up about the property being in a residents association area and what the yearly costs might be that the vendors nearly pulled out. I had to explain to the moron I didn't mind paying £30 a year, I just wanted a sodding roof over my head.
To be fair though our last lot of solicitors, a firm in Newcastle were excellent,and even told the estate agents to get their arses in gear.

 

[DTS]

As someone in the chain I can say that if your offer expires it should be a formalility to get it renewed unless you have changed your credit proflie dramataically. Sounds like you close so even the most basic company will generally give you an additional month.

Estate Agents are basically for my mind scum of the earth liars who want lots of money for very little work.

But the worst are solicitors for sure. I have the misfortune to deal with them all day and they really are the most useless collection of people I have ever witnessed. They never respond to emails or calls and are generally snobby bastards.

That said if you get the right people in the chain the process is pretty easy really. Think you have just be unlucky mate.

 

[Mad Cyril]

When my wife purchased her first house the solicitors didn't perform the search properly and failed to dicover the seller had taken out a secured loan on the property.

She then had to sue the solicitor for negligence when the loan compant tried to reposses the house.

If the solicitors insurance hadn't paid out she could have lost everything.

So make sure whatever solicitor you use is insured!

 

[Spikey Shrimper]

Quote[/b] (Spikey Shrimper @ July 26 2006,21:19)]PS I won't really punch them!  

Changed my mind!  I think I really would like to punch my solicitor now!  He has no communication or customer service skills whatsoever.  Getting information out of him is like blood from a stone!  My girlfriend is going to report him to the law society when (or if) we are in.

Anyway, thanks for the advice guys, had more helpful information on here than we've had from anyone else!

 

[South Bank Hank]

tw&t the solicitor!

When we bought our first house, I phoned three solicitors to ask:

1) what was involved?
2) how much would they charge?


The conversation with the first went as follows:

"Hi, I'm buying a house and we need a solicitor. Can you tell me what's involved and how much you charge?", says I.

"Yes, what's your name?" asks he.

"South Bank Hank...!!!" says I (well, something similar).

"What is the house address?"

"1, Blah, Blah, Essex, etc..."

And so goes the conversation.
Finally, he says, "Okay, we do [x,y and z] and our charges are £xxx".

At which point I say...
"Thank you very much for your time. We'll come back to you shortly".

1 month later, we have entered South Bank towers. Two weeks into our blissful home-owning paradise, Mrs Bank-Hank and I receive a bill from this tw&t even though we went ahead with a different firm.

When I phoned him to clarify the mix-up (in my naivety) he informed me that we had entered into a contract and that I should write him a cheque within 30 days. Attempting to have a grown-up conversation, I proceeded to discuss the matter with him in a friendly way using his first name, only to be informed in no uncertain terms that I was to refer to him by his surname!!!

I did then refer to him by some other name but it was neither the name he was born with nor any other name he'd prefer to be called! I guess he's still waiting for a cheque! However, how many other people does this guy do this to? And how many stump up the cash?

Company/His name was All..something - I truly can't remember it. Allport? Allsop?


The solicitor we did go with was also crap and I wonder whether it is a pre-requisite for this specialism within the industry.

 

[Ulysses]

Sorry to hear this. I've been through it twice in recent times. If you have to punch anyone its the Mortgage company, they screwed me last time with a time out on the mortgage i agreed 4.75% last time and after 4 months it got renegotiated and end up being 5.25%, b'stards stiffed me over by around £40 a month they're the rip off merchants in it. They're the real f*ckers in this!!!!!! Punch them, no f*ck it burn the b'stards and torch there wives!

 

[McNasty]

As an Independant Mortgage Broker I can sympathise with everyone who has suffered when buying or selling property. Dealing with solicitors , mortgage companies and the like can be a pain the the a*se, but spare a thought for people like DTS and myself as we are dealing with them all the time !

 

[Davros]

When i moved house recently there was no chain, as the property was new build.

My solicitors were absolutely excellent, sadly the same cannot be said for the vendors solicitors who lost copious amounts of paperwork, leading to me having to re-negotiate my mortgage. The actually cost of the mortgage didnt really change (an extra £2 a month i think) but as i wanted fixed rate security i had to pay the arrangement fee (£399) a second time

 

[Kent Shrimper]

Got to say that i have a great Solicitor who looks like The Crow Man from Wurzel gummage but is superb when it comes to Houses

So in my mind it has to be Estate Agents, scum of society. They play everyone and only have there own interests at heart. Maybe if your tw&ting the Solicitor i can have a go at your Estate Agent.

 

[Leeboy]

hmmm

first property I bought I would have to say the solicitors

currently buying new house and I think the estate agent for the property we're buying just about edges it

 

[Napster]

Quote[/b] (Leeboy @ July 28 2006,09:07)]hmmm

first property I bought I would have to say the solicitors

currently buying new house and I think the estate agent for the property we're buying just about edges it

but the neighbours aren't bad!

oooohh no

 

[Davros]

Quote[/b] (Kent Shrimper @ July 28 2006,09:02)]Got to say that i have a great Solicitor who looks like The Crow Man from Wurzel gummage but is superb when it comes to Houses

So in my mind it has to be Estate Agents, scum of society. They play everyone and only have there own interests at heart. Maybe if your tw&ting the Solicitor i can have a go at your Estate Agent.

i think we may have had the same solicitor...

 

[Ron Manager]

Generally the biggest pains in the arse in the whole house-buying procedure are the solicitors. Being involved in this on a daily basis from the mortgage point of view I can honestly say that they on the whole are the most obnoxious bunch of people you could wish to meet. This permeates down to their staff - receptionists at solicitors firms are the most stuck up and arrogant you could ever come across.

They try and do as little work themselves for as much money as possible, often getting their client to make all the phonecalls and chasing up. The trouble is they use their profession and legal jargon into scaring their customers into doing all the leg work for them. I always tell my customers when they call up doing the work of the solicitor that they should get straight on the phone to them and remind the solicitor that he/she is working for them and being paid handsomely for it and therefore please get their finger out and do the job properly. This has on occasion led to some rather terse conversations between myself and solicitors who don't appreciate this but they don't have a leg to stand on - they are just arsey that they've been found out.

 

[sufcintheprem]

Perhaps I'm a little biased having worked for one on and off but I would suggest that the quality of your solicitor very much depends on the character but there's hardly a 'good' way for a solicitor to be. If your solicitor seems friendly and approachable, don't be shocked when the other party's solicitor doesn't feel the urgency to send stuff through. On the flip side, if your guy is an *******, you don't know whether the will get it done quick or slow.

Unfortunately, the amount of lgal jargon and paperwork involved in the legal profession give solicitors the opportunity to be very self-serving and callous. Problem is, who will be able to bring in new legislation on it without severe opposition eventually resulting in the ruling being overturned and who would find loopholes?