What to do if buyers solicitor does not respond?

Asked by: Ines Feil  |  Last update: August 3, 2022
Score: 4.2/5 (38 votes)

If your solicitor is not responding to you, you can use your estate agent to your advantage. It's the estate agent's job to keep an eye on the process, to ensure everything goes to plan and so if your solicitor isn't doing as they should, you can get your estate agent to contact them and find out what the problem is.

How long should it take for a solicitor to reply?

After you have sent your letter to the solicitor, you wait at least 8 weeks to give the solicitor time to respond.

Why do solicitors take so long to reply?

Many authorities are slow at responding as they have no vested interest in your sale, and there are other demands on them throughout their working day.

How do I get a response from a solicitor?

If you have complained to your solicitor about poor service and you are not satisfied with their response, you can contact the Legal Ombudsman. The Legal Ombudsman deals with poor service, such as: delayed or unclear communication. problems with your bill.

Can I contact my buyers solicitor?

Can I ring my buyers' solicitor? In short, no you can't. Well, if you really wanted to you could but the other parties' solicitor will not speak to you, as they're not acting on your behalf.

Why Are Solicitors So SLOW?! Top Tips to speed up conveyancing Solicitor Bushra Mohammed advice

42 related questions found

Can I complain about my buyers solicitor?

Home buyers and sellers whose transactions are messed up or delayed by someone else's solicitor could be given rights to complain to the Legal Ombudsman.

Can you sue solicitors for being slow?

Legal firms can be sued if they don't achieve a completion date that they've committed to, especially if the delay is because of their own error.

How often should you chase solicitor?

Chase them if necessary! I chase every day/check in ask if any problems that way they keep moving if you don't chase you end up at the bottom of the to do list. I went with chasing every 48 hours but we didn't have a huge pressure on timescale.

Can you contact your sellers solicitor?

As far as your second question goes, it's not illegal to contact your vendors' solicitors directly but it is frowned upon, as solicitors generally prefer to communicate with each other rather than with each others' clients.

How can I speed up my solicitors?

There are a few steps you can take:
  1. You can speak to the estate agent and ask them to chase the solicitor.
  2. You can speak to the sellers if you have direct contact with them. They can chase their own solicitors.
  3. Ask the seller to change solicitors.

What happens if you don't reply to a solicitors letter?

They may do nothing, or they may write another letter. However, if their intention is to issue court proceedings if no reply is received within the time limit, they should usually make this clear in the letter setting the time limit.

Do solicitors charge for emails?

For example, a short letter or email in or out is usually charged as 1 unit; 20 minutes work is charged as 4 units. This time recording method is the same as generally adopted throughout the solicitors' profession and is the only method permitted by most legal case management software systems including our own.

Can I contact my buyers directly?

Is it illegal to approach a home-seller directly? Just in case you're wondering, there's no legal restriction that stops buyers from approaching a home-seller directly, and asking them about selling their home directly, by-passing an auction or estate agent. The home-seller is not breaking any laws, either.

Why do solicitors delay exchange of contracts?

But, why do solicitors take so long to exchange contracts? The truth is there can be numerous reasons from them simply being bad at their job or having too many clients to handle, through to instructions from the seller, delays in obtaining searches, and even unresponsive buyers.

Can a buyer talk directly to the seller?

Can buyers contact a listing agent directly? Technically—yes. The only people who may frown upon contacting a listing agent are buyer's agents, who make their commissions based on representing buyers. But there is no law or rule saying a buyer cannot contact a listing agent.

How long should solicitors take when buying a house?

Conveyancing can take anywhere between 8 and 12 weeks from when the sale is agreed. The time it takes to complete the conveyancing process will depend on whether you're buying or selling and if you're part of a property chain. The conveyancing solicitor you choose is also a vital factor.

Why are house sales taking so long?

Property sales are taking twice the time to complete - thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Pre Covid, agents say property sales used to go through in between three or four months. But due to the pandemic this is now taking between five and six months - sometimes longer.

How often should your solicitor update you?

2. How often will my solicitor update me? Our case handlers will try to keep you updated at least once a month. However, don't be too alarmed if it takes longer.

Is there a time limit to complain about solicitors?

A complaint to the Legal Ombudsman must generally be made within six months of the service provider's final response. The Legal Ombudsman deals with complaints about poor service.

What is a solicitors duty of care?

A duty of care is a legal duty requiring the professional to act with a standard of care and skill when dealing with their client. If you have a written contract with the professional, the duty that they have will be set out there. It could also be included in the professional's initial terms and conditions.

Can you withdraw an offer on a house after it has been accepted?

Can a buyer back out of an accepted offer? The short answer: yes. When you sign a purchase agreement for real estate, you're legally bound to the contract terms, and you'll give the seller an upfront deposit called earnest money.

Should a seller contact a buyer?

A: Of course you can speak to the buyer. Your agent must obey your orders, not the other way around. The broker may be acting in your best interest, though, by advising you not to contact the buyer directly.

Do Solicitors always raise Enquiries?

During the process of buying a property, your solicitor will raise enquiries with the seller's solicitor. This is a standard part of the buying process and is done in order to ensure that any potential issues are dealt with prior to Contract Exchange.

Can solicitors charge for letters received?

Of course, solicitors will have to do work on the cases outside the collaborative meetings and they will charge for their time, including charging for correspondence. However, it has the potential to reduce the amount of correspondence quite considerably, to keep the cost down and provide greater value for money.

Why do solicitors charge in 6 minute units?

As a basic starting point, as solicitors, we charge for our time. That is published as an hourly rate, but actually accrues, or builds up, in units of 6 minutes (known as “a unit”). The reason for this is that it is easier to monitor costs building up in hours that are divisible by 10.