Fed up of solicitors

[amandaandherveg]

Yup, you're right.

I can pull out anytime and have full legal recourse against the seller, ie, I can sue him for all costs, etc. Because his Grandfathers solicitor screwed up re the transfer of ownership/disolving the partnership with the estranged son, he could then be sued, sheesh!

They original solicitor used to be a client of mine, and he's a lovely chap, but not great at dotting the 'i' and crossing the 't's', it transpires that he gets sued all the time, oh dear.

[Two_Sheds]

solicitors do take ages.

i was a Legal Sec in a previous life, with a permanent pile of red files at my desk. If a client rang up, his file would be pulled out of the pile & worked on. If he didn't ring up, it would stay in the pile.

The squeakiest wheel gets the oil x

[amandaandherveg]

Then in that case Two Sheds, 'Squeak Squeak'.

[squashysu]

I was a legal sec in conveyancing, commerical and residential, i know what you mean, everything is a constant drag! but it is better to be sorted now than later or it would be a right headache for you.

I hope you get answers soon, i would be jumping up and down as well x

[Johnny Appleseed]

Got the architects plans for my new house sitting in the kitchen drawer gathering dust but not going to bother lodging them with the council Planning Dept until this gets sorted out.

.... I just want to build my new home.

Sorry to hear about the legal problems - I hope they get sorted soon.

On a more positive note - what a fantastic position to be in. I'd love to be able to build my own house - so I am really pleased for you (and said with just the tiniest hint of green envy in my voice)

The company I work for deals with a lot of national house builders and we quite often get involved in technical design issues.

One at the moment is the argument about the level of insulation.

Given the ever increasing price of energy, should the house be designed to satisfy only the minimum requirements of the Building Regulations or as extra insulation is relatively cheap to install during the build should the new home be designed with this in mind and insulated to a higher standard?

Once you get to this detailed decision stage, it is worth looking up the "Lifetime Homes" standard which at the moment is voluntary - but is likely to be a minimum requirement in a few years time. There are a couple of things in this new standard which may be of interest to you in the long term (subject to your needs) and would be very cost efficient to include at the design stage but which would cost thousands to include retrospectively.

The Lifetime Home owners I have spoken to, praise their design flexibility and layout. Your architect should be able to point you in the right direction on this - as you can't include this design after the event now is the time to think about it.

Good Luck with the solicitor and the design issues.

[coomber]

Good luck and i hope all is sorted out soon, I know what solicitors are like they "overlooked" paying off the mortgage on our previous house when we moved, first we knew of it was when we got a letter saying we were two months behind on our mortgage we did however get a small payment for worry and inconveniance caused!!

[amandaandherveg]

Thanks Coomber, this is the 3rd solicitor I've gone through in a year, I'm obviously very unlucky. You really have to keep your eye on the ball don't you? The last one we used forgot to register our deeds and as far as the Records Office in Edinburgh were concerned, we didn't exist, jeez. The one before that didn't get our money to us for 5 weeks after completion of the sale.

Johnny, I renovate for a living, and still dream of insulation after the one I've just finished - 3 floors of cutting Kingspan Sheets by myself before the joiners put up the plasterboard. I absolutely love it.

[Alice]

What a bummer Amanda. I know what Solicitors are like. I could type on here for the rest of my life about how inefficient they are - I just don't know how they get away with it. If I had ever been as negligent as they are I would have been in Cornton Vale for sure.
Just keep on the case, phone them up and pester them. It's the only way you get anything done. Write stating your dissatisfaction and that you will be seeking a reduced settlement. You might get the fee halved - I did.
And , it will eventually all happen and you'll get to enjoy your plot. Hope it happens soon for you.

[amandaandherveg]

Thanks Alice. We really want this plot, it's in the same village as we live in, you can literally see it from our lounge window. The space used to be occupied by an old joinery workshop which was next to the blacksmiths, it really will be lovely if we ever get our hands on it. Smaller garden though which will be bummer but I know a chap that may rent me his spare bit of ground for veg growing.

[Johnny Appleseed]

Johnny, I renovate for a living, and still dream of insulation after the one I've just finished - 3 floors of cutting Kingspan Sheets by myself before the joiners put up the plasterboard. I absolutely love it.

Now that's dedication. Good luck Amanda - hope it gets sorted soon.

[Rhona]

Hmmm... aren't you tarring all solicitors with the same "inefficient/careless" brush. Not many other professions where the majority are VERY hard working, caring and dedicated have to put up with the "what they're all like" slights.

Solicitors train for years and have their conduct and performance scrutinised and monitored constantly, throughout their careers. It's one the few professions where being honest and accountable is measured by their professional body regularly.

I'm really sorry if some of you have had bad experiences - like all jobs, some are better at it than others, and actually being negligent is a whole other thing entirely; but don't you think bashing the whole profession is a bit unfair?!

If someone fixes our car and does a cr*p job, I don't assume that all mechanics are useless idiots!

[Mikey]

Hmmm... aren't you tarring all solicitors with the same "inefficient/careless" brush. Not many other professions where the majority are VERY hard working, caring and dedicated have to put up with the "what they're all like" slights.

Solicitors train for years and have their conduct and performance scrutinised and monitored constantly, throughout their careers. It's one the few professions where being honest and accountable is measured by their professional body regularly.

I'm really sorry if some of you have had bad experiences - like all jobs, some are better at it than others, and actually being negligent is a whole other thing entirely; but don't you think bashing the whole profession is a bit unfair?!

If someone fixes our car and does a cr*p job, I don't assume that all mechanics are useless idiots!

It a reflection of where we are today, you only have to watch the tv to see ads about 'Have you had an accident in the last two years!'. We have little tolerance for error anymore and if that error is human there is blame so there is a claim. I'm guessing it's one of the few growing industries in this country!!

Solicitors are not the only ones though, doctors are sued frequently, schools have to have a section of their budget set aside incase of being sued. Mechanics don't get a good press, salesmen get a worse one, traffic wardens get the worst press. If you check you will find that solicitors do not come very highly up the list of complained about. Having said that, they are rarely time conscious, and what is wrong with emails as opposed to letters, lets get them into the modern world hey!

[SlugLobber]

solicitors do take ages.

i was a Legal Sec in a previous life, with a permanent pile of red files at my desk. If a client rang up, his file would be pulled out of the pile & worked on. If he didn't ring up, it would stay in the pile.

The squeakiest wheel gets the oil x

I can well believe this. When I bought my house it was a straightforward sale that didn't include estate agents OR chains on either side and no problems with surveys. We had the mortgage in place, the works. After 3 months of our solicitor fannying around I took to emailing and calling every single day. She got VERY arsey with me, but it completed!

[Johnny Appleseed]

Hmmm... aren't you tarring all solicitors with the same "inefficient/careless" brush. Not many other professions where the majority are VERY hard working, caring and dedicated have to put up with the "what they're all like" slights.

I do agree with you Rhona.

Bad solicitors, a very small percentage, are like football hooligans - they give the rest a bad name.

I know there are many professional solicitors who would be a joy to deal with - but there are some at other end of the "unprofessional" scale that attract all the negative and sensational publicity that make the news and sell newspapers.

After all the solicitors that don't abuse client funds never seem to make the news headlines.

I've mostly had good experiences with them - apart from the fact they have always been so slooooooooooooooow in getting things done.

[Johnny Appleseed]

I did agree with you Rhona - and then I found this link which made me think a bit deeper. Hmmmmmmm

Which?