Working with conveyancer/solicitor

[s_t]

Ended up terminating the contract for the property discussed in this thread:
http://somersoft.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78219

We wanted to make variations to the contract in order to proceed, but didn't get agreement from the vendors prior to the end of the cooling off period.

However, the process raised a number of questions for me as to the best way of working with conveyancers/solicitors.

In this case my issue is that I have absolutely no idea exactly what was put to the vendors, how timely it was, and how well it was done. The way it happenned was that I ended up outlining to them what we wanted, and they 'did it' - whatever that 'it' actually was.

I ended up priming the agent with info via emails, hoping he would pass them on to the vendors and encourage them to see our point of view. Sent him photos of the big manhole & drain, and pointing out what features/structures might have to the ripped up in the case of drain repairs.

So how much do people trust there conveyancer/solicitor and leave it to them? I've seen plenty of comments on here to the effect that solicitors aren't necessarily good negotiators.

Some possible viewpoints on how the relationship should work might be:
1. Outline the situation, and leave it to them to do their job.
2. Outline what you want, leave it to them to do it and get them to copy you on all correspondance
3. Outline what you want, have them create draft correspondance for your review and approval. Once you agree they can send it off.
4. Outline what you want, have them create relevant clauses, but do all correspondance and negotiations yourself.

Of course there are many possible variations to the above, but I'm just after general feedback. I might be a micro manager, but the idea of leaving all negotiations etc to them and not knowing any of the actual exact details/correspondance doesn't sit right!

 

[Terry_w]

Hi ST

I am a solicitor. I haven't read your other thread at all, but if someone requested me to liaise with the otherside to change the contract then I would write to them requesting the changes. There may be a few faxes or emails back and forth before agreement - and this takes extra time too.

Solicitors deal in contractual negotiations so other negotiations may be best done by the purchaser dealing directly with the agent. For instance if you wanted a dishwasher included the solicitor could draft a special condition, but if you wanted to go back and forth negotiating price reductions etc then probably best to do that yourself with the agent.

I wouldn't normally give copies of correspondence to the client - but only because no one has ever asked for it. It would also be extra work if it was emailing copies of faxes etc. If its email then it would be easy to bcc someone in.

 

[pennyk]

i think its reasonable for the solicitor to give feedback on what they have followed up, particularly if you have made specific requests. When I was selling last year, if I had specific issues I expected the solicitors would let me know where everything was up to.

for adding special conditions in the contract, I would expect to review them prior to sending to the other side.

I think you need to trust your solicitor.. but for me that trust grows from getting feedback from the solicitor that they have followed through on requests. If you have no communication from them, how do you develop trust?

So, dont be afraid to both give and receive feedback from them... the solicitor is working on your behalf, so you shouldnt be afraid to ask questions.

 

[s_t]

Thanks for the responses. It is an interesting issue - I wonder if bigger deals usually involve more communication between solicitor and client? I can imagine some of the forum contributers on here, involved in bigger commericial or industrial deals, work a quite closely with their solicitors on the exact contract details etc.

However, it sounds like how it worked out with us is fairly representative of the 'normal' conveyancer to client relationship, and that it comes down to a balance between trust, and good communication. When I think back to the aforementioned thread, it would only have taken an extra couple of calls or emails, about the more important details, and I would have felt far more informed and confident as to what was going on. Shouldn't be that hard to address next time a similar issue arises.

 

[pennyk]

Thanks for the responses. It is an interesting issue - I wonder if bigger deals usually involve more communication between solicitor and client? I can imagine some of the forum contributers on here, involved in bigger commericial or industrial deals, work a quite closely with their solicitors on the exact contract details etc.

However, it sounds like how it worked out with us is fairly representative of the 'normal' conveyancer to client relationship, and that it comes down to a balance between trust, and good communication. When I think back to the aforementioned thread, it would only have taken an extra couple of calls or emails, about the more important details, and I would have felt far more informed and confident as to what was going on. Shouldn't be that hard to address next time a similar issue arises.

mine werent bigger deals.. just normal buying/ selling of houses.

I just think communication and feedback is important.... and I am perhaps a little bit controlling