I sometimes think about ‘the old days’ – and in particular, those old days where the relationship between solicitor and estate agent was so much kinder.
A drink after work on a Friday afternoon to catch up on local property gossip; recommendations between agents and solicitors where they would ask us to act on transactions and we would ask them to value a house for probate with a view to instructing them to sell . But all that has changed so much, and I feel that we are on a battlefield a lot of the time rather than all working together to achieve the same outcome.
An example on Friday – agent calls me at midday for an update. Yes, midday. Perhaps the busiest time of the week for a conveyancer – the nerves of waiting for monies so close to the one o’clock completion time, knowing that there are two above you in the chain. The agent wanted an update on a matter which was in its early stages; so early that I was waiting on the contract documents. I updated the agent, and there is a part of me that always wishes I did not have to do so as I know exactly what is going to happen next…
Agent: Ok. I will call the other side’s solicitor and find out why they haven’t sent them and put some pressure on them to send them to you today.
[point to make to you, dear reader – I hate the phrase ‘other side’ as it is somewhat adversarial]
Me: Please don’t fret about it and perhaps it would be a good idea not to call the seller’s solicitor as they may be really busy with completions; or they could be waiting on documents from the seller. It can wait until Monday as even if the documents are sent to me today, I doubt I will have time to review them until Monday.
Agent: No the vendor will want to know what is happening.
[point to make – do not like the word ‘vendor’ – why do agents use this word? It is seller and has been for many years and I was taught by my training partner to use the word seller instead of vendor so it must have come in around 1988]
Me: Ok but the SELLER’S solicitor may be really busy and they may not want you to call them – seriously, it can wait until Monday.
[emphasis on the word seller]
Agent: No we have a policy where all vendors are given updates on Friday morning, so I will call their solicitor now and make sure that the documents are sent today.
[why have such a policy?]
Me: Ok, but please just bear in mind that they may be too busy to talk to them.
Agent: We recommend them so they have to talk to us.
And there we have it – many of the reasons in one short phone call as to why we are on a battlefield because, yes, you guessed it, the agent will tell the sellers’ solicitor that we are pushing for documents.
We all have to work together – cut the game playing!
3 Responses
The agents are desperate at the moment. What a pity.
Answer me this. Why are EA allowed to contact us willy-nilly at all? The Law Society should step in and give guidance that solicitors are not under any obligation to liaise with third parties without a good reason. Calling me to ask “have you ordered searches yet?” is not a good reason. We are really stretched and our time is precious. Stop harassing us, and let us get on with the job. Don’t worry you will get your greedy commission soon enough. And yes, I have ordered searches. You can tick that off your big list of things to do for the day. Well done you! Don’t forget to call me tomorrow to ask whether I have received the searches back and why is it taking so long.
When our sellers or buyers ask for updates on a Friday, we always tell them its a tough day to expect solicitors to give you transactional information and ask them to wait until Monday. As for an agent purposefully making Friday ‘progression’ day – that’s just silly, and does nothing to manage credible expectations.