Houses

[NorthfieldsFox]

Just now, Unabomber said:

Redraw don't seem too bad.

Ok that’s cool they are building some beautiful homes in Hamilton , they seem a decent crowd 

 

someone told me pay a building surveyor to visit a couple of times during construction, I think lots of people would use a service life that if it existed 

[VLC86]

1 hour ago, NorthfieldsFox said:

Redrow ??? 

Redrows after service is terrible but like you say they build very nice homes.

[Mickyblueeyes]

On 08/02/2018 at 10:58, deejdeej said:

Supposed to be getting the keys to our first home tomorrow after the date being agreed upon by all parties. However our sellers solicitor has gone awol for a few days ignoring all messages, calls and emails even from their own client.

 

After leaving everybody in the dark for a good few days we've just heard that they're waiting on a 'redemption statement' and have been for 5 days... which is odd as it could be faxed and take minutes.

 

My advice is be very careful which solicitors you choose, don't just go for the cheapest you find, base your choice on recommendations. Ours have been absolutely fantastic and would recommend them to anybody, just a shame about the others 

 

On 11/03/2018 at 17:52, Rob1742 said:

Agree with this. I once gave my solicitor 4/5 days to get a house purchase through for me. Searches, contracts, exchange and complete all sorted. It just showed me how easy these things can be done, if everybody wanted it happen.

 

 

Got to stick up for the profession here. Not that I am in conveyancing but of course have an idea of what one who has specialised in the area may have to deal with. Why anyone would spend the length of time and choose to specialise in residential conveyancing, I have to admit, is beyond me. The actual technical challenge and given most clients are lay with little or no commercial knowledge makes you wonder what a relatively bright person who has been trained to "think outside the box" wants to do in the area. Not to mention, the government, the Law Society and the Legal Services Act has dumb down an area which governed the legal process of the best government land management process in the world. Rant over.

 

Anyway, just on these to points and to hopefully add some value. Poster one has made a very good point. Most go for the cheapest or the one they can haggle down the most. The problem with this is, the age old problem, you get what you pay for. To justify within a legal business to do something which on average would take 6-8 weeks to be done and done well for £250-£350, would mean handing it over to your most inexperienced member of staff. The residential conveyancing market is so weak in terms of income you need to take on a bulk offering to get any sort of return. The problem the profession and the idiots at the law society are now realising is that by dumbing it down and removing a cost cap is that people are now finding it very hard to get a senior member of a team to deal with a resi conveyance - £5/10k to deal with a commercial purchase or £350 to deal with a resi? I know which file I'd pick up more. If you can find them, go for the older firms stuck in their ways. They'll cost a bit more but you will have a better more hands on experience member of staff to deal with it. 

 

Just to defend the seller's solicitor in your situation. Banks usually have a 5-7-10 day from request to provide a redemption figure. The sellers solicitor may have delayed their request but the "delay" seems right to get the redemption figure right. Here is an example where experience would've sped up your process. They should've requested the figure from day one. That way they would've had an idea of the amount needed to redeem, if it was far below the sale price, they could've had more comfort in exchanging for their client knowing they would have enough regardless to redeem. The bank would also have their details which would've sped up the redemption process (reduces the request time frame from 5-7 days to 2-3 days for some banks). 

 

On the second posters point. That is, a commercial minded client. You probably took a view on a number of searches etc and bought with cash from a very keen/desperate seller. Your solicitor knowing this either overlooked a number of points or reported on them very carefully. For new build buyers in this topic. To speed up your process like this I would suggest (if you really were desperate for a quick exchange), ask the developer for the searches they undertook when they bought the land. They'd probably be out of date and you wouldn't be able to rely on them (the search provider owes you no duty of care unless you are the customer) but it can give your lawyer a heads up on red flag issues that may be worth a further bit of examination. You can than limit your searches and maybe seek indemnity insurance for the key ones (local, water & drainage and highways). Searches usually take th longest thing to come back in the conveyance.

 

Anyone buying that needs some help which their solicitor is not assisting with, DM and I will provide guidance where I can. General land law issues may be a bit difficult (as do not specialise in it) but can point you in the right direction for the process - seen plenty of friends go mad with process to know th difficulties faced.

[David Guiza]

On 11/03/2018 at 17:52, Rob1742 said:

Agree with this. I once gave my solicitor 4/5 days to get a house purchase through for me. Searches, contracts, exchange and complete all sorted. It just showed me how easy these things can be done, if everybody wanted it happen.

 

 

I've worked in commercial and residential property law and I think I've encountered probably less than two times where that has happened, however both of which did not involve searches and were cash buyers. Requesting searches, receiving the results, receiving the draft contract paperwork, raising necessary enquiries, receiving adequate responses and reporting to the client is a lot to do in a working week unless it is an in house transaction and you only have a limited number of files; and that's not factoring in a mortgage and the countless delays they can cause. 

 

The list of things that can hold up a property is practically endless, but it is nearly always solicitors that will take the brunt of the blame when something goes tits up despite the fact that there are so many things that are out of their hands. From experience it's a very stressful job as you are dealing with people whom often have little to no patience on a daily basis, from a mixture of excited first time buyers and marital splits to obnoxious developers and deceased matters. 

 

There are plenty of solicitors/conveyancers out there whom do waste time, particularly the factory firms who will charge measly sums and do a botched job, but from my experience the vast majority are very hard working and put up with a great amount of unnecessary flack from clients and agents alike. The agents often seem to avoid any criticism though which was always a frustration to me, I guess it is in some circumstances they will say whatever is necessary to keep the client happy whereas some solicitors will just put the client in their place. 

 

 

 

[simFox]

2 hours ago, David Guiza said:

I've worked in commercial and residential property law and I think I've encountered probably less than two times where that has happened, however both of which did not involve searches and were cash buyers. Requesting searches, receiving the results, receiving the draft contract paperwork, raising necessary enquiries, receiving adequate responses and reporting to the client is a lot to do in a working week unless it is an in house transaction and you only have a limited number of files; and that's not factoring in a mortgage and the countless delays they can cause. 

 

The list of things that can hold up a property is practically endless, but it is nearly always solicitors that will take the brunt of the blame when something goes tits up despite the fact that there are so many things that are out of their hands. From experience it's a very stressful job as you are dealing with people whom often have little to no patience on a daily basis, from a mixture of excited first time buyers and marital splits to obnoxious developers and deceased matters. 

 

There are plenty of solicitors/conveyancers out there whom do waste time, particularly the factory firms who will charge measly sums and do a botched job, but from my experience the vast majority are very hard working and put up with a great amount of unnecessary flack from clients and agents alike. The agents often seem to avoid any criticism though which was always a frustration to me, I guess it is in some circumstances they will say whatever is necessary to keep the client happy whereas some solicitors will just put the client in their place. 

 

 

 

Did you just charge someone 90 seconds to write that?

[David Guiza]

34 minutes ago, simFox said:

Did you just charge someone 90 seconds to write that?

Property Solicitors generally don't get a great deal costs wise, particularly when you compare it to estate agents for the same transaction. I acted on a 3 million purchase and we received about £1,300 less VAT, in comparison the agents would have taken about £20/30,000. Dems the real thieves . 

[Rob1742]

19 hours ago, David Guiza said:

I've worked in commercial and residential property law and I think I've encountered probably less than two times where that has happened, however both of which did not involve searches and were cash buyers. Requesting searches, receiving the results, receiving the draft contract paperwork, raising necessary enquiries, receiving adequate responses and reporting to the client is a lot to do in a working week unless it is an in house transaction and you only have a limited number of files; and that's not factoring in a mortgage and the countless delays they can cause. 

 

The list of things that can hold up a property is practically endless, but it is nearly always solicitors that will take the brunt of the blame when something goes tits up despite the fact that there are so many things that are out of their hands. From experience it's a very stressful job as you are dealing with people whom often have little to no patience on a daily basis, from a mixture of excited first time buyers and marital splits to obnoxious developers and deceased matters. 

 

There are plenty of solicitors/conveyancers out there whom do waste time, particularly the factory firms who will charge measly sums and do a botched job, but from my experience the vast majority are very hard working and put up with a great amount of unnecessary flack from clients and agents alike. The agents often seem to avoid any criticism though which was always a frustration to me, I guess it is in some circumstances they will say whatever is necessary to keep the client happy whereas some solicitors will just put the client in their place. 

 

 

 

I was, as you can imagine very impressed with my solicitor when they pulled the rabbit out of the hat and completed within 4/5 days. I actually think it was 4 days, but just can’t remember, so I mention 4/5 when I tell people.

 

It did include searches, and shows how good they are and I recommend them whenever anyone locally asks me who to use.

 

As I have said, my solicitor is brilliant, so I am talking about others when I make my point below.

 

The communication is generally very poor.  It generally is one of the most important times in someone’s life, but as a customer you can feel left in the dark as you don’t really understand the process and just left in limbo much of the time.

 

Maybe it’s the sort of person that does it, doesn’t lend itself to being great communicators, but I think there should be a better way to interact, to explain when and why and so it doesn’t appear your paperwork is just somewhere in the in tray waiting in a pile for something to happen.

 

Mine is brilliant, I get calls explaining and she just seems different. When I mentioned I needed a house purchase to go through in a week, you could just feel that she would do it, and she explained how she would.

 

Everybodies perception is that solicitors slow things down, do things at their own pace and you get the odd good one, but most are just acceptable.

 

If this really just perception and not reality, it is up to the practices themselves to find a way to communicate better so the client understands the process and difficulties etc. If then solicitors are generally decent, then this would raise the game and give them an improved standing with the client.

 

However, how many times do you hear “ I have sent it off and am still waiting for the other side to respond”. Making me think the query is still sitting in the others solicitors in tray in a big pile and it will be done when they get around to it.

 

Just a foot note - I have been offered fees £100 less through a new solicitor. But no way would I move away from my current one, as she is brilliant. 

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

I’m in the process of moving home and am becoming very suspicious of estate agents working practices, I looked at a property in the area local to me, liked it and put in an offer £7000 below the asking price and was told by the agent that I need to be offering much nearer the asking price as “there were so many other parties interested in it” I ended up having a offer accepted which was just £2000 below the asking price, I was then hounded by the agent who had a serious bossy attitude into rushing things along only to subsequently find out there was a problem over access, things didn’t seem right so I withdrew my offer and now the house is still on the market weeks later for 10k less, they’ve had to drop the asking price, but where are all the other interested parties? I now don’t believe a word estate agents tell me.

[m4DD0gg]

On 16/03/2018 at 06:48, NorthfieldsFox said:

Ok that’s cool they are building some beautiful homes in Hamilton , they seem a decent crowd 

 

someone told me pay a building surveyor to visit a couple of times during construction, I think lots of people would use a service life that if it existed 

redrow are an abomination. 

 

Far worse than persimmon who are the standard measure for shite builders and after care. 

 

Although to be fair all bug building firms are garbage now. 

[NorthfieldsFox]

3 hours ago, m4DD0gg said:

redrow are an abomination. 

 

Far worse than persimmon who are the standard measure for shite builders and after care. 

 

Although to be fair all bug building firms are garbage now. 

My mother in law bought 3 redrow Home’s never had an issue with one 

[Rob1742]

22 hours ago, Mark 'expert' Lawrenson said:

I’m in the process of moving home and am becoming very suspicious of estate agents working practices, I looked at a property in the area local to me, liked it and put in an offer £7000 below the asking price and was told by the agent that I need to be offering much nearer the asking price as “there were so many other parties interested in it” I ended up having a offer accepted which was just £2000 below the asking price, I was then hounded by the agent who had a serious bossy attitude into rushing things along only to subsequently find out there was a problem over access, things didn’t seem right so I withdrew my offer and now the house is still on the market weeks later for 10k less, they’ve had to drop the asking price, but where are all the other interested parties? I now don’t believe a word estate agents tell me.

Estate agents - mmm, you get a few decent ones, but not many, so I agree totally of your scepticism.

 

I built a portfolio, and ended up doing so a few hundred miles away such was the problem of trying to work with ones down here.

 

So I don’t think you are being harsh, I think you have made a pretty decent judgement about them, and now know what to expect in the future. 

 

 

[Rob1742]

17 hours ago, NorthfieldsFox said:

My mother in law bought 3 redrow Home’s never had an issue with one 

I don’t think the name really matters, it’s mostly down to the actual builders on site at the time and so it’s all pot luck.

 

I have purchased a number of Barratt homes recently and they have been excellent, yet I personally had huge issues with a David Wilson we purchased to live in a few years ago,  which is generally believed to be a better home.

[NorthfieldsFox]

2 hours ago, Rob1742 said:

I don’t think the name really matters, it’s mostly down to the actual builders on site at the time and so it’s all pot luck.

 

I have purchased a number of Barratt homes recently and they have been excellent, yet I personally had huge issues with a David Wilson we purchased to live in a few years ago,  which is generally believed to be a better home.

Someone said it’s the site manager that really matters and I guess I can see why 

[Unabomber]

5 hours ago, Rob1742 said:

I don’t think the name really matters, it’s mostly down to the actual builders on site at the time and so it’s all pot luck.

 

I have purchased a number of Barratt homes recently and they have been excellent, yet I personally had huge issues with a David Wilson we purchased to live in a few years ago,  which is generally believed to be a better home.

They are the same company. 

[Unabomber]

All house builders just use the cheapest trades and subcontractors they can yet at the same time have strict NHBC inspectors all over them to make sure quality is top. I guess as a buyer the key thing to look for is the customer service and after care as apart from persimmon and Bellway the actual quality should be pretty good.

 

I was set to complete on a px for a miller next Friday but pulled out Monday so it’s all im thinking about atm. 

Edited 25 April 2018 by Unabomber

[Miquel The Work Geordie]

Alright kirsty and phil calm down

[Strokes]

1 hour ago, Unabomber said:

All house builders just use the cheapest trades and subcontractors they can yet at the same time have strict NHBC inspectors all over them to make sure quality is top. I guess as a buyer the key thing to look for is the customer service and after care as apart from persimmon and Bellway the actual quality should be pretty good.

 

I was set to complete on a px for a miller next Friday but pulled out Monday so it’s all im thinking about atm. 

Why did you pull out?

[Unabomber]

8 hours ago, Strokes said:

Why did you pull out?

Went to the home demonstration and realised it was all too much and not the right thing to do at this time. Happy in current house and I know how much Miller had sold it on for so that's comforting.

[NorthfieldsFox]

9 hours ago, Strokes said:

Why did you pull out?

Maybe he has too many kids already ?

[ozleicester]

The terms "landlord" and "landlady" are too obviously gendered.

 

To make your language more inclusive, try using gender neutral terms like "leech" 

[VLC86]

5 minutes ago, ozleicester said:

The terms "landlord" and "landlady" are too obviously gendered.

 

To make your language more inclusive, try using gender neutral terms like "leech" 

Never knew you were a City fan Mr Corbyn.

[Milo]

5 hours ago, ozleicester said:

The terms "landlord" and "landlady" are too obviously gendered.

 

To make your language more inclusive, try using gender neutral terms like "leech" 

Did you know leeches have 9 pairs of testes? 

[ozleicester]

41 minutes ago, Milo said:

Did you know leeches have 9 pairs of testes? 

This i did not know... even the females?

[The Quick Brown Fox]

On 24/04/2018 at 17:04, Mark 'expert' Lawrenson said:

I’m in the process of moving home and am becoming very suspicious of estate agents working practices, I looked at a property in the area local to me, liked it and put in an offer £7000 below the asking price and was told by the agent that I need to be offering much nearer the asking price as “there were so many other parties interested in it” I ended up having a offer accepted which was just £2000 below the asking price, I was then hounded by the agent who had a serious bossy attitude into rushing things along only to subsequently find out there was a problem over access, things didn’t seem right so I withdrew my offer and now the house is still on the market weeks later for 10k less, they’ve had to drop the asking price, but where are all the other interested parties? I now don’t believe a word estate agents tell me.

I'm currently going through the sale and purchase of houses. We had an estate agent that showed us around a property while the owner was home, all the way round she was saying how nice the place was and how well it had looked after the family that lived there, we then went outside and she proceeded to tell us all that the family had been through and basically said the house wasn't worth what it was up for as the owner had told them how much to put it up for. All the time we were talking outside she was tapping her lips with 2 fingers, she actually said about this "I'm doing this so they can't lipread me". 

 

Slimy fvckers the lot of them.

[Milo]

3 hours ago, ozleicester said:

This i did not know... even the females?

Yup!!!  As far as I know, they are pure hermaphrodites...no females, as such.