We have had a real nightmare of a week! Our solicitor has been messing us about for a couple of weeks - not asking for us for details of our mortgage so they could request the deeds was just one example
We were finally asked to sign the contract last Friday.
When we arrived at the solicitor's office the receptionist went off and returned with some papers. We were still standing at the reception desk.
She then asked us to sign the papers - I asked what they were and she said "the contact"! I was horrified and asked why we were not seeing the solicitor.
The answer was that the solicitor was busy on the phone and too busy to see us even though we had an appointment After a few heated words we were allowed into the hallowed office and permitted to speak to our solicitor.

We were told that exchange would take place this week However our buyer told us on Monday that their solicitor's secretary said it would take her boss a FEW DAYS to read the paperwork on our property's freehold For heavens sake - it's not War and Peace
On Tuesday our estate agent rang and asked to speak to our buyer's solicitor to try and hurry the process and was told he is on 2 weeks holiday and not back until next Wednesday
Our buyer was completely unaware of this and expected to complete this Friday and HIS buyer has taken next week off as he thought he would have moved
I know everyone is entitled to holidays but surely a client has the right to know if his solicitor is available and not be told outright lies by the solicitor's staff!

Everyone has nightmare stories about solicitors - they charge plenty of money and it seems you just have to put up with their behaviour

Well, yes. I hope you don't think that's going to be different in Canada.

*haha. That's pretty standard. To be honest I never want to see the solicitor- they should be working for me not exchanging pleasantries.

The last time we used a solicitor for our house sale, we used a fixed-price service. Everything was done by 'phone or email and was quite painless.

They worked out about 75% of the High Street price.

Perry Mason

my sympathies.
The exchange on our house delayed for over a week for no discernable reason.
Almost had to resort to screaming "press the god dam send button" down the phone as no one could tell us why we hadn't exchanged.


<hug>
Zoë

If anyone feels the need for an utterly, utterly piss-poor solicitor in Oakville, let me know. I've got just the man for you.

No - but thank you so much anyway - too kind

We didn't "want" to see the solicitor to exchange pleasantries - we had some very relevant questions that we wanted answering before signing the contract.

Thanks Zoe

They couldn't organise a p*ss-up in a brewery

I've been lucky so far - out of the three solicitors we have used, all have been fine, good and pretty communicative. But I think there is always one, in every conveyancing chain, that likes to bugger it all up for everyone else!

Our UK home sale was due to exchange last November and everyone move on 1st December. 1st December came and went with everyone jumping up and down and frantic phone calls galore. It turned out our buyers solicitor was incommunicado and they ended up barging into his office one morning and demanding some answers. It all got very nasty apparently - but the guy simply would not return calls or update anyone for nearly three weeks - which is unacceptable. He never once returned my own solicitor's calls. My solicitor kinda shrugged - he was used to it !!!

We eventually exchanged right before Christmas and moved mid January. All very last minute and not exactly making for a relaxing time.

Best wishes with the sale - whenever that completes

I'm in total agreement with the title of your posting - and I'm in Canada!! Same the world over. But I work with them, so maybe my opinion is even more jaded.

Thankfully we appear to be on reasonably good terms with our buyer, who we've now seen a couple of times "unaided" by the legal profession.

Last time she was over (we're giving her a load of stuff from the house, saves us trying to sell it) she asked if we'd heard anything about a completion date as she's eager to move in as soon as we go. Of course, we're eager for her to do so. We both want stuff to move on, we're both hounding our solicitors, my lot have given her lot everything they require (last week) and yet.... sigh. Maybe her bunch are being paid by the hour hence the delay.