When buying or selling your house, it is likely that you will need to acquire the services of a solicitor to sort out the conveyancing for you. We have all heard the horror stories about unreachable solicitors dragging their heels for what seems like an age over getting searches done – and hardly ever being available to answer the phone or let you know what progress has been made.

So how do you deal with solicitors? What should you expect from them? Here are 5 things to bear in mind when dealing with solicitors:

It’s almost always a slow process

Whether you are the vendor or purchaser, there are times where you will be wondering how it is possible for the sale to take so long to be agreed. It is important to remember that when a property is bought or sold, there are many other parties involved other than the buyer and the seller. The solicitors on both sides communicate on behalf of their clients with the land registry, their banks / mortgage providers and insurers. With so many involved parties, there is little wonder that the process can at times be cumbersome and slightly disjointed – but remember: your solicitor has likely done these transactions loads of times and although it may seem clunky and slow, this is about as well-oiled a machine as you can get.

Emails and Telephone Calls can Count as Chargeable Time

It is difficult to silence the nagging voice which can develop over the course of a property transaction. What is taking so long? I wonder if they’ve heard from the other side’s solicitor yet? Did the searches come back? When can we agree a date for exchange? When will we complete? Did the solicitor get my message?

These are all valid and normal concerns. But if you’re the kind of person who is keen to minimise costs associated with your transaction, it is worth keeping in mind that taking telephone calls and writing emails is chargeable time for solicitors. This means that if lots of a solicitor’s time is taken responding to your emails, or taking your calls, you will likely end up paying more to them once the transaction has completed and you received their invoice.

Just Like You, They Want This Done Quickly

Your solicitor doesn’t want to have a vast pile of ongoing work on their desk – they want to get invoices out as quickly as often as possible. It’s how they make money. Likewise, the house seller (or buyer) will want to have the transaction done quickly and smoothly. It is in no-one’s interests to drag their feet.

You Will Know When Things are Ready to Progress

As soon as the searches are done, your solicitor should let you know how things are progressing. Trust that any time your input is needed, it will be sought.

Stressing Won’t Make it Faster

Know that the process takes time. Be prepared for it, and try to keep in mind that worrying about it will not make things move more quickly. The reason that almost everyone has horror stories is because this takes a long time for everyone. So sit back, relax and spend the time thinking about the colour you want to paint the bedroom walls!

Bonus – A Quick Guide to Solicitor Speak…

Solicitors are a specialist bunch – so specialist, in fact, that when communicating with each other (and sadly, sometimes their clients) they have developed their own language: legalese. This archaic and exclusive language resembles English, but is steeped in boggy, and old-fashioned vocabulary. There have been a number of recent campaigns (such as the Plain English campaign) which are aimed at simplifying the terminology used in legal proceedings, and to a degree such campaigns have been successful. In any case, it can’t hurt to have an understanding of some of the more archaic jargon which may slip into communications with your solicitor:

Abstract of title – a document which summarises all of the historical owners of the property

Ancient lights –the ‘right to light’ which an owner is entitled to –they may challenge any construction which could block any windows

Conveyance –the legal process of transferring property from one party to another

Deeds – documents detailing the property and its owners

Deed of gift – a document that transfers ownership of property from one person to another

Escrow – an arrangement where money is held by a third party until an agreed date, or action

Exchange of contracts – where buyer’s and seller’s solicitors agree to be bound by law to complete the transaction on a particular date.

Freehold – the complete ownership of the property and its land

Leasehold – the property is owned for a specific period of time, and leased from the freeholder

Loan to value – the ratio of a loan to the value of the property it is secured against