Cover me in debt, debt to the eyeballs (or advice on buying a shoebox in England)

[Saras]

whores?...

[DanS]

Originally posted by Drogue
Partly because of litigation issues, partly that she doesn't like (what she knows of) US culture, partly because of retraining, probably a few other reasons too.

Doctors are paid reasonably here, though not as well as in the US, and they work long hours here too, so it isn't that. I can't say I've thought of it much, as I do like living in the UK, it's just I'd rather not live in London for too long, yet working in economics or finance it pretty much has to be in a big city.

I hear you. In the US, of course there's NYC and San Francisco, both of which are filthy expensive -- about like London. Well, SF and Manhattan are like London. There's some finance in Chicago. You could live very well there.

There's a smattering of finance across the US in places where the cost of living is very low. Places like Charlotte, North Carolina for banking (Bank of America, Wachovia). You can live like a king in Charlotte, if you are inclined to a more suburban style of life. If I were to move from DC to Charlotte, my housing costs would decline 65%, so moving from London to Charlotte your housing costs would decline by over 80%.

Doctors are doubly rewarded in the US. They are paid better outside the big cities where the cost of living is lowest. There's lots of competition in the biggest cities with doctors, which lowers prices. For instance, I would pay slightly more for health care in Charlotte than in DC.

[Dauphin]

Solicitors appear to be absolutely the worst form of communicators in the world.

For the last ten days I have been calling directly, calling through the switchboard, leaving voicemail messages, sending e-mails, leaving messages with receptionists and colleagues etc... My solicitor has not once replied to a single communication.

****. If I wasn't bound to them to complete this move (in terms of time already invested) and I thought another solicitor might actually act differently, then I would refuse to pay these people and find someone else.

I was supposed to exchange last week, but without any contact with my solicitor there was no way it could happen.

Seriously, how can one run a client facing business when you refuse to talk to your clients.

I should buy them a book on "8 Times More".

[MOBIUS]

Solicitors are often total nightmares - the first time around in London the bastards almost cost me my flat!

The second time here in Cardiff they were actually very thorough and a lot cheaper, but then I did make sure to get specific recommendations this time around...

I guess it's swings and roundabouts - but always assume they're money grabbing c*unts until proved otherwise...

[MikeH]

We used one on a recommendation, he was fine and had been recommended by friends who'd had him reccommended, and we've since recommended him... so it pays to be half decent.

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by MikeH
We used one on a recommendation, he was fine and had been recommended by friends who'd had him reccommended, and we've since recommended him... so it pays to be half decent.

Quite, it's 8 times more expensive to gain 'cold' clients than maintain repeat/recommended customers.

The solictors I am using are based in York. There is little need to have your solicitors geographically near you unless you need to meet them face to face - which often you don't.

I reckon solicitors should be outsourced to India, maybe service will improve.

[East Street Trader]

I practiced in York for some years, Dauphin.

That was 20 years ago so I don't have a whole lot of contacts left there. But I do have some.

If you are still having problems and PM me the name of the firm and of the solicitor concerned I might conceivably know the senior partner and be able to help.

I am sorry you have had a bad experience. Domestic conveyancing has been very competitively priced for many years now with the result that standards of service have unquestionably suffered. Solicitors generally, however try hard to please their clients and, unless it is one of the firms that has gone in for a pile them high sell them cheap approach, put a high value on goodwill.

[DrSpike]

When I bought my solicitors screwed me out of every pound they could, but they got the job done.

[MikeH]

Originally posted by Dauphin


Quite, it's 8 times more expensive to gain 'cold' clients than maintain repeat/recommended customers.

The solictors I am using are based in York. There is little need to have your solicitors geographically near you unless you need to meet them face to face - which often you don't.

Indeed. Ours happened to be in the center of town which meant it was occasionally convenient/quicker to be able to drop documents into the office rather than post them etc. but that was all, we never met him face to face, did quite a lot on e-mail, a few phone calls and letters.

The costs were exactly what he quoted in the original quotation e-mail, and he also said that we only paid him his fee if the sale went through. If it fell through for any reason we'd only pay for any searches we'd had done (but those we paid for in advance anyway). Which was nice, don't know if that's normal?

[East Street Trader]

Local knowledge can have a measure of usefulness. A solicitor local to the house you are buying will sometimes know things such as that an estate has been build on old coal workings or that there is some major road scheme planned nearby which is going to involve compulsory purchases or whatever.

I would not say this is critical but if the only benefit to instructing someone far away is a few pounds off the fee I'd go local.

[MOBIUS]

There is something to be said about being local - the bastard solicitors only begrudgingly pulled their fingers out after an angry personal visit by me and the promise of others...

The good solicitors had a very good working relationship with my estate agents which ended up being very useful for a number of reasons...

[Dauphin]

Originally posted by East Street Trader
Local knowledge can have a measure of usefulness. A solicitor local to the house you are buying will sometimes know things such as that an estate has been build on old coal workings or that there is some major road scheme planned nearby which is going to involve compulsory purchases or whatever.

I would not say this is critical but if the only benefit to instructing someone far away is a few pounds off the fee I'd go local.

Whilst that is a good point, I would be amazed if a solicitor worth his salt would not discover such information in a proper search.

I chose the solicitor recommended by my mortgage provider on the logic that the bank would not want to be recommending poor solicitors.

[Lorizael]

I haven't bothered to read this whole thread so excuse the ignorance. Solicitor appears to have a very different meaning in the United States; what do you crazy Brits mean by it?

[Kontiki]

Solicitor = lawyer, basically.

[Arrian]

Right, hence all the references to how much they rip you off, etc.

-Arrian