Family Matters

[chinatyke]

Actually most conveyancing is handled by solicitor's clerks also known as legal assistants. One of my daughters is a qualified solicitor and another is a conveyancing clerk/legal secretary. I would say that anyone with an ounce of common sense could handle it themselves. I have little faith in the competence of most solicitors having been on the end of their mistakes several times. They are only people and they are far from infallible. An industry of professional leeches, and don't dare get me started on Independent Financial Advisers!

Rant over, G.O.B.

[Stanley]

Dead right China!! Like many otherwise uncomplicated jobs, conveyancing has been raised to 'professional' status in order to elevate the occupation and open up avenues for more complications, time and fees. You can be the best aero engineer in the world but still be classed as non-professional. Plenty of other examples where the training takes longer and the skill level higher....
Add probate of wills and other financial transactions to the list..... My LPAs are a good example, long-winded and expensive.

[Tizer]

Let's be fair - there are good `uns and bad `uns in all professions and trades and we've experienced both. In recent times and now we've been using a lady who is classed as legal assistant in one of the firms well-known locally. She does an excellent job efficiently and quickly and is always willing to go beyond the basic requirements without charging extra. Although a legal assistant she's as knowledgeable and capable in her field (conveyancing) as anyone we've used in our 40+ years of house moves. She's highly respected among the local estate agents too. She's prevented us making bad choices - an example is when we were looking for a house for my father and she found that not all the area of the property belonged to the seller.

Back in the mid 1990s when we bought this house we used a rather unusual independent solicitor who was very good at his job and also was an interesting character. At the time we were much involved with classic cars and he liked such things too. None of the latest Mercedes or BMW for him and he loved driving his Mini Moke - he came to our house and delivered documents to speed up the transaction and to let us see the vehicle. On his office desk in place of a photo of the wife and kids was a mangled cylinder from an expensive sports car (can't remember now what model). He kept it there as his memento from a court case in which he'd been involved over a failed engine.

[Stanley]

The lady I used for my LPAs, Janet, in Barlick, is an independent legal adviser and was totally brilliant and efficient.

[Sue]

We were more than pleased with our solicitor and Bobs parents solicitor who handled our affairs after Bobs mum died. However the one in Burnley dragged his feet even though he had known my parents for years and chatted to us about them , obviously knowing them very well in deed. He was good at the beginning but as things dragged on he got slower and slower. Eventually my brother had to write to him demanding that he completed some 18 months after the house was sold

[Stanley]

Inefficiency or greed Sue. It makes you wonder doesn't it..... Jarndyce v. Jarndyce comes to mind......

[Tizer]

We had the buyers' surveyor visit our house today - he was here from 09.30 to 03.30 with about half an hour for his lunch. After all that rigorous attention we asked him if he'd found anything we needed to attend to and the answer was "Nothing bad of any significance". Let's hope he tells the buyer that!

[Stanley]

And he was looking for faults.....

[Tizer]

Apparently the buyer had told him that it was an extended bungalow with no lofts. The truth is that it has five lofts and the buyer must not have looked at the ceilings. It's also a rambling place with plenty of work for a surveyor.

[Stanley]

They are in for a bit of a surprise then!

[Stanley]

All is quiet on the family front, Susan should be back from Spain now....

[Stanley]

Ructions this morning, one of my grand daughters has been burgled, car, computers, credit cards..... Such a violation and upset and probably to feed a habit.... Or am I being too judgemental?

[Big Kev]

Ructions this morning, one of my grand daughters has been burgled, car, computers, credit cards..... Such a violation and upset and probably to feed a habit.... Or am I being too judgemental?

I don't think so...

[Cathy]

No I don't think so either. Ferals!!

[Tripps]

Yes of course you are - but what's wrong with that?

[Stanley]

Thanks Kids.....

[Stanley]

The Australian Court of Probate has issued a written statement certifying that for tax purposes Janet was domiciled in Australia. Quite obvious that she was actually but HMRC have been trying to contend that her estate should be taxed here. Perhaps they will now admit defeat.... I know they have a job to do but they are blood suckers! I wish they would be as hard on the big avoiders using off-shore jurisdictions but of course that would mean big-money lawyers! They'd rather go after the little fish like us.

[PanBiker]

To nicer things, It's Ruby's first communion tomorrow, it should be a good day. Where does the time go?

[Tizer]

Another week begins; another attempt to exchange contracts for our house purchase and sale. Our nerves will be ragged by the time it happens. Once we've exchanged then we can get on with sorting everything for the move. You can't do that until after exchange because if the chain collapses it could be many months before we get another buyer, especially in the present market.

[Marilyn]

Good Luck, Tizzy.
Where are you moving to?

[Tizer]

It's happened, at last! We've exchanged contracts and completion will be on 9th August. We're moving all of about 15 miles, to Taunton, Maz, Somerset's market town. We're moving there because, after 21 years, we'll once again be able to walk to a chip shop! Well, there is a bit more to it than that. Our present house is rather remote from shops and other facilities and as we get older that becomes more inconvenient. Also, my cousin's daughter and her family live there and they give us a lot of support. It's difficult to take in the fact that we really are going to move!

[Wendyf]

Great news Tiz, get packing!!

[PanBiker]

Nice on Tiz and good luck with your move.

My memories of Taunton are rather mixed, we stopped at a local camp site once in my early motorbiking days as an overnighter when a bunch of us were going down to Newquay for our hols. After pitching our tents we went into the local pub (as you do) and became bewitched with the one of the local ciders. I wasn't fit to ride until mid afternoon the next day. I was only young and have never repeated the exercise, well, not with cider anyway.

[Stanley]

Tiz. Thank God for that! Now all you have to do is survive the trauma of the move and settling in. Take it slowly, no heavy lifting and look after each other! XXX

[Cathy]

Great news for you all Tize, not too many more sleeps now ... All the best.