It's taken me just under a week from having an offer accepted to getting the survey booked in on a property - various small holdups (i.e. First Direct having to post everything to me and me read it before committing). I find out in the meantime that the estate agent has been ringing up my solicitor, trying to get him to initiate searches on a property that hasn't even been surveyed yet, and then asking me to pay him the fee for the searches.
They're your solicitor, they should be taking instructions from you. I assume the solicitor didn't act on anything the estate agent said other than to come to you. I'd be concerned if that was otherwise.
It's taken me just under a week from having an offer accepted to getting the survey booked in on a property - various small holdups (i.e. First Direct having to post everything to me and me read it before committing). I find out in the meantime that the estate agent has been ringing up my solicitor, trying to get him to initiate searches on a property that hasn't even been surveyed yet, and then asking me to pay him the fee for the searches.
Is this normal?