Well a lot of them are working from home. My son is a partner in a big City law firm and he goes in two days a week now but it doesn’t mean that anything is slowed up, everyone has phones and computers and cutting out the commute means more hours when people are accessible and (certainly in my son’s case) working.
As to whether all professionals are slow - well, as ever, you have to pick someone who’s quick and proactive. I hope you chose a solicitor through a trusted recommendation and didn’t go for the cheapest quote, or someone recommended by the estate agent, as that really is asking for trouble. You get what you pay for and solicitors who get work in by giving low quotes rely on getting large quantities of instructions and using unqualified people to do a lot of the work.
You can find out more about the ownership of the property for yourself by doing a Land Registry search. Make sure you use the .gov website not one which charges you a lot more for the same results. You can download a copy of the ‘title register’ for £3 and that will show the ownership. A further £3 gets you a plan confirming the extent of the property, though it’s possible that the property you’re buying is part of a larger title, for instance a farm. It could be owned by anything from a small family trust to a corporate set-up. This will give you a bit of a handle on things but it won’t reveal the actual terms of the trust or the identity of everyone who needs to be consulted. Hopefully, as the property is on the market, they have all agreed to sell. If I can help to explain anything on your LR search results do feel free to pm me. But make sure you’ve got a good solicitor on the job especially if, as I understand, you need to get things done quickly.
