Common questions asked concerning the Adam & Company International Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
The lawyer my husband and I had intended to instruct on a purchase said he would charge more if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Am I likely to be frustrated using Adam & Company International? Any comments will be appreciated
Adam & Company International conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Adam & Company International will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My lawyer has uncovered an inconsistency between the assumptions in Adam & Company International’s home valuation survey and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My solicitor has advised that as he is on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel he is obliged to check that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my lawyer’s approach appropriate?
A precondition to being on the Adam & Company International approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Adam & Company International) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I need to find a Adam & Company International panel solicitor in Belfast. Can you assist?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a Adam & Company International panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Adam & Company International to find out which solicitors in Adam & Company International are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month
The lawyers that just started acting on my purchase in Manchester has without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Adam & Company International panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having checked that they are on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've digested plenty of mortgage guides,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Adam & Company International will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Adam & Company International will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Adam & Company International you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with Adam & Company International?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Adam & Company International conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Adam & Company International and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
