Q and A’s regarding the Adam & Company Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I instructed a solicitor to work on my purchase six weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with Adam & Company. The law firm confirmed to me that they are on Adam & Company conveyancing panel and gave me their panel reference. Adam & Company then told me that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What happens next? Should I appoint a new solicitor currently on the approved panel for Adam & Company?
The answer depends on whether you still have confidence in the said solicitors and how long it will take for the firm to be reinstated on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Adam & Company as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.
We are due to exchange on the purchase a house but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the seller of £3k approx by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company Adam & Company will not agree to this. Why was Adam & Company even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform Adam & Company of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to Adam & Company then they would have to discontinue acting for you and Adam & Company.
I note that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
I was scheduled to complete on my dream home two days ago. My solicitor is on the Adam & Company conveyancing panel but has changed address 8 weeks ago and had not informed Adam & Company of their new address. Adam & Company is now refusing to release my funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Adam & Company branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
Is there a list of Adam & Company panel solicitors on the CML Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Adam & Company 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 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.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Adam & Company?
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 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 and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.