Ahli United Bank Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
I am selling my house and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that Ahli United Bank will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with certain lawyers?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Please assist. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Ahli United Bank was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 10 days inc Day of week eg. Mon. My lawyer says that as she is on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
A precondition to being on the Ahli United Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Ahli United Bank)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Ahli United Bank.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Bristol
so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Ahli United Bank undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you should check if you can still book an appointment to go into appointed conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Is it the case that all solicitor practices on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Ahli United Bank as we wish to carry out alterations or improvements our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Ahli United Bank would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Ahli United Bank list
My existing mortgage is with Ahli United Bank. My grandfather retired last week and wants to pay off the mortgage left on the property. After Ahli United Bank is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long does the process take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Ahli United Bank mortgage is discharged.
You
will need a solicitor but they need not be on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel.
You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and
to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to
consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about
the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die
within 7 years of this. As the property is your main residence you need
not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.