Aldermore Bank Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not identified on the Aldermore Bank Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of the firm’s conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Aldermore Bank.
We are only a couple days away from an exchange and my mum and dad having transferred the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my lawyer needs to disclose this to my lender Aldermore Bank. I am advised that, being on the Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Aldermore Bank if the balance of the mortgage advance is not just from me. I informed the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the home loan so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Aldermore Bank to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to Aldermore Bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I require the services of a Aldermore Bank panel solicitor in Belfast. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a Aldermore Bank panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Aldermore Bank to find out which solicitors in Aldermore Bank are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
The firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in Manchester has suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a solicitor on the Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will 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 Aldermore Bank 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
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
I currently have a mortgage with with Aldermore Bank. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Aldermore Bank?
You must advise Aldermore Bank in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Aldermore Bank’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Aldermore Bank directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel lawyer.
My offer on house has been accepted, but there is a chain. 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 do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Aldermore Bank?
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 Aldermore Bank 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 Aldermore Bank and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.