Examples of recent questions relating to the Atom Bank Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
The conveyancer my fiance and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said he will levy higher legal fees if my mortgage is with Atom Bank because of their difficult processes! Am I likely to be frustrated using Atom Bank? Is Atom Bank conveyancing so much more difficult?
Atom Bank 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 Atom Bank conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Atom Bank will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
can you help? My lawyer is assuring me that she is duty-bound to apply for a Local Authority search because the firm are on the Atom Bank approved lawyer panel. Is this really necessary?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with Atom Bank your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Atom Bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Atom Bank. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Are there any apps to help find a local solicitor on the Atom Bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 miles to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Atom Bank solicitor panel.
We're in Birmingham, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Atom Bank , but our lawyer is on the Atom Bank conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Atom Bank conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
My fiance and I are in the throws of looking at houses and am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Atom Bank
It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Atom Bank , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Atom Bank conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have a mortgage with Atom Bank. My godfather has just retired and wants to pay off the mortgage left on the property. After Atom Bank is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long will it roughly take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Atom Bank conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Atom Bank mortgage is discharged.
Although you do need to retain the services of a lawyer they dont
need to be on the Atom Bank 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. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is
your main residence.
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 in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Atom 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 Atom 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 Atom Bank and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.