Banks and Clients Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
I am selling my flat and the EA has just texted me to say that the purchasers are swapping law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that Banks and Clients will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain law firms?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason 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.
My conveyancing solicitor has informed me that he requires personal identification documents stating that this is part of his obligations as a solicitor on the Banks and Clients Conveyancing panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Banks and Clients also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Banks and Clients CML Handbook requirements last updated on Banks and Clients
Are there any apps to help find a local solicitor on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 20 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 Banks and Clients solicitor panel.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Banks and Clients 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.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Banks and Clients. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save on the costs? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Banks and Clients involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Banks and Clients. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 8 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Banks and Clients are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Banks and Clients are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Banks and Clients have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Banks and Clients have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Banks and Clients may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
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? When should I get the mortgage app going with Banks and Clients?
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 Banks and Clients 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 Banks and Clients and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.