Examples of recent questions relating to the Barclays - Woolwich Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my flat and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the buyers are switching property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Barclays - Woolwich will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with specific lawyers?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders blame a rise 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.
We are only a couple days away from an exchange and my parents 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 make a notification to my lender Barclays - Woolwich. I am advised that, being on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Barclays - Woolwich 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 Barclays - Woolwich 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 Barclays - Woolwich if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Barclays - Woolwich approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Barclays - Woolwich solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Barclays - Woolwich 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.
Planning on purchasing a house with a mortgage with Barclays - Woolwich. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Barclays - Woolwich. Is it usual for Barclays - Woolwich to only issue the offer once my
solicitor is approved on their conveyancing panel?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays - Woolwich to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
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 should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with Barclays - Woolwich?
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 Barclays - Woolwich 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 Barclays - Woolwich and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
