FAQs : The Birmingham Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not identified on the Birmingham Bank Solicitor panel that there is a problem with the quality of his conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. 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 Birmingham Bank.
Our lawyer has uncovered a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or Birmingham Bank?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and Birmingham Bank are the client. A precondition to being on the Birmingham Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Birmingham Bank). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that Birmingham Bank can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I see that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
The lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Hendon has suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Birmingham 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 lawyers may be able to assist
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
On the whole 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
My offer was accepted on a house on the 17th January 2014, valuation was booked 3 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Birmingham Bank and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. Are Birmingham Bank entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Birmingham Bank to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
Birmingham Bank have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Birmingham Bank or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Birmingham Bank will tell you what documents they want. Birmingham Bank will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Birmingham Bank will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.