Examples of recent questions relating to the Birmingham Midshires Conveyancing Panel
from members of the public
My husband and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Birmingham Midshires have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Birmingham Midshires and see if they can apply for membership of the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Birmingham Midshires will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Please help. My conveyancer is advising me that he is legally obliged to order a Local Authority search as the firm are on the Birmingham Midshires approved lawyer panel. The searches cost a lot of money. Can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. Given that you are taking out a loan with Birmingham Midshires 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 Birmingham Midshires’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Birmingham Midshires. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I am purchasing a flat and need a conveyancing solicitor in who is on the Birmingham Midshires approved. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Birmingham Midshires . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Birmingham Midshires 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.
I'm spending time viewing apartments and am about to put in an offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I I am planning to take a home loan with Birmingham Midshires
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use 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 Birmingham Midshires , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
I have today made my last payment due on mortgage with Birmingham Midshires. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Birmingham Midshires panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm
If you have finished paying off your Birmingham Midshires mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Birmingham Midshires mortgage from the register. Birmingham Midshires,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the Birmingham Midshires has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Birmingham Midshires has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Birmingham Midshires mortgage has been paid off.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment on the 7th January 2014, valuation was booked 3 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Birmingham Midshires 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 Midshires conveyancing panel. Are Birmingham Midshires entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Birmingham Midshires to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.