Examples of recent questions relating to the Birmingham Midshires Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am selling my house and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Birmingham Midshires will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors?
Lenders have always had an approved set 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 more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification 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 nearing 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 Birmingham Midshires. I am advised that, being on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Birmingham Midshires if the balance of the mortgage advance is not just from me. I disclosed to the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the home loan so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Birmingham Midshires 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 Birmingham Midshires if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I have been looking for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are identified on your website are on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have assured us via an online form that they are on the Birmingham Midshires panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Birmingham Midshires panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel is not accurate.
The solicitors that I recently instructed on my purchase in Manchester has without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a solicitor on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What should be my next steps?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Birmingham Midshires 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 solicitors should be in a position to assist
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main 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
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 7 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Birmingham Midshires are being pedantic. The solicitor who is on the Birmingham Midshires conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Birmingham Midshires are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Birmingham Midshires have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Birmingham Midshires have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Birmingham Midshires 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.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Birmingham Midshires. Is it usual for Birmingham Midshires 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 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.