Coutts & Co Solicitor Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
Can you please explain the reason why all solicitors are not on the Coutts & Co Solicitor panel?
Coutts & Co and other lenders normally imposes restrictions either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their approved list of lawyers. A common example of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that Coutts & Co have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Coutts & Co Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, Conveyancing is not their speciality? To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime; probably not.
My partner and I intend to remortgage our flat with Coutts & Co. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Coutts & Co conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Coutts & Co .This is solely used to protect the Coutts & Co if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Coutts & Co had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I am looking to buy a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in who is on the Coutts & Co solicitor. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a conveyancing firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Coutts & Co . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
I am thinking of refinancing my flat does my lawyer have to be on the Coutts & Co Solicitor panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Coutts & Co conveyancing panel, but Coutts & Co would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Is it the case that all solicitors on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My financial adviser suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Coutts & Co panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
Coutts & Co 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 Coutts & Co or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Coutts & Co will tell you what documents they want. Coutts & Co 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. Coutts & Co 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.