Q and A’s regarding the First Trust Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
The lawyer my husband and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said he will levy higher legal fees if my mortgage is with First Trust Bank due to their unusual legal requirements. Will I regret using First Trust Bank? Is First Trust Bank conveyancing so much more difficult?
First Trust Bank conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as First Trust Bank will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
I do hope you can help me. My solicitor is informing me me that he is legally obliged to apply for a Local Authority search as the firm are on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel. The searches cost a lot of money. Can this be avoided?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with First Trust Bank 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 First Trust Bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated First Trust Bank. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the First Trust Bank 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 First Trust Bank 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 First Trust Bank solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the First Trust Bank 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.
When it comes to lenders such as First Trust Bank do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to proceed? I hope to get a mortgage with First Trust Bank. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save on the costs? My dad reckons back in the day he did a lot of it himself, just went into the land registry office and providing them with the info they needed himself
If you are getting a mortgage with First Trust Bank involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to First Trust Bank. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 8 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, First Trust Bank are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the First Trust Bank conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but First Trust Bank are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do First Trust Bank have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that First Trust Bank have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why First Trust Bank 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.