Fleet Mortgages Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
My Conveyancer is not listed on the Fleet Mortgages Solicitor Panel. Is it possible for me to use my preferred solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Fleet Mortgages panel?
You have a number of options available to you here:
- Complete the purchase with your existing lawyers but Fleet Mortgages will need to instruct a lawyer on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel.
- Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to join the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel
Much to my surprise my solicitor has requested from me proof of ID documents stating that this is part of his retainer as a solicitor on the Fleet Mortgages Conveyancing panel. Is this right?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offense if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage with Fleet Mortgages your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Fleet Mortgages
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of solicitors? How do you know who is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel?
The firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Fleet Mortgages directly.
We're in Liverpool, FTBs purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Fleet Mortgages , but our lawyer is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Is it the case that all conveyancing lawyers on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
There is generally 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 service
Can I register a complaint to Fleet Mortgages about the lawyers being on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel?
There is little point in complaining directly to Fleet Mortgages. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Fleet Mortgages?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Fleet Mortgages and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
