Halifax Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
Much to my surprise I have been told by my broker that my the law firm I have appointed is not on the Halifax Conveyancing panel. What can I do to be certain that this is indeed the case?
You need to contact your conveyancer. You lawyer should advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a firm that is on the conveyancing panel for Halifax.
Our nephew is buying a house that has just been built with a home loan from Halifax. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Halifax conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Halifax conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am buying a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in London who is on the Halifax solicitor. Can you recommend a local solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Halifax . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
The lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Manchester has without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Halifax conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would 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 Halifax 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 lawyers should be in a position to assist
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Halifax conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
My fiance and I are in the process of viewing houses and now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I intend to finance via a mortgage with Halifax
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 EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Halifax , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Halifax conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
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? When should I get the mortgage app going with Halifax?
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 Halifax 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 Halifax and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
