Halifax Solicitor Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
A lawyer my husband and I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said he would charge more if my mortgage is with Halifax due to their unusual legal requirements. Am I likely to be frustrated using Halifax? Any comments will be appreciated
Halifax 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 Halifax conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Halifax will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
Our property lawyer is asking me for ID documents saying that this forms part of his requirements as a conveyancer on the Halifax Solicitor panel. Can this be correct?
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 Halifax your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Halifax
Do I need to have a meeting at the offices of the Halifax conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Liverpool
so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool
.
I was due to complete on my first house last Thursday. My solicitor is on the Halifax conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not advised Halifax of their new address. Halifax has locked down the release of mortgage funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Halifax branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
I had instructed online conveyancers located in Bristol who are on the Halifax solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £150 for dealing with the Halifax mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Halifax?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Halifax but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Halifax will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.
I am buying a property where the roof has a solar panel. Halifax have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Halifax your lawyer must to check the Halifax conveyancing instructions contained in the Part of CML Handbook for Halifax . The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Halifax where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. The CML are developing guidance for Northern Ireland and Scotland.
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 in the pipeline. 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.