FAQs : The M&S Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
On what basis would a firm of solicitors be excluded from the M&S Bank solicitor panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of law firms had been removed from a lender panel. The top reasons in order are :
- lack of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by M&S Bank
My husband and I are refinancing our apartment with M&S Bank. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any 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 M&S Bank conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 3 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your M&S Bank 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 M&S Bank .This is solely used to protect the M&S Bank 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 M&S Bank 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.
How do I find a local solicitor on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 kilometers to meet the lawyer.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the M&S Bank solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the M&S 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.
We have agreed to purchase a house.One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. M&S Bank have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
As you are obtaining a mortgage with M&S Bank your lawyer must to check the M&S Bank conveyancing instructions contained in the Part of CML Handbook for M&S Bank . The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to M&S Bank where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. Requirements for Scotland are due in the near future.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension . I have called into my local branch M&S Bank on numerous occasions and told it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My solicitor - who is on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told not they would not lend in accordance with their CML Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the conveyancer is on the M&S Bank panel she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for M&S Bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that M&S Bank will go ahead your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask M&S Bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.
My offer on house has been accepted, but there is a chain. 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 should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with M&S Bank?
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 M&S Bank 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 M&S Bank and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
