M&S Bank Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
My husband and I are first time buyers. Within the 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. M&S Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitors should contact M&S Bank and see if they can apply for membership of the M&S Bank conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable M&S Bank will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am purchasing a newly constructed flat and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to disclose incentives from the developer as her firm is on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel. I am under pressure to exchange contracts and I dont want to prolong the conveyancing. Can I insist on an exchange regardless of what my lawyer says about being on the M&S Bank panel?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the M&S Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on M&S Bank). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the M&S 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 M&S 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 M&S Bank solicitor panel.
I was scheduled to move into my flat yesterday. My solicitor is on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not informed M&S Bank of their new address. M&S Bank is now refusing to release my funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
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 M&S Bank branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with M&S Bank. Solicitors have been chosen? How long does it take for M&S Bank to send the offer to our conveyancer
Some lenders take longer than others. Have M&S Bank done the valuation? Have you advised M&S Bank as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've read lots of house buying,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
M&S Bank will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually M&S Bank will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with M&S Bank you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon are preferred to begiven the go-ahead. My agentsuggested that we make sure that the solicitor in Hendon is on the M&S Bank panel. Is this really necessary?
Far from all Hendon conveyancing firms are on the M&S Bank conveyancing panel. 5 people a month use our search tool to locate a Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the M&S Bank list of approved conveyancing firms.