New Street Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
Is the fact that my solicitor is not on the New Street Mortgages Solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her work?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for New Street Mortgages.
My conveyancer has spotted a discrepancy between the information in New Street Mortgages’s valuation survey and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My solicitor says that as he is on the New Street Mortgages conveyancing panel he is obliged to ensure that the bank is OK with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my solicitor’s stance correct?
A precondition to being on the New Street Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on New Street Mortgages) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am looking to buy a property and need a conveyancing solicitor in Leeds who is on the New Street Mortgages solicitor. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for New Street Mortgages . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the New Street Mortgages conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the New Street Mortgages 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.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place with a mortgage from New Street Mortgages. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about New Street Mortgages. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the New Street Mortgages branches or the Customer Care Team at New Street Mortgages head office. In most cases complaints to New Street Mortgages are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the New Street Mortgages conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the New Street Mortgages panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the New Street Mortgages conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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Having 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 New Street Mortgages conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
New Street Mortgages will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually New Street Mortgages 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 New Street Mortgages you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
