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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the BirminghamBank list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Birmingham Bank Conveyancing Panel
Birmingham Bank Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions
I am selling my house and the estate agent has just telephoned to say that the purchasers are appointing a new law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that Birmingham Bank will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with certain solicitors?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
can you help? My lawyer is advising me that she is duty-bound to apply for a Local Authority search stemming from the fact that the firm are on the Birmingham Bank solicitor panel. Do I not have a choice here?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Birmingham Bank your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Birmingham Bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Birmingham Bank. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Bristol
so that I can pop in to their offices if required.
Whereas this was necessary 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 Bristol
.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Birmingham 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.
I currently have a mortgage with with Birmingham Bank. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Birmingham Bank?
You must advise Birmingham Bank in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Birmingham Bank’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Birmingham Bank directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel firm.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place with a loan from Birmingham Bank. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about Birmingham Bank. How do I make a complaint?
All lenders have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the Birmingham Bank branches or the Customer Services Department at Birmingham Bank head office. In most cases complaints to Birmingham Bank are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
I was told three weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Birmingham Bank. Is it usual for Birmingham Bank to only issue the offer once my
solicitor is approved on their conveyancing panel?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Birmingham Bank to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.