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approved by St James Place
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the St James Place list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the St James Place Bank Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the St James Place Conveyancing Panel
A conveyancer my fiance and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said he would charge more if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Will I regret using St James Place? Any comments will be appreciated
St James Place 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 St James Place conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as St James Place will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My son is in the process of securing a house that has just been built with a mortgage from St James Place. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the St James Place conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the St James Place conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the St James Place solicitor panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
The firm that just started acting on my house acquisition in London has without warning shut down. I only went with them because I needed a lawyer on the St James Place conveyancing panel and my previous lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the St James Place conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help
Can you point me to a directory of St James Place panel conveyancers on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
Can I register a complaint to St James Place about the lawyers being on the St James Place conveyancing panel?
Complaining to St James Place about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. Usually one can find this information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is addressed by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with St James Place. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the St James Place conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the St James Place conveyancing panel