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approved by VidaHomeloans

Vida Homeloans and other lenders ordinarily restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing firms on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that Vida Homeloans have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Vida Homeloans Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, Conveyancing is not their speciality? To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime; probably not.

A precondition to being on the Vida Homeloans approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Vida Homeloans) 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 both parties.

The law firms listed on our site have advised us that they are on the Vida Homeloans panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Vida Homeloans panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel is incorrect.

In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel, but Vida Homeloans would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.

There is no definitive answer here. Have Vida Homeloans completed the valuation? Have you advised Vida Homeloans as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through

Vida Homeloans must be informed of your intention in advance of letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Vida Homeloans’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Vida Homeloans directly. You need not do this via a Vida Homeloans conveyancing panel lawyer.

Complaining to Vida Homeloans 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.