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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Halifax list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Halifax Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Halifax Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Halifax Conveyancing Panel
Halifax Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions
My fiance and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Halifax have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Halifax and see if they can apply for membership of the Halifax conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Halifax will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Halifax conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My conveyancer has requested from me ID documents stating that this is part of his requirements as a solicitor on the Halifax Conveyancing panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Halifax also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Halifax CML Handbook requirements last updated on Halifax
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Halifax 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.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is expelled from the Halifax Solicitor panel before the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Halifax conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
I had instructed online conveyancers based in London who are on the Halifax solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £135 for the legal aspects of the Halifax mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Halifax?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Halifax but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Halifax will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
Halifax have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Halifax or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Halifax will tell you what documents they want. Halifax will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Halifax will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.
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Transfer of Equity for HalifaxPlease note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors