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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 property lawyers should contact Kensington Mortgage and see if they can apply for membership of the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Kensington Mortgage will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.

You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Kensington Mortgage 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 Kensington Mortgage’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Kensington Mortgage. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.

The law firms on our directory have assured us via an online form that they are on the Kensington Mortgage panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Kensington Mortgage 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 Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel is not accurate.

Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Kensington Mortgage Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Kensington Mortgage directly.

It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Kensington Mortgage , make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel.

Although you do need to retain the services of a lawyer they dont need to be on the Kensington Mortgage panel. You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die within 7 years of this. As the property is your main residence you need not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.

Kensington Mortgage will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Kensington Mortgage 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. or 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 Kensington Mortgage you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.