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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the AccordBTL list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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FAQs : The Accord Buy to Let Conveyancing Panel
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer is not isted on the Accord Buy to Let Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his conveyancing?
It would not be wise to jump to that conclusion. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Accord Buy to Let.
My wife and I are refinancing our maisonette with Accord Buy to Let. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Accord Buy to Let .This is solely used to protect the Accord Buy to Let if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Accord Buy to Let had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I note that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
The firm that just started acting on my purchase in Brighton has suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a solicitor on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Accord Buy to Let 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 solicitors should be in a position to help
I previously instructed online conveyancers located in Bristol who are on the Accord Buy to Let solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £150 for the legal aspects of the Accord Buy to Let mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set by Accord Buy to Let?
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 Accord Buy to Let but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Accord Buy to Let will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Accord Buy to Let panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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Having digested plenty of house buying,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Accord Buy to Let conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Accord Buy to Let will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Accord Buy to Let 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.
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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 Accord Buy to Let you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.