Find a Law Firm
approved by Accord Mortgages
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Accord Mortgages list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Accord Mortgages Ltd Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Accord Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
For what reasons would a law firm be removed from the Accord Mortgages approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of law firms had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
- lack of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Accord Mortgages
We are getting closer to an exchange and my parents having sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my lawyer needs to make a notification to my lender Accord Mortgages. I am advised that, being on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Accord Mortgages if the balance of the mortgage advance is coming from anyone other than me. I informed the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the home loan so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Accord Mortgages to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to Accord Mortgages if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Whilst your website is a good idea there are many lawyers listed near London on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel. It would be a lot more helpful if you could recommend a specific firm on the Accord Mortgages approved panel?
We do not recommend specific firms as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. We recommend that you speak to 3 or 4 lawyers listed before you make your choice..
The lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Newcastle has without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would 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 Accord Mortgages 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 may be able to assist
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Accord Mortgages do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Accord Mortgages conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).