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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Banks & Clients list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Banks and Clients plc Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Banks and Clients Conveyancing Panel
A lawyer I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said he would charge more if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Will I regret using Banks and Clients? Is Banks and Clients conveyancing so much more difficult?
Banks and Clients conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Banks and Clients will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette with Banks and Clients. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this document specific to the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Banks and Clients 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 Banks and Clients .This is solely used to protect the Banks and Clients 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 Banks and Clients 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 have been looking for competitive conveyancing fees. Can I be assured that all the practices that are listed on your website are on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel?
The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the Banks and Clients panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Banks and Clients panel. To date we have not been informed by either a mortgage company or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel is incorrect.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Banks and Clients Solicitor panel prior to the completion date?
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 at a cost.
My husband and I are at the point of viewing flats and am about to put in an offer. Is it premature to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with Banks and Clients
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Banks and Clients , make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel.
Can I register a complaint to Banks and Clients about the lawyers being on the Banks and Clients conveyancing panel?
Complaining to Banks and Clients about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. All solicitors 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.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Banks and Clients mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Banks and Clients mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Banks and Clients mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Banks and Clients in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.