Find an Approved Solicitor on the Barclays Bank as The Woolwich
Conveyancing Panel
Barclays - Woolwich Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
I am in the process of selling my flat and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. The reason given is that Barclays - Woolwich will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain solicitors?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette with Barclays - Woolwich. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel requested us to identify 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, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 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 Barclays - Woolwich 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 Barclays - Woolwich .This is solely used to protect the Barclays - Woolwich 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 Barclays - Woolwich 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.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Leeds
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Whereas this was necessary ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Leeds
.
The firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Newcastle has suddenly shut down. I only went with them because I needed a solicitor on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will 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 Barclays - Woolwich 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 lawyers may be able to assist
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I previously instructed online solicitors located in London who are on the Barclays - Woolwich solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £195 for the legal aspects of the Barclays - Woolwich mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Barclays - Woolwich?
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 Barclays - Woolwich but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Barclays - Woolwich will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Barclays - Woolwich. Is it usual for Barclays - Woolwich to only issue the offer once my
solicitor is approved on their conveyancing panel?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Barclays - Woolwich to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Barclays - Woolwich conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.