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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the BirminghamBank list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.

Find an Approved Solicitor on the Birmingham Bank Conveyancing Panel

Birmingham Bank Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions

My property lawyer is not listed on the Birmingham Bank Conveyancing Panel. Can I still retain my preferred solicitor notwithstanding that they are not on the Birmingham Bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?
The most common options here are as follows:
  1. Carry on with your existing solicitors but Birmingham Bank will need to instruct a lawyer on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
  2. Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel.
  3. Convince your lawyer to do everything within their powers to join the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel
My lawyer has requested from me identification documents asserting that this is part of his obligations as a conveyancer on the Birmingham Bank Conveyancing panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Birmingham Bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Birmingham Bank CML Handbook requirements last updated on Birmingham Bank
I see that you have a search directory identifying firms on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for my own house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
The lawyers that I appointed last week on my purchase in Newcastle has suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a solicitor on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What should be my next steps?
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 the problems encountered. Hopefully they will 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 Birmingham Bank 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 should be in a position to assist
Is it the case that all conveyancing lawyers on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
On the whole 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
I am due to exchange contracts on my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 2010 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Birmingham Bank are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Birmingham Bank are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Birmingham Bank have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Birmingham Bank have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Birmingham Bank may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property? Or Having digested plenty of mortgage guides,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Birmingham Bank conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Birmingham Bank will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Birmingham Bank 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 Birmingham Bank you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.