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approved by Capital Home Loans

Before the recession most lenders had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing solicitors that you are dealing with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many firms that have been excluded from lender panels have 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the lenders required.

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a mortgage with Capital Home Loans your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Capital Home Loans’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Capital Home Loans. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.

The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the Capital Home Loans panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Capital Home Loans 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 Capital Home Loans conveyancing panel is not accurate.

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Capital Home Loans conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.

There is generally 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

Ask Capital Home Loans to suggest a law firm in your location. Most banks have lawyers on their panel throughout the UK. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the Capital Home Loans conveyancing panel based on location. If you particularly like the sound of one of the local lawyers that you have spoken to ask them if they would go onto Capital Home Loans conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet Capital Home Loans’s requirements it can be a very simple job for the solicitor. Other stuff will be going on in parallel (as you are at an early stage) so it may not delay matters.

Capital Home Loans will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Capital Home Loans 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 Capital Home Loans you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.