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approved by Co Op Bank

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

Find an Approved Solicitor on the Co operative Bank plc Conveyancing Panel

Common questions asked concerning the Co operative Bank Conveyancing Panel

On what basis would a law firm be excluded from the Co operative Bank solicitor panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of solicitor practices had been removed from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
  1. lack of transactions
  2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
  3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction
  4. regulatory contact by SRA
  5. accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Co operative Bank
My partner and I intend to remortgage our apartment with Co operative Bank. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong 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 Co operative Bank .This is solely used to protect the Co operative Bank 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 Co operative Bank 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.

Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Co operative Bank approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Co operative Bank conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Co operative Bank solicitor panel.
My solicitors in Birmingham have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Co operative Bank. Is it case that being on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Co operative Bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Co operative Bank directly.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Co operative Bank as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Co operative Bank would not normally instruct firms on their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Co operative Bank list
Co operative Bank have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Co operative Bank or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Co operative Bank will tell you what documents they want. Co operative Bank will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Co operative Bank will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.
My husband and I are remortgaging a terraced house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beappointed. My friendrecommended that we double-check that the conveyancing practitioner in Hendon is on the Co operative Bank approved list of lawyers. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
Not all Hendon conveyancing firms are on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to find a Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the Co operative Bank approved list of lawyers.