Find an Approved Solicitor on the Coutts
Conveyancing Panel
Examples of recent questions relating to the Coutts & Co Solicitor Panel
My wife and I are FTBs. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Coutts & Co have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Coutts & Co and see if they can apply for membership of the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Coutts & Co will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are approaching an exchange and my mum and dad having sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my lawyer needs to make a notification to my lender Coutts & Co. I am advised that, being on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Coutts & Co if the balance of the mortgage advance is not just from me. I informed the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the mortgage so is it really necessary for him to raise this?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Coutts & Co to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to Coutts & Co if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I am buying a house and require a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who is on the Coutts & Co approved. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Coutts & Co . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coutts & Co 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.
Do the majority of lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel requirements are different to Coutts & Co’s conveyancing panel requirements.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Coutts & Co. Solicitors have been instructed? How long does it take for Coutts & Co to send the offer to our conveyancer
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Coutts & Co completed the survey? Have you advised Coutts & Co as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued
The for formalities of my purchase has taken place with a loan from Coutts & Co. Conveyancing was a necessary evil but I would like to complain about Coutts & Co. How does one go about formally complaining?
Most lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the Coutts & Co branches or the Customer Care Team at Coutts & Co head office. We understand that complaints to Coutts & Co are sorted out effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service at South Quay Plaza, 183 Marsh Wall, London E14 9SR who will take matters further.