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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the RBS- 1st Active list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the The Royal Bank of Scotland plc First Active Conveyancing Panel
RBS- First Active Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
I need to swap lawyers as my lawyer is not on the RBS- First Active panel of conveyancing solicitors. How easy is it to change conveyancer?
If you haven't yet instructed a solicitor to do anything for you and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer you're considering.
My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse with RBS- First Active. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 RBS- First Active .This is solely used to protect the RBS- First Active 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 RBS- First Active 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.
I am Googling for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are listed on your directory are on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have assured us via an online form that they are on the RBS- First Active panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the RBS- First Active panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel is not accurate.
I am considering remortgaging my property does my lawyer have to be on the RBS- First Active Solicitor panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on RBS- First Active conveyancing panel, but RBS- First Active would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
Are all solicitor practices on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the RBS- First Active conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
How can we tell if a solicitor on the RBS- First Active panel is any good?
Getting recommendations is a sensible starting point. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always recommend that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your conveyancing
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 RBS- First Active conveyancing panel requirements are different to RBS- First Active’s conveyancing panel requirements.