Find a Lawyer on the First Direct Conveyancing Panel

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 First Direct 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 First Direct UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements last updated on First Direct

You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the First Direct approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on First Direct). The UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.

A precondition to being on the First Direct approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on First Direct) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender's valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.

One of the many conditions to being on the First Direct approved panel is to comply with the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on First Direct)which states that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called 'search validation' indemnity insurance is acceptable to First Direct.

Any lawyer on the First Direct conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in First Direct's Part 2 requirements of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook (last updated on First Direct). Being on the First Direct conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these requirements.

Your lawyer is obliged to check with First Direct 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 First Direct if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.

Your lawyer being on the First Direct conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform First Direct of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to First Direct then they would have to discontinue acting for you and First Direct.

First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.

There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor but First Direct will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is much more potential for delays and confusion with two solicitors involved, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.

Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the First Direct 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.

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 First Direct Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting First Direct directly.

This is a rare situation indeed. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local First Direct branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.

If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the First Direct 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 may be able to assist

The best course of action for you to take is to contact your lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you of the situation. If they are not on the panel they may recommend you to a firm that is on the conveyancing panel for First Direct.

Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.

Lenders blame a rise in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer's case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

You are best placed to get this information from your conveyancing lawyer. They should have a central record lender panel numbers including the First Direct panel reference.

First Direct's conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.

A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of law firms had been removed from a lender panel. The top 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 First Direct

The answer depends on whether you still have confidence in the said solicitors and how long it will take for the firm to be reinstated on the First Direct conveyancing panel You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the First Direct as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.

No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the First Direct conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for First Direct

When purchasing a property with the benefit 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitors should contact First Direct and see if they can apply for membership of the First Direct conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable First Direct will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the First Direct 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.

It is true that some banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said, UK Finance have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.

We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.

No. There is no such tool on the UK Finance or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by First Direct but by your lawyers. Some firms on the First Direct will charge an 'acting for lender' fee and others do not.

Many lenders operate a restricted conveyancing panel, while others allow any solicitor to join so long as they meet the lender's criteria. Each lender sets its own requirements. For example, the First Direct conveyancing panel requirements differ from those of other lenders.

First Direct would not normally instruct a member of their conveyancing panel 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 First Direct list

As you are obtaining a mortgage with First Direct your lawyer must to check the First Direct conveyancing instructions contained in the Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook for First Direct. The UK Finance Mortgage Lenders' Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to First Direct where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. UK Finance are developing guidance for Northern Ireland and Scotland.

If you are getting a mortgage with First Direct involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the First Direct conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to First Direct. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the First Direct conveyancing panel.

Where information comes to First Direct 's attention regarding the customers or the security that they were not aware of prior to offer that affects their original decision to lend

You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the First Direct conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the First Direct through the process.

If you have finished paying off your First Direct mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the First Direct mortgage from the register. First Direct,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage: but are not moving to another property where the First Direct has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and the First Direct has instructed the Land Registry to do so The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your First Direct mortgage has been paid off.

Although you do need to retain the services of a lawyer they dont need to be on the First Direct panel. You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die within 7 years of this. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is your main residence.

First Direct must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of First Direct's mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact First Direct directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a First Direct conveyancing panel solicitor.

There is little point in complaining directly to First Direct. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor's or conveyancer's website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.

The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.

If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the First Direct panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

It is probably the case that First Direct have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why First Direct 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.

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for First Direct to deal with your lawyers application to be on the First Direct conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.

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

In terms of the First Direct mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife's name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of First Direct in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.

The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up First Direct or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. First Direct will tell you what documents they want. First Direct 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. First Direct 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.

Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel tool on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the First Direct solicitor panel.

Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for First Direct. We don’t recommend any particular firm.

The law firms listed on our site have advised us that they are on the First Direct panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the First Direct 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 First Direct conveyancing panel is incorrect.

We do not recommend specific firms as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. We recommend that you speak to 3 or 4 lawyers listed before you make your choice..

No. There is no UK Finance Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.

Unfortunately it's not apparent why you need a First Direct panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to First Direct to find out which solicitors in First Direct are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month