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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Halifax list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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FAQs : The Halifax Conveyancing Panel
On what basis could a law firm be removed from the Halifax approved conveyancing 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 top reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Halifax
My husband and I intend to remortgage our flat with Halifax. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Halifax conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Halifax conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Halifax conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Halifax .This is solely used to protect the Halifax 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 Halifax 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.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Halifax conveyancing panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I would like to get my ex-wife removed the mortgage deeds. Can Halifax really tell me which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Halifax then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Halifax solicitors panel
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Halifax conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Halifax. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save on the costs? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Halifax involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Halifax 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 Halifax. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Halifax conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Halifax. Conveyancing has been completed 12 months ago. If I am intending to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Halifax?
Halifax must be informed of your intention before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Halifax’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 Halifax directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Halifax conveyancing panel solicitor.