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Find an Approved Solicitor on the HSBC Bank plc Conveyancing Panel

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Is there a reason why all property lawyers aren't included on the HSBC Conveyancing panel?
HSBC and other banks tend to restrict either the type or the number of conveyancing solicitors on their panel. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a firm must have two or more partners. In addition to restricting the type of firm, some have decided to limit the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that HSBC have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of HSBC Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels a few years ago and whilst there are differing views about the extent of solicitor involvement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that thousands of law firms only carry out one or two conveyances a year. Those supporting conveyancing panel cuts ask why law firms should have the right to be on a Lender panel when clearly, Conveyancing is not their speciality? To put it another way; would you want a conveyancing solicitor to represent you if you were charged with a crime; probably not.
My fiance and I are refinancing our apartment with HSBC. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the HSBC 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 flat is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the HSBC conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your HSBC 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 HSBC .This is solely used to protect the HSBC 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 HSBC 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 HSBC conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the HSBC 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 HSBC 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 HSBC solicitor panel.
My conveyancers in Leeds have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with HSBC. Is it case that being on the HSBC conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
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 HSBC Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting HSBC directly.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the HSBC conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
Do conveyancing lawyers on the HSBC conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their service
How can we tell if a solicitor on the HSBC panel is any good?
Getting recommendations is a good start. 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 suggest that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your conveyancing