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I am in the process of selling my flat and the EA has just texted me to advise that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that Metro Bank will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain solicitors?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
We are nearing an exchange and my parents 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 Metro Bank. Apparently, being on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Metro Bank if the balance of the mortgage advance is coming from anyone other than 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 Metro Bank 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 Metro Bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Metro Bank 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.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Metro Bank 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.
When it comes to lenders such as Metro Bank do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
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.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Metro Bank. Solicitors have been chosen? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Metro Bank?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Metro Bank conducted the valuation? Have you advised Metro Bank as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued
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 Metro Bank. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save us both money? My dad reckons back in the day he did a lot of it himself, just went into the land registry office and providing them with the info they needed himself
If you are getting a mortgage with Metro Bank involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Metro Bank 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 Metro Bank. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Metro Bank conveyancing panel.
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