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approved by St James Place
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the St James Place list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the St James Place Bank Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the St James Place Solicitor Panel
It has come to my attention via my estate agent that my property lawyer is not on the St James Place Conveyancing panel. What can I do to check?
The first thing you need to do is to contact your lawyer directly. It is reasonable to expect your lawyer to advise you what has happened. If they are not on the panel they could put your in touch with solicitors on the conveyancing panel for St James Place.
Please help. My solicitor is informing me me that she is duty-bound to apply for a Local Authority search stemming from the fact that the firm are on the St James Place conveyancing panel. Is my lawyer correct?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with St James Place your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of St James Place’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated St James Place. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the St James Place conveyancing panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
My lawyers in Liverpool have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with St James Place. Is it case that being on the St James Place conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
Different lenders have different requirements 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 St James Place Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting St James Place directly.
When it comes to lenders such as St James Place 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.
is it true that all solicitor practices on the St James Place conveyancing panel regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the St James Place 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).
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the St James Place conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've digested plenty of house buying,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the St James Place conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
St James Place will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually St James Place 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.
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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 St James Place you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.