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You may be very frustrated with the lawyer but if it only go take a few more days they it may be worth waiting as, depending on how far progressed you are you may end up delaying the transaction by a number of weeks if you need to replace your solicitor You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Zephyr Mortgages as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.

You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Zephyr Mortgages 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 Zephyr Mortgages’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Zephyr Mortgages. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.

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 Zephyr Mortgages 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 Zephyr Mortgages solicitor panel.

Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Zephyr Mortgages 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 help

A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is 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 firms.

You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Zephyr Mortgages , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.

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