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When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.

In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your property lawyers should contact Landbay Partners and see if they can apply for membership of the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Landbay Partners will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Just because you have a mortgage offer from Landbay Partners does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the CML Handbook Requirements. You and Landbay Partners are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with by the Landbay Partners conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and Landbay Partners

It is not clear why you need a Landbay Partners panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Landbay Partners to find out which solicitors in Landbay Partners are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month

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 Landbay Partners Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Landbay Partners directly.

No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.

Your original mortgage agreement with Landbay Partners will provide that you need their approval prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Landbay Partners’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 Landbay Partners directly. You need not do this via a Landbay Partners conveyancing panel solicitor.

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