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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Co Op Bank list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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Q and A’s regarding the Co operative Bank Solicitor Panel
My husband and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Co operative Bank have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
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 Co operative Bank and see if they can apply for membership of the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Co operative Bank will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
We are getting closer to an exchange and my mum and dad 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 Co operative Bank. I am advised that, being on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Co operative Bank if the balance of the mortgage advance is coming from anyone other than me. I advised 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 Co operative 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 Co operative Bank if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
I require the services of a Co operative Bank panel solicitor in Stirling. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a Co operative Bank panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Co operative Bank to find out which solicitors in Co operative Bank 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
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Co operative Bank Solicitor panel in advance of the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel requirements are different to Co operative Bank’s conveyancing panel requirements.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to proceed? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Co operative Bank. Is it possible to avoid using 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 Co operative Bank involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Co operative 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 Co operative Bank. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel.
We expect to receive a DIP from Co operative Bank this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc).Do the Co operative Bank recommend a solicitor on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer
You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the Co operative Bank through the process.
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