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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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How does my firm apply to be on the Co operative Bank plc Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Co operative Bank plc Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Co operative Bank plc Conveyancing Panel
FAQs for the Co operative Bank Conveyancing Panel
I instructed a firm of solicitors to conduct the legal paperwork on my remortgage three weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with Co operative Bank. The solicitors reassured me that they are on Co operative Bank conveyancing panel and advised me their panel number. Co operative Bank then called me to say that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What do I do from here? Should I appoint a new solicitor listed on the approved panel for Co operative Bank?
The answer depends on whether you still have confidence in the said solicitors and how long it will take for the firm to be reinstated on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Co operative Bank as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.
My husband and I are refinancing our maisonette with Co operative Bank. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Co operative Bank .This is solely used to protect the Co operative Bank if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Co operative Bank had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Co operative Bank approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
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 Co operative Bank 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 Co operative Bank solicitor panel.
My conveyancers in Newcastle have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Co operative Bank. Is it case that being on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
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 Co operative Bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Co operative Bank directly.
Can you point me to a directory of Co operative Bank panel conveyancers on the CML Handbook Website?
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.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 225. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Co operative Bank panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My offer on house has been accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with Co operative Bank?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Co operative Bank and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
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