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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Coutts & Co 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 Coutts Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Coutts Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Coutts Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Coutts & Co Conveyancing Panel
Can you please explain the reason why all solicitors are not on the Coutts & Co Solicitor panel?
Pre- 2008 most lenders had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing solicitors that you are dealing with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many firms that have been excluded from lender panels have 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the lenders required.
My nephew is in the process of securing a newly built flat with a mortgage from Coutts & Co. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Whilst your website is a good idea there are many lawyers listed near Hackney on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel. It would be a lot more helpful if you could recommend a specific firm on the conveyancing panel for Coutts & Co ?
We do not recommend specific firms as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. Before you appoint your lawyer we advise you to speak to two or three of the firms listed to gain comfort as to which one is right for you..
My solicitors in Liverpool have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Coutts & Co. Is it case that being on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
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 Coutts & Co Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Coutts & Co directly.
is it true that all solicitor firms on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Coutts & Co conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I am buying a property where the roof has a solar panel. Solicitors conducting should look into this right? Will my lender Coutts & Co be concerned
As you are obtaining a mortgage with Coutts & Co your lawyer must to check the Coutts & Co conveyancing instructions contained in the Part of CML Handbook for Coutts & Co . The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Coutts & Co where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. Requirements for Scotland are due in the near future.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Coutts & Co 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 Coutts & Co 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.
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