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UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.

Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a mortgage with The Mortgage Lender 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 The Mortgage Lender’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated The Mortgage Lender. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.

Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a The Mortgage Lender panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to The Mortgage Lender to find out which solicitors in The Mortgage Lender are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site

This is a rare situation indeed. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local The Mortgage Lender branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.

If you have finished paying off your The Mortgage Lender mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the The Mortgage Lender mortgage from the register. The Mortgage Lender,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage: but are not moving to another property where the The Mortgage Lender has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and the The Mortgage Lender has instructed the Land Registry to do so The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your The Mortgage Lender mortgage has been paid off.

They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel

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