First time buyer - conveyancing advice needed!

mckln335

Hi all,


Myself and my partner have just had an offer accepted on a property and have an appointment on Wednesday with the Post Office to start the ball rolling with the mortgage. They have informed me that when it comes to appointing a solicitor/conveyancer that unless they are on their approved panel of solicitors then we will be subject to an additional charge of £250+. This is because they would then have to appoint a solicitor to act on their behalf as well as the one we choose to act on our behalf and we are liable for their costs. I have asked the Post Office to provide me with a list so I can obtain quotes only from their approved solicitors but was told that I need to check with each individual solicitor to see if they are on the panel. What would be the best way of going about this, as I don't particularly want to pay over the odds for a solicitor just because they are on the panel? The mortgage is fronted by the Post Office but the actual lender is the Bank of Ireland.


Many thanks for any help people can give!


Cheers,


Mark

Contemptuous

Ask family and friends for recommendations. Then you can identify preferred firms, then ask if they're on the panel.

ACG

Ask the Post office what their criteria is for a solicitor (usually 2-4 partners and sometimes holding the CQS level 4 certificate).

Then ask the solciitors/conveyancers of your choice whether they fit that criteria and have they acted on mortgages for the post office before. If the answer to those is yes, then just double check with the post office.

pickles13

I had this issue with BOI; my chosen solicitor wasn't on the panel. I just called up a different solicitor and asked them if they were on the panel.

7426kaz

Hi, I'm in the same position. If we do choose a solicitor on the panel how long does it take for lender to instruct the solicitor to start work.?