Solicitor not on lender's board

kilby_007

Hi,

We instructed our solicitor last week and paid £500 up front. Silly mistake on my part, because the mortgage advisor we used got us a cracking deal with Sainsbury's but the solicitors we're using isn't on their board of approved solicitors.

I raised this with my solicitor and they're getting back to me about it. The solicitor seemed to think this was something they could sort out but my question is does anyone know what the timescale is likely to be (to apply to the lender's board), and would we be better off cutting our £500 losses and going with another local solicitor who is on the approved list?

The other option (changing lender) works out £1200 more expensive over the 5 year mortgage deal so changing solicitors seems like the least expensive option, although it will set us back a couple of weeks in the conveyancing process...

glentoran99

If you don't use a solicitor on the lenders panel they will get their own, instead of yours doing work on both sides, and you'll pay for it

kilby_007

glentoran99 wrote: »

If you don't use a solicitor on the lenders panel they will get their own, instead of yours doing work on both sides, and you'll pay for it

Thanks, maybe I didn't word my question very well (the bit in bold).

How long is it likely to take for the solicitor we were going to use to apply to the lender's board, as that's what they seem to be insinuating that they can do.

glentoran99

6-8 weeks I read elsewhere, may differ lender to lender, might be worth speaking to the lender and see what they say

glentoran99

I would be raising a complaint about the advisor though, Advised a lender and a solicitor that weren't able to be used together

kilby_007

We already instructed the solicitor before hand but the mortgage advisor was aware of this so he should've checked before giving us the options. I think we might end up switching to Santander which as I mentioned is more expensive over the 5 years but it'll mean we won't be delaying the whole process and having to shell out more upfront costs for solicitors. Lesson learnt I guess.

ACG

It varies, I have seen lenders get added to a panel within 2-5 days.
The solicitor should refund you the £500, they may keep £50 to cover costs but nothing more.

kilby_007

ACG wrote: »

It varies, I have seen lenders get added to a panel within 2-5 days.
The solicitor should refund you the £500, they may keep £50 to cover costs but nothing more.

Thanks. If I was to switch solicitor do you think it's likely to upset the vendor? I think their solicitor has recently submitted some paperwork to our solicitor.

ACG

Im sure if you call up the agent and explain you are switching the solicitor as they are not on the lenders panel and that is the only thing stopping your mortgage offer being issued, they will understand.

Out of curiosity, how were sainsburys bank? I did not even know they did mortgages. I will have to look into them.

kilby_007

ACG wrote: »

Im sure if you call up the agent and explain you are switching the solicitor as they are not on the lenders panel and that is the only thing stopping your mortgage offer being issued, they will understand.

Out of curiosity, how were sainsburys bank? I did not even know they did mortgages. I will have to look into them.

I didn't either, nor did my solicitors! There's only one solicitor in Hull which is on their panel, which isn't great. They were the cheapest overall (taking into account fees and interest rate). We applied this morning and they sent an email within a couple of hours saying they would be in touch shortly with an appointment for a valuation.

kingstreet

glentoran99 wrote: »

I would be raising a complaint about the advisor though, Advised a lender and a solicitor that weren't able to be used together

Where did you see the broker recommending a solicitor not on the lender's panel?

I read the OP instructed the solicitor earlier and expected the broker to establish if the solicitor was on the lender's panel.

The OP seems to think chosen solicitor should be added to the other components of the selection list for a lender/product along with rate, fees, ERCs, penalty-free overpayment options and so on...

That may or may not be a realistic ambition as neither Mortgage Brain nor TriGold have that option, so calling every lender one by one would be the only option with the obvious tip-over into cost to the client.

99 times out of 100 I have no idea what solicitor the client plans to use when I am expected to produce illustrations for the best deal for that client.

I suspect in the same 99 cases out of 100 the client doesn't know either. This client had decided on a solicitor well ahead of the game.

What I would ask of a potential client is, at the point the offer is accepted, what solicitor the client plans to use so I can establish if the firm is on the lender panel.

The client would then have the option of changing lender, or changing solicitor where there is no option of using both for the same transaction.