Find an Approved Solicitor on the Reliance Bank Ltd
Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Reliance Bank Solicitor Panel
My wife and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Reliance Bank have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Reliance Bank and see if they can apply for membership of the Reliance Bank conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Reliance Bank will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Reliance Bank conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My conveyancer has uncovered a difference between the surveyor’s assumptions in Reliance Bank’s home valuation survey and what is revealed within the conveyancing documents. My lawyer says that as he is on the Reliance Bank conveyancing panel he is duty bound to check that the bank is with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my lawyer’s course or action correct?
A precondition to being on the Reliance Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Reliance Bank) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
I am purchasing a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who is on the Reliance Bank approved. Can you recommend a local solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Reliance Bank . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
What happens if my solicitor is removed from the Reliance Bank Solicitor panel prior to the completion date?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Reliance Bank conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
Is there a list of Reliance Bank panel conveyancers on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s 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.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with Reliance Bank. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Reliance Bank conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
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 Reliance Bank conveyancing panel