Choosing a conveyancer for a Co operative Bank mortgage involves more than comparing quotations or selecting the firm closest to the property. The firm must also be able to act for the lender.
Find a conveyancer for a Co operative Bank mortgage
Search by postcode or town for solicitors and licensed conveyancers working with Co operative Bank mortgage instructions.
Why your choice of conveyancer matters to the bank
When you purchase or remortgage with a mortgage, the conveyancer will usually represent two parties. The firm acts for you as the borrower, but it also has responsibilities to the mortgage lender.
The conveyancer must investigate the title, review the search results, consider the mortgage offer and follow the lender’s instructions. It must then give the lender a Certificate of Title before the mortgage funds can be released.
Co operative Bank does not necessarily instruct every regulated solicitor or licensed conveyancer. It operates conveyancing panel arrangements governing which firms can represent it in mortgage transactions.
A conveyancer can be experienced, properly regulated and recommended by an estate agent or family member without necessarily being able to act for Co operative Bank.
Check the panel before paying money on account
The best time to investigate panel status is before formally instructing a conveyancer. Ideally, the check should be made before paying money on account, ordering searches or supplying extensive identification and financial information.
The Co operative Bank conveyancing panel search allows borrowers to search by postcode or town. The results can help identify firms working with the lender’s mortgage instructions.
The directory is an independent and curated listing rather than a complete copy of the bank’s approved panel. A firm that does not appear in the search results is not necessarily excluded from the lender’s full panel. Borrowers should therefore ask the chosen firm to confirm its current status directly and in writing.
Check the particular office handling your transaction
It may not be sufficient to recognise the name of a large law firm. Panel arrangements can sometimes depend on the particular office, branch or regulated entity undertaking the work.
Ask the conveyancer to confirm:
- that the firm can currently act for Co operative Bank;
- that the office handling your transaction is covered;
- that the firm can act on your particular type of mortgage transaction; and
- that it is accepting new conveyancing instructions.
You should also make sure that the name of the lender has been recorded correctly. Similar names, associated brands and historic lender names should not be treated as interchangeable.
What happens if your conveyancer cannot act for Co operative Bank?
Discovering the problem after the transaction has started can leave the borrower with an uncomfortable choice.
You may need to transfer the transaction to another conveyancer that can act for both you and the lender. Alternatively, separate representation may be available, with one firm representing you and another acting for Co operative Bank.
Neither option should be assumed to be quick or cost free. Changing firms can involve transferring papers, repeating identity checks and reviewing work already undertaken. Separate representation introduces another firm into the transaction and can result in additional fees, enquiries and communication.
The practical consequences of lender panel restrictions are not new. Our earlier article on sharing lender panel difficulties with mortgage brokers examined how panel problems can affect borrowers and professionals beyond the conveyancing firm itself.
Panel membership is only the first check
Confirmation that a conveyancer can act for Co operative Bank does not mean that every property will automatically be acceptable to the lender.
The conveyancer must still consider the bank’s mortgage instructions and the particular features of the property. Issues involving the title, lease, planning history, building regulations, occupiers, incentives, insurance or registration may require further investigation or reporting to the lender.
A property accepted by another bank is not necessarily acceptable to Co operative Bank on identical terms. Each lender can publish its own answers in Part 2 of the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook.
Co operative Bank instructions can change
Panel status and lender instructions should not be treated as permanent. A firm’s position can change, and a lender can amend the requirements applying to firms that remain on its panel.
For example, our article on the Co operative Bank conveyancing panel registration requirement explains an important change to section 14.1.5a of the lender’s handbook instructions. That article is directed principally at conveyancing firms dealing with registration of the bank’s legal charge.
The change illustrates a wider point for borrowers. Finding an approved conveyancer is important, but the selected firm must also identify and follow the lender instructions applying to the particular transaction.
Anyone dealing with a historical transaction should be equally careful. The lender’s current requirements do not necessarily establish what its instructions said when an earlier mortgage completed.
Check first and instruct with confidence
A lender panel problem can appear to be a minor administrative issue. Once searches have been ordered, a mortgage offer has been issued and a chain is working towards exchange, it can become a significant source of delay and expense.
Before committing to a conveyancer, search for firms working with Co operative Bank instructions and obtain direct confirmation from the firm you intend to use.
Starting a purchase or remortgage with Co operative Bank?
Search by postcode and then ask the selected firm to confirm that it can act for Co operative Bank on your particular transaction.