Been told by mortgage solicitors not acceptable after paying fees

[Melissa85]

Been told by the Lenders our solicitors are 'not acceptable' has anyone else had this? Our mortgage broker came back to us today to say the lender has asked we use another solicitors. 3 weeks ago we put down a deposit with Bellway who suggested we use these particular property solicitors as they have always worked closely with there solicitors and it will speed up the process. We contacted them the next day paid fees and gave them everything they needed (lots of documents etc) bellway then passed on details to there solicitors and our broker had the details etc all ready to go. Our official application was put in on Friday and we have just received this email. Unsure what to do now? We have a completion date of 9th October and will now have to pay extra fees and this may make the process longer and annoy Bellway too... has anyone else had this happen by any chance? The solicitors have great reviews and are specialised in properties etc.

Thanks

I think that means the solicitors are not on the Lenders panel
No reflection on the quality of the solicitor (can in fact be the opposite as some Lenders only have really large conveyancing factories on their panel)
Who is the Lender
Speak to your solicitor and see what they suggest
Mind you using the solicitor recommend by the builder is not a good idea

I would ask the solicitors to refund most of the fee. They won't be entitled to charge for work they have not completed due to not being on the lenders panel.

You can see the conflict of interest if the builder recommends a solicitor they ‘work with’. You need to make sure your solicitor is independent of the builder and I guess that’s what the lender needs, too. Nothing to do with a panel.

I wouldn't have thought the lender would know that the solicitor was recommended by the builders. However either way you need to instruct other solicitors approved by the lender and try and get a refund of some of the fee. It's not usual where I am to pay the full fee up front but hopefully you'll get something back.

The Lender won't be interested in whether the solicitor is recommended by the builders
Although it is definitely not a good idea to use the solicitor recommended by the builders
You will get the money paid to the solicitor back less the fees for work to date
If you want to stick with the solicitor I would speak to them,they will probably have a contact with a panel solicitor who they can work in tandem with, the other solicitor acting for the Lender

I had a similar issue. The solicitors we had chosen did not have the correct number of senior solicitors (forget what they're called) and didn't fit the criteria.

We called them and they said not a problem, here's the money back. You're paying for a service and if they can't provide it then they can't keep the money.

If they have done searches etc that can all be passed over. The new solicitors simply take over from where the others leave off. It may cost more. I wonder if you could claim the extra back from bellway?

Yes, most mortgage companies have a list of approved solicitors.

And using a solicitor suggested by the vendors is a clear conflict of interest.

When we moved we had to check that our chosen solicitors were on the panel or approved by the lender. Could check online easily.

Have read that you don’t use the solicitors recommended by the builders though.

@ForensicAccountant

You can see the conflict of interest if the builder recommends a solicitor they ‘work with’. You need to make sure your solicitor is independent of the builder and I guess that’s what the lender needs, too. Nothing to do with a panel.

It could be this and if it is, they might have done you a huge favour.

There's been various scandals with unfair charges associated with new build properties, eg ground rents that double every 10 years and/or have been sold and hiked massively, making your property effectively worthless or at least seriously affect the value.

A good solicitor with your interest at heart as a buyer would point this out to you as part of the buying process. One who 'works with' the builders are more likely to gloss over this point as they don't want you to realise the implications of it.