In addition to seeing subscription listings of law firms along with specific lenders they represent, it provides location and contact details to keep the conveyancing process moving.
Estate Agents have seen 18% of their transactions either delayed or derailed after discovering a buyer’s lawyer was not on their mortgage lender’s panel of approved solicitors, according to a recent Lexsure-commissioned survey.
This issue has affected around 100,000 home sales every year, while in some cases it has delayed the transaction by 21 days.
Simon Seaton, chief executive officer of Lexsure, said: “We’re addressing one of the most annoying problems for estate agents in the process with a simple but effective solution.
“Until now, there was no easy way to check whether a specific firm is on a specific lender’s panel.”
Many lenders have cut down their conveyancing panels, as out of 130 mortgage lenders serving borrowers the typical law firm is on the panel of around 30 banks and building societies.
Over three quarters of firms surveyed have been removed or threatened with removal from one or more lender panel.
Seaton added. “Many solicitor firms are only finding out after they begin working on a case that they are no longer able to work with that lender.
“The last thing an estate agent wants to discover after investing time and effort in putting the deal together is that the buyer has to change lawyers halfway through the process.”
