FAQs : The Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
For what reasons would a law firm be excluded from the Bank of Scotland approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Bank of Scotland
Can you clarify something for me?. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Bank of Scotland was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My lawyer informs me that as she is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
A precondition to being on the Bank of Scotland approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Bank of Scotland)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Bank of Scotland.
Whilst your website is a good idea there are many lawyers listed near Newcastle on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. Can you recommend a specific firm on the Bank of Scotland approved panel?
We are not in the business of recommending one firm above another as the right firm for you depends on where your priorities lie. For example you may require a local firm with local knowledge or you might be looking for the low cost conveyancing. Before you appoint your lawyer we advise you to speak to two or three of the firms listed to gain comfort as to which one is right for you..
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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Having read lots of house buying,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Bank of Scotland will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Bank of Scotland will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Scotland you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Bank of Scotland mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Bank of Scotland mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the Bank of Scotland mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Bank of Scotland in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Bank of Scotland?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Bank of Scotland and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.