FAQs : The Bank of Scotland Solicitor Panel
from members of the public
My partner and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit 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 Bank of Scotland and see if they can apply for membership of the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Bank of Scotland will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My fiance and I are refinancing our maisonette with Bank of Scotland. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Bank of Scotland .This is solely used to protect the Bank of Scotland if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Bank of Scotland had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Are there any apps to help find a local solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 kilometers to meet the lawyer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel search on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Bank of Scotland solicitor panel.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing panel prior to the completion date?
The first thing to point out is that, this is very unlikely to happen. 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.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to move forward? I hope to get a mortgage with Bank of Scotland. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save us both money? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Bank of Scotland involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Bank of Scotland. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel.
I have not been happy with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
Complaining to Bank of Scotland about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. Usually one can find this information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is addressed by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 2010 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Bank of Scotland are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Bank of Scotland are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Bank of Scotland have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Bank of Scotland have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Bank of Scotland may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
