Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
I need to swap lawyers as my lawyer is not on the Bluestone Mortgages panel of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
If you haven't yet instructed a solicitor to do anything for you and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer you're considering.
My grandson is about to exchange on a house that has just been built with a home loan from Bluestone Mortgages. His solicitor has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I was supposed to complete on my dream home yesterday. My lawyer’s firm is on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not informed Bluestone Mortgages of their new address. Bluestone Mortgages has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is a rare situation indeed. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Bluestone Mortgages branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel?
A selection of lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Bluestone Mortgages do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save on the costs? 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 Bluestone Mortgages involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages 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 Bluestone Mortgages. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel.