Bluestone Mortgages Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
The solicitor I wanted to use for conveyancing on a purchase said she will levy higher legal fees if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Will I regret using Bluestone Mortgages? Any comments will be appreciated
Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Bluestone Mortgages will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My wife and I are refinancing our flat with Bluestone Mortgages. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose 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 property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Bluestone Mortgages .This is solely used to protect the Bluestone Mortgages 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 Bluestone Mortgages 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.
I see that you have a post code search directory identifying solicitors on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for my own house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My conveyancers in London have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages. Is it case that being on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Bluestone Mortgages directly.
When it comes to lenders 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.
Do the majority of lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel requirements are different to Bluestone Mortgages’s conveyancing panel criteria.
I am about to exchange contracts on a purchase with a mortgage from Bluestone Mortgages. The report from my solicitor mentions that Bluestone Mortgages could withdraw their offer before completion. Is this right?
Lenders such as Bluestone Mortgages can revoke their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. If Bluestone Mortgages withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to the reasons why. There are many potential reasons but here are a number of examples:
- Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. Bluestone Mortgages may amend or withdraw an offer before the end of its validation period if an offer extension is requested and following a re-evaluation of the property the value of the security is below a level which is acceptable to them.
- Amendments if purchase price adjusted and the loan to value limits exceeded by this. Please note that Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitors would be obliged to notify Bluestone Mortgages of a change in the price of the property.
- Where the purchase price and borrowers direct contribution differ to details on the mortgage application form completed by the borrower
- Following advice from the valuer on their lender panel or If the lender has doubts about the effectiveness of the valuation as a result of subsequent events or information received post valuation but pre completion
- Where the lender has to take account a recent change in taxation
