Q and A’s regarding the Coventry Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
My husband and I are buying a 2 bedroom apartment in Hackney with a mortgage from Coventry Building Society. We have a solicitor but Coventry Building Society says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the Coventry Building Society panel firms or keep our solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Coventry Building Society
My conveyancing solicitor is asking me for ID documents saying that this is part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the Coventry Building Society Conveyancing panel. Can this be correct?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Coventry Building Society also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Coventry Building Society CML Handbook requirements last updated on Coventry Building Society
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Coventry Building Society approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Coventry Building Society solicitor panel.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Coventry Building Society 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.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Coventry Building Society. Is there anyway to cut out the 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 Coventry Building Society involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Coventry Building Society 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 Coventry Building Society. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel.
In what circumstances might Coventry Building Society amend or withdraw their mortgage offer?
Lenders such as Coventry Building Society can withdraw their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. If Coventry Building Society 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 few examples:
- Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. Coventry Building Society 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 Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors would be obliged to notify Coventry Building Society of a change in the price of the property.
- Where the sale is not at arms length for value to unconnected persons
- Where the lender is on notice of a restriction or a right of pre-emption which is not at market value
- If the lender reasonably suspects that the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor is involved in any criminal or fraudulent activity, including trading in illegal drugs or other substances, theft, robbery, deception or other serious offences, or if the applicant borrower, mortgagor or guarantor has a conviction for any serious criminal offence, including theft, deception, fraud, robbery or trade in illegal drugs or other substances;
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in month 8 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Coventry Building Society are being pedantic. The solicitor who is on the Coventry Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Coventry Building Society are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Coventry Building Society have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Coventry Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Coventry Building Society 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.