Danske Bank Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
My husband and I are purchasing a 1 bedroom apartment in Newcastle with a mortgage from Danske Bank. We like our lawyer but Danske Bank says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the Danske Bank 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?
Unfortunately,no. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the Danske Bank 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. Another option that might be available is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Danske Bank
Our god-son is about to exchange on a newly built flat with a home loan from Danske Bank. His lawyer has advised him of a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Danske Bank conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor 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 Danske Bank conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I note that you have a search directory listing firms on the Danske Bank 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 Danske Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Danske Bank Solicitor panel before the completion date?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. 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 for a fee.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to proceed? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Danske Bank. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save us both money? My dad reckons back in the day he did a lot of it himself, just went into the land registry office and providing them with the info they needed himself
If you are getting a mortgage with Danske Bank involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Danske Bank 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 Danske Bank. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Danske Bank conveyancing panel.
I have paid off my mortgage with Danske Bank. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Danske Bank panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm
If you have finished paying off your Danske Bank mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Danske Bank mortgage from the register. Danske Bank,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the Danske Bank has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Danske Bank has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Danske Bank mortgage has been paid off.
I currently have a mortgage with with Danske Bank. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Danske Bank?
Danske Bank must be informed of your intention prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Danske Bank’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Danske Bank will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Danske Bank directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Danske Bank conveyancing panel lawyer.