FAQs : The Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
My property lawyer is not on the Darlington Building Society Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my preferred solicitor even though they are not on the Darlington Building Society panel?
You have a number of options available to you here:
- Carry on with your preferred solicitors but Darlington Building Society will need to instruct a lawyer on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel.
- Urge your lawyer to apply to join the Darlington Building Society lender panel
Can you clarify something for me?. My lawyer is not to blame but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Darlington Building Society was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6 months + 3. My lawyer has advised that as she is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are now out of date.
A precondition to being on the Darlington Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Darlington Building Society)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Darlington Building Society.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Darlington Building Society solicitor panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
The firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in London has suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel?
It is true that some banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. 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 remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Do conveyancing lawyers on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
There is generally no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
I previously instructed online solicitors based in Manchester who are on the Darlington Building Society solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £135 for dealing with the Darlington Building Society mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Darlington Building Society?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Darlington Building Society but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Darlington Building Society will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
