Common questions asked concerning the Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
The lawyer my fiance and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said he would charge more if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Am I likely to be frustrated using Darlington Building Society? Is Darlington Building Society conveyancing so much more difficult?
Darlington Building Society 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 Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Darlington Building Society will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My nephew is purchasing a newly built flat with a home loan from Darlington Building Society. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
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 Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when asked.
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 Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I am looking for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are listed on your site are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firms listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the Darlington Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Darlington Building Society panel. To date we have not been informed by either a mortgage company or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel is not accurate.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Darlington Building Society Solicitor panel prior to completion?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. 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 at a cost.
I had instructed online solicitors based in London who are on the Darlington Building Society solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £175 for dealing with the Darlington Building Society mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee set 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.
I have a mortgage with Darlington Building Society. Conveyancing was finalised 12 months ago. In the event that I decide 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 Darlington Building Society?
You must advise Darlington Building Society before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Darlington Building Society’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Darlington Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with Darlington Building Society. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel
