Darlington Building Society Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
My husband and I are hoping to buy a 3 bedroom flat in Leeds with a mortgage from Darlington Building Society. We have a solicitor but Darlington Building Society says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the Darlington Building Society panel firms or keep our solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; Can we not simply insist that Darlington Building Society use our lawyer?
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 Darlington 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 Darlington Building Society
I am buying a new build apartment and my lawyer is advising me that she has to disclose incentives from the builder as her firm is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and my preference is not to prolong matters. Can I insist on an exchange regardless of what my lawyer says about being on the Darlington Building Society panel?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. 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). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of solicitors? How do you know who is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firm practices themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Darlington Building Society directly.
We're in London, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Darlington Building Society , but our lawyer is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Do conveyancing lawyers on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
In the main there are 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 conveyancers based in Bristol who are on the Darlington Building Society solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £150 for the legal aspects of 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.
Darlington Building Society have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Darlington Building Society or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Darlington Building Society will tell you what documents they want. Darlington Building Society will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Darlington Building Society will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.
