Dudley Building Society Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
I am in the process of selling my maisonette and the estate agent has just texted me to say that the purchasers are changing their law firm. I am told that this is due to the fact that Dudley Building Society will only work with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
I am buying a brand new apartment and my lawyer is telling me that she has to reveal incentives from the developer as her firm is on the Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel. The Estate Agents are hassling me to sign contracts and I dont want to prolong deal. is my lawyer taking the correct approach?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Dudley Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Dudley 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.
I am purchasing a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool who is on the Dudley Building Society solicitor. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Dudley Building Society . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
What happens if my lawyer’s firm is expelled from the Dudley Building Society Conveyancing panel before the completion date?
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 have a mortgage with Dudley Building Society. Conveyancing has been completed months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Dudley Building Society?
Dudley Building Society must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Dudley Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Dudley Building Society 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 Dudley Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel firm.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've read lots of house buying,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Dudley Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Dudley Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Dudley Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Dudley Building Society mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Dudley Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Dudley Building Society mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Dudley Building Society in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.