Family Building Society Solicitor Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
I am selling my house and the estate agent has just texted me to advise that the purchasers are switching law firm. The reason given is that Family Building Society will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with certain law firms?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason 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 hearing daily from firms 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.
My partner and I intend to remortgage our flat with Family Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Family Building Society conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Family Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Family Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Family Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Family Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I need to find a Family Building Society panel solicitor in Stirling. Could you help me?
It is not clear why you need a Family Building Society panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Family Building Society to find out which solicitors in Family Building Society are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
I am refinancing my apartment does my lawyer need to be on the Family Building Society Conveyancing panel?
There is nothing to stop you using your solicitor but Family Building Society will insist on their interests being represented by a firm on their conveyancing panel. There is greater potential for delays and confusion with an additional lawyer added to the mix, and it will undoubtedly be more expensive too.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Family Building Society do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Is there a list of Family Building Society panel solicitors on the CML Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Family 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 Family Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Family 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 Family 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.