Examples of recent questions relating to the Harpenden Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not isted on the Harpenden Building Society Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of the firm’s work?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Harpenden Building Society.
My wife and I are refinancing our apartment with Harpenden Building Society. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel requested us to identify anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is repossessed. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this document specific to the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Harpenden Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Harpenden 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 Harpenden 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.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Liverpool
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
As opposed to 15 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Liverpool
.
We're in Wales, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Harpenden Building Society , but our lawyer is on the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Harpenden 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 solicitors on the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
On the whole 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
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Harpenden Building Society’s conveyancing panel requirements.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to proceed? I hope to get a mortgage with Harpenden Building Society. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save us both money? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Harpenden Building Society involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Harpenden Building Society. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Harpenden Building Society conveyancing panel.