Q and A’s regarding the Holmesdale Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my apartment and the estate agent has just e-mailed to say that the buyers are switching conveyancer. The reason given is that Holmesdale Building Society will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major lender only deal with specific law firms?
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 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 blame a rise 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 fiance and I changing mortgage lender for our maisonette with Holmesdale Building Society. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have two questions (1) Is this form unique to the Holmesdale 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?
First, rest assured that your Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing 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 Holmesdale Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Holmesdale 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 Holmesdale 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 require the services of a Holmesdale Building Society panel solicitor in Belfast. Could you help me?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a Holmesdale 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 Holmesdale Building Society to find out which solicitors in Holmesdale 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 buying a new build flat and getting a mortgage with Holmesdale Building Society. Can I do my own conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing you will have to appoint a solicitor on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to made in you doing to conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel in your location.
When it comes to lenders such as Holmesdale Building Society do lawyers 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.
I was told two weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Holmesdale Building Society. Is it usual for Holmesdale Building Society to only issue the offer once my
solicitor is approved on their conveyancing panel?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Holmesdale Building Society to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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Having digested plenty of mortgage guides,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 Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Holmesdale Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Holmesdale 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 Holmesdale Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.