Q and A’s regarding the Leeds Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I appointed a law firm to conduct the legal paperwork on my purchase six weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with Leeds Building Society. The solicitors assured me that they are on Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and provided me their panel reference. Leeds Building Society then called me to say that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What do I do from here? Do I instruct a different law firm currently on the conveyancing panel for Leeds Building Society?
You may be very frustrated with the lawyer but if it only go take a few more days they it may be worth waiting as, depending on how far progressed you are you may end up delaying the transaction by a number of weeks if you need to replace your solicitor You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Leeds Building Society as to the time frame to get your lawyer reinstated on the panel once again.
I am purchasing a newly built duplex and my lawyer is telling me that she has to disclose incentives from the developer as her practice is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. The Estate Agents are hassling me to exchange contracts and my preference is not to delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Leeds Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Leeds 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.
What tools are available to find a local solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 kilometers to meet the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Leeds Building Society solicitor panel.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is suspended from the Leeds Building Society Conveyancing panel in advance of completion?
The first thing to point out is that, 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 for a fee.
Can I be sure that the solicitor on the Leeds Building Society panel is any good?
Getting recommendations is a sensible start. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing
My ex -wife’s name is on the Leeds 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 Leeds Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Leeds 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 Leeds 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.
Sometime soon me and my wife are acquiring a penthouse in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon need to beretained. My agentrecommended that we make sure that the conveyancer in Hendon is on the Leeds Building Society list of approved conveyancing firms. Is this right?
Not all Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. 5 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing practitioner on the on the Leeds Building Society panel.
