Common questions asked concerning the Manchester Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
My lawyer is not on the Manchester Building Society Conveyancing Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Manchester Building Society panel?
The most common options here are as follows:
- Complete the purchase with your preferred solicitors but Manchester Building Society will need to instruct a lawyer on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel. This will result in additional cost and potential delay.
- Get a new solicitor to act in the purchase, obviously checking they are on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel.
- Urge your lawyer to apply to join the Manchester Building Society lender panel
Please help. My conveyancer is advising me that he has to conduct a Local Authority search because the firm are on the Manchester Building Society solicitor panel. Do I not have a choice here?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with Manchester Building Society your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Manchester Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Manchester Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Manchester Building Society approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Manchester Building Society solicitor panel.
The lawyers that I recently instructed on my purchase in Hendon has suddenly shut down. They were on acting for me because I had to have a lawyer on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors should be in a position to help
Is there a list of Manchester Building Society panel conveyancers on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s 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 fiance and I are spending time looking at flats and am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this stage? I I am planning to take a mortgage with Manchester Building Society
You should start obtaining conveyancing quotes from solicitors ASAP. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the estate agent. As you are getting a mortgage with Manchester Building Society , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
On the whole I have been dissatisfied with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
There is little point in complaining directly to Manchester Building Society. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
