Frequently asked questions relating to the Newbury Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
Is the fact that my conveyancer is not identified on the Newbury Building Society Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of his 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 Newbury Building Society.
Please help. My conveyancer is advising me that he has to order a Local Authority search as the firm are on the Newbury Building Society solicitor panel. Is this really necessary?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. As you are taking a mortgage with Newbury 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 Newbury Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Newbury Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Do I have to pop into the offices of the Newbury Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Bristol
so that I can pop in to their offices if required.
Whereas this was necessary 12 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 Bristol
.
I was expecting to complete on my dream home last Thursday. My lawyer’s firm is on the Newbury Building Society solicitors panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not advised Newbury Building Society of their new address. Newbury Building Society has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Newbury Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
When it comes to lenders such as Newbury Building Society do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
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.
Do conveyancing lawyers on the Newbury 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 service
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Newbury Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Newbury Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
