Q and A’s regarding the Newcastle Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my house and the estate agent has just called to advise that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Newcastle Building Society will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a big named lender only deal with certain solicitors?
Banks 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 Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
Please assist. For no fault of my lawyer but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Newcastle Building Society was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on Tues etc. My lawyer says that as she is on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the Newcastle Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Newcastle Building Society)which states that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Newcastle Building Society.
What tools are available to search for a local solicitor on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 miles to meet the solicitor.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this page. 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 Newcastle Building Society solicitor panel.
My grandfather passed away last year and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Newcastle Building Society , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Newcastle Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Newcastle Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Newcastle Building Society do solicitors 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 have decided to exercise my right to buy my property off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Newcastle Building Society. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event if you are getting a mortgage with Newcastle Building Society you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Newcastle 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 Newcastle 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.