Newcastle Building Society Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
On what basis would a law firm be excluded from the Newcastle Building Society approved conveyancing panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The top reasons in order are :
- lack of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Newcastle Building Society
We are due to exchange on the purchase a house but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the seller of £3k approx by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company Newcastle Building Society will not agree to this. Why was Newcastle Building Society even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform Newcastle Building Society of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to Newcastle Building Society then they would have to discontinue acting for you and Newcastle Building Society.
I am looking for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the law firms that are identified on your website are on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the Newcastle Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Newcastle Building Society panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel is incorrect.
The firm that I recently instructed on my house acquisition in Manchester has without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a firm on the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know 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 should appoint new lawyers that are on the Newcastle 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 lawyers should be in a position to assist
When it comes to lenders 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.
Do most banks operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Newcastle Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Newcastle Building Society’s conveyancing panel requirements.
Newcastle Building Society have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Newcastle Building Society or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Newcastle Building Society will tell you what documents they want. Newcastle Building Society will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Newcastle Building Society will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.
