Penrith Building Society Solicitor Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
My husband and I are buying a 3 bedroom apartment in Leeds with a mortgage from Penrith Building Society. We like our lawyer but Penrith Building Society says he's not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the Penrith Building Society panel firms or keep our solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Penrith Building Society
I am purchasing a brand new flat and my conveyancer is informing me that she is duty bound to disclose incentives from the developer as her practice is on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong deal. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Penrith Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Penrith 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.
I have been Googling for competitive conveyancing fees. Can I be confident that all the firms that are identified on your website are on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have advised us that they are on the Penrith Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Penrith Building Society panel. To date we have not been informed by either a mortgage company or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel is not accurate.
My conveyancers in Manchester have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Penrith Building Society. Is it case that being on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
It very much depends from lender to lender but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Penrith Building Society Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Penrith Building Society directly.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
In the main 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 package
I currently have a mortgage with with Penrith Building Society. Conveyancing has been completed some time ago. In the event that I decide to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Penrith Building Society?
Your original mortgage agreement with Penrith Building Society will provide that you need their approval before renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Penrith Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Penrith Building Society will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Penrith Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor.
My offer on house has been accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage app going with Penrith Building Society?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Penrith Building Society conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Penrith Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.