Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
The lawyer my fiance and I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said she will levy higher legal fees if my mortgage is with Saffron Building Society because of their unusual legal requirements. Am I likely to be frustrated using Saffron Building Society? Any comments will be appreciated
Saffron Building Society conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Saffron Building Society will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My husband and I intend to remortgage our apartment with Saffron Building Society. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the apartment is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Saffron Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Saffron Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Saffron Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
I note that you have a search directory listing solicitors on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I appoint them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing panel prior to the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS accreditation however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their panels.
I am buying a property where the roof has a solar panel. Saffron Building Society have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Saffron Building Society your lawyer must to check the Saffron Building Society conveyancing instructions contained in the Part of CML Handbook for Saffron Building Society . The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Saffron Building Society where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. The CML are developing guidance for Northern Ireland and Scotland.
I have paid off my mortgage with Saffron Building Society. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Saffron Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Saffron Building Society mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Saffron Building Society mortgage from the register. Saffron Building Society,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the Saffron Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Saffron Building Society has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Saffron Building Society mortgage has been paid off.