Common questions asked concerning the Saffron Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I instructed a solicitor to conveyancing on my remortgage six weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with Saffron Building Society. The firm reassured me that they are on Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel and advised me their panel number. Saffron Building Society then told me that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What happens next? Do I instruct a different law firm currently on the approved panel for Saffron Building Society?
The answer depends on whether you still have confidence in the said solicitors and how long it will take for the firm to be reinstated on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Saffron Building Society as to the time frame to get your lawyer reinstated on the panel once again.
Our son is in the process of securing a newly built flat with a home loan from Saffron Building Society. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Saffron Building Society approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Saffron Building Society solicitor panel.
The solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in Brighton has without warning closed. I only went with them because I had to have a lawyer on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. 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 Saffron 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 solicitors should be in a position to help
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to move forward? I hope to get a mortgage with Saffron Building Society. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save us both money? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Saffron Building Society involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Saffron Building Society. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel.
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. Please confirm
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.
My offer was accepted on a house on the 12th March 2014, valuation was booked five days after, all came back fine. Solicitor retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Saffron Building Society and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Saffron Building Society to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.