Common questions asked concerning the Scottish Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my house and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Scottish Building Society will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a big named mortgage company only deal with certain law firms?
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 Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Lenders blame a rise 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 hearing daily from firms 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.
Much to my surprise my property lawyer is asking me for personal identification documents saying that this is part of his retainer as a conveyancer on the Scottish Building Society Conveyancing panel. Is this right?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offense if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage with Scottish Building Society your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Scottish Building Society
I am Googling for conveyancing quotes online. Can I be sure that all the law firms that are listed on your directory are on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the Scottish Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Scottish 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 Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel is incorrect.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership 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 join their approved list of firms.
Can you point me to a directory of Scottish Building Society panel solicitors on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
is it true that all solicitor firms on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).