FAQs : The Scottish Widows Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am hoping to receive a offer of a mortgage from Scottish Widows. my intention is to enlist the help of a Licensed Conveyancer. Does the Scottish Widows Solicitor panel allow for conveyancers regulated by the CLC
Scottish Widows’s conveyancing panel is, like many other lenders associated to the Council or Mortgage Lenders or BSA, open to Licensed Conveyancers regulated by the CLC.
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 Scottish Widows will not agree to this. Why was Scottish Widows even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform Scottish Widows of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to Scottish Widows then they would have to discontinue acting for you and Scottish Widows.
I have been searching for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are listed on your directory are on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have advised us that they are on the Scottish Widows panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Scottish Widows panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel is not accurate.
My conveyancers in Liverpool have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with Scottish Widows. Is it case that being on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
Different lenders have different requirements 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 Scottish Widows Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Scottish Widows directly.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
On the whole 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 service
I have a mortgage with Scottish Widows. My father has just retired and wants to pay off my mortgage. After Scottish Widows is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long will it roughly take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Scottish Widows mortgage is discharged.
You
will need a solicitor but they need not be on the Scottish Widows conveyancing panel.
You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and
to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to
consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about
the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die
within 7 years of this. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is
your main residence.
I currently have a mortgage with with Scottish Widows. Conveyancing was finalised a year ago. Should I wish 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 Scottish Widows?
Scottish Widows must be informed of your intention in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Scottish Widows’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies 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 Scottish Widows directly. You need not do this via a Scottish Widows conveyancing panel solicitor.