Secure Trust Bank Solicitor Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
My partner and I are first time buyers. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Secure Trust Bank have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Secure Trust Bank and see if they can apply for membership of the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Secure Trust Bank will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Please help. My conveyancer is informing me me that he has to conduct a Local Authority search stemming from the fact that the firm are on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel. Do I not have a choice here?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Secure Trust Bank your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Secure Trust Bank’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Secure Trust Bank. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I see that you have a post code search directory listing solicitors on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for my own conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My conveyancers in Leeds have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with Secure Trust Bank. Is it case that being on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
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 Secure Trust Bank Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Secure Trust Bank directly.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Secure Trust Bank. Solicitors have been chosen? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Secure Trust Bank?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Secure Trust Bank conducted the survey? Have you advised Secure Trust Bank as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through
I have a mortgage with Secure Trust Bank. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. Should I wish to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Secure Trust Bank?
You must advise Secure Trust Bank prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Secure Trust Bank’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will allow you to rent 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 Secure Trust Bank directly. You need not do this via a Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel solicitor.
I am due to exchange contracts on my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in month 7 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Secure Trust Bank are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Secure Trust Bank conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Secure Trust Bank are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Secure Trust Bank have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Secure Trust Bank have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Secure Trust Bank may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.