Q and A’s regarding the Skipton Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
A solicitor my husband and I had intended to instruct on a purchase said she will levy higher legal fees if my mortgage is with Skipton Building Society because of their difficult processes! Am I likely to be frustrated using Skipton Building Society? Any comments will be appreciated
Skipton 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 Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Skipton Building Society will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
Please assist. My lawyer is not to blame but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Skipton Building Society was dated random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6 months + 3. My lawyer says that as she is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the Skipton Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Skipton Building Society)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Skipton Building Society.
Do all mortgage companies provide you with an approved list of solicitors? How do you know who is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel?
The firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Skipton Building Society directly.
My lawyers in Leeds have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Skipton Building Society. Is it case that being on the Skipton Building Society 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 Skipton Building Society Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Skipton Building Society directly.
I currently have a mortgage with with Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing has been completed some time 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 BTL mortgage or inform Skipton Building Society?
Your original mortgage agreement with Skipton Building Society will provide that you need their approval in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Skipton Building Society’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 Skipton Building Society directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Skipton Building Society mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Skipton Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Skipton Building Society mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Skipton Building Society in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.
My offer on house has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Skipton Building Society?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Skipton Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
