Frequently asked questions relating to the Stafford Railway Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
We are hoping to buy a 3 bedroom flat in Leeds with a mortgage from Stafford Railway Building Society. We like our lawyer but Stafford Railway Building Society says she’s not on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct one of the Stafford Railway Building Society panel firms or keep our solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; Can we not simply insist that Stafford Railway Building Society use our lawyer?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Stafford Railway Building Society
My fiance and I changing mortgage lender for our penthouse with Stafford Railway Building Society. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is repossessed. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor is doing the right thing as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Stafford Railway Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Stafford Railway Building Society if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Stafford Railway Building Society had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Are the lawyers identified as being on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel, together with their details provided by Stafford Railway Building Society?
The firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Stafford Railway Building Society directly.
The solicitors that I appointed last week on my purchase in Manchester has suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a firm on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What are my options?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Stafford Railway 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 lawyers may be able to assist
Are all solicitor firms on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I have a mortgage with Stafford Railway Building Society. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. If I am intending 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 Stafford Railway Building Society?
Stafford Railway Building Society must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Stafford Railway Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Stafford Railway Building Society 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 Stafford Railway Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension . I have telephoned Stafford Railway Building Society on numerous occasions and was told they are content with the situation and they would lend. My solicitor - who is on the Stafford Railway Building Society conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told not they would not lend in accordance with their CML Handbook minimum lease term requirements. I simply dont know who is right
Your lawyer has to follow the CML Handbook Part 2 requirements for Stafford Railway Building Society. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that Stafford Railway Building Society will go ahead your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask Stafford Railway Building Society to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.
