Q and A’s regarding the Teachers Building Society Solicitor Panel from members of the public
Is the fact that my conveyancer is not on the Teachers Building Society Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Teachers Building Society.
Please help. My lawyer is informing me me that he is legally obliged to order a Local Authority search as the firm are on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel. The searches cost a lot of money. Can this be avoided?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Teachers Building Society 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 Teachers Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Teachers Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
I am searching for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be assured that all the practices that are listed on your website are on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel?
The law firms listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the Teachers Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Teachers 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 Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel is incorrect.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Teachers 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.
I currently have a mortgage with with Teachers Building Society. Conveyancing was finalised months 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 BTL mortgage or inform Teachers Building Society?
You must advise Teachers Building Society in advance of renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of Teachers 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 Teachers Building Society directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 225. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Teachers Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in month 7 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, Teachers Building Society are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Teachers Building Society are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Teachers Building Society have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Teachers Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Teachers Building Society 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.