Q and A’s regarding the Teachers Building Society Solicitor Panel
from members of the public
My partner and I are first time buyers. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Teachers Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue 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 property lawyers should contact Teachers Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Teachers Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
My partner and I are refinancing our flat with Teachers Building Society. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose 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 property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel as he never had to sign this form when we bought 3 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
First, rest assured that your Teachers 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 Teachers Building Society .This is solely used to protect the Teachers 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 Teachers 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.
Do all the firms listed on your directory have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Teachers Building Society solicitor panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Teachers Building Society , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Teachers Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Teachers Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
My husband and I are spending time looking at houses and am about to put in an offer. Should I already have a conveyancer appointed at this stage? I I am planning to take a home loan with Teachers Building Society
It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. Once you decide who you want to use and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Teachers Building Society , make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on a house. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting 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.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with Teachers Building Society. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Teachers Building Society conveyancing panel
