FAQs : The Ulster Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
A conveyancer I wanted to use for conveyancing on a purchase said he will levy higher legal fees if my lender is due to their unusual legal requirements. Am I likely to be frustrated using Ulster Bank? Any comments will be appreciated
Ulster Bank 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 Ulster Bank conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Ulster Bank will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
Our solicitor has informed me that he requires proof of ID documents stating that this forms part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the Ulster Bank Solicitor panel. Can this be correct?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Ulster Bank also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Ulster Bank CML Handbook requirements last updated on Ulster Bank
Do I have to pop into the offices of the Ulster Bank conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Manchester
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Manchester
.
We're in London, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Ulster Bank , but our solicitor is on the Ulster Bank conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Ulster Bank conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Ulster Bank conveyancing panel requirements are different to Ulster Bank’s conveyancing panel criteria.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Ulster Bank 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 Ulster Bank 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.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Ulster Bank 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 Ulster Bank mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the Ulster Bank 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 Ulster Bank 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.