Frequently asked questions relating to the West Bromwich Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my flat and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are appointing a new solicitor. The reason given is that West Bromwich Building Society will only engage with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only engage with certain lawyers?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 25 years.
Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Expecting to complete my purchase next Tuesday. My conveyancing lawyer has asked me to provide him with a copy of the building insurance for the house as as he informs me that he is duty bound to validate that it is in order for West Bromwich Building Society. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in West Bromwich Building Society’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on West Bromwich Building Society). Being on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these requirements.
What tools are available to search for a local solicitor on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 miles to meet the lawyer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the West Bromwich Building Society solicitor panel.
I would like to get my ex-husband taken off the mortgage deeds. Can West Bromwich Building Society really tell me which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but West Bromwich Building Society then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the West Bromwich Building Society solicitors panel
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
Are all conveyancing solicitors on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the West Bromwich Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. 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 recently had an offer accepted on a house. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the West Bromwich 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 West Bromwich 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.