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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Skipton BS list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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My partner and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Skipton Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance 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 Skipton Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Skipton Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Skipton 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 are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our conveyancer has requested from me proof of ID documents asserting that this is part of his retainer as a solicitor on the Skipton Building Society Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offense if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage with Skipton Building Society your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Skipton Building Society
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
We're in Wales, FTBs buying with a mortgage (lender is Skipton Building Society , but our lawyer is on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Skipton Building Society 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
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing is not something I have any knowledge of. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should have one. Any advice?
It is not advisable proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event if you are getting a mortgage with Skipton Building Society you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Skipton Building Society conveyancing panel.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place with a loan from Skipton Building Society. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about Skipton Building Society. How does one go about formally complaining?
Almost all lenders have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the Skipton Building Society branches or the Customer Services Department at Skipton Building Society head office. In most cases complaints to Skipton Building Society are resolved very quickly. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service with full details of your complaint.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 200. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Skipton 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 Skipton 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.