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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the SuffolkBuildingSociety list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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I am progressing with the sale of my house and the EA has just texted me to say that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The reason given is that Suffolk Building Society will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a big named mortgage company only engage with specific law firms?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders 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 hearing daily from firms 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.
Can you help?. My lawyer is not to blame but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Suffolk Building Society was issued random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My lawyer has advised that as she is on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the Suffolk Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Suffolk Building Society)which states that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Suffolk Building Society.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Suffolk Building Society approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Suffolk Building Society solicitor panel.
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my lawyer’s firm is suspended from the Suffolk Building Society Solicitor panel before the completion date?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
I am selling my house. I had a double glazing fitted in month 7 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s mortgage company, Suffolk Building Society are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but Suffolk Building Society are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Suffolk Building Society have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Suffolk Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Suffolk 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.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Suffolk Building Society 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 Suffolk Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Suffolk Building Society 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 Suffolk Building Society 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.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage app going with Suffolk Building Society?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Suffolk Building Society conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Suffolk Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.