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approved by TSB
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the TSB list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the TSB plc Conveyancing Panel
FAQs : The TSB Solicitor Panel
For what reasons would a law firm be excluded from the TSB solicitor panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of law firms had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by TSB
Our grandson is about to exchange on a house that has just been built with a home loan from TSB. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the TSB conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the TSB conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the TSB solicitor 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.
My solicitors in Liverpool have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with TSB. Is it case that being on the TSB conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a prescribed period?
Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the TSB Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting TSB directly.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the TSB conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
Is it the case that all solicitor firms on the TSB conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the TSB conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
My offer on house has been 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 should be my next step? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with TSB?
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 TSB 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 TSB and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.