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approved by Bank of Scotland
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Bank of Scotland list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel
My partner and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Bank of Scotland have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
When purchasing a property with the benefit 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 Bank of Scotland and see if they can apply for membership of the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Bank of Scotland will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My conveyancer has requested from me ID documents stating that this is part of his retainer as a solicitor on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
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 Bank of Scotland 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 Bank of Scotland CML Handbook requirements last updated on Bank of Scotland
I am looking for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be confident that all the practices that are identified on your site are on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel?
The law firms on our directory have advised us that they are on the Bank of Scotland panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Bank of Scotland panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel is incorrect.
We're in Wales, First time buyers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Bank of Scotland , but our lawyer is on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Bank of Scotland 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
When it comes to lenders such as Bank of Scotland do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
There is generally 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 service
My brother and I have agreed a price on a apartment I spoke to a lawyer previously used by my uncle and he advised retaining a property lawyers approved by Bank of Scotland. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked Bank of Scotland if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. Bank of Scotland suggested that either practice can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of Bank of Scotland 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Enquire of Bank of Scotland for conveyancing panel firms in your area. Most banks have lawyers on their panel throughout the UK. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel based on location. If you particularly like the sound of one of the local lawyers that you have spoken to ask them if they would go onto Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet Bank of Scotland’s requirements it can be a very simple job for the solicitor. Other stuff will be going on in parallel (as you are at an early stage) so it may not delay matters.