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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.
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Q and A’s regarding the Bank of Scotland Solicitor Panel
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my conveyancer is not on the Bank of Scotland Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the standard of his work?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Bank of Scotland.
My fiance and I are refinancing our penthouse with Bank of Scotland. We have a son 19 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 4 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Bank of Scotland .This is solely used to protect the Bank of Scotland if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Bank of Scotland had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Do I need to attend the offices of the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Bristol
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Bank of Scotland undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you should check if you can still book an appointment to go into appointed conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
I was due to move into my first house yesterday. My lawyer’s firm is on the Bank of Scotland solicitors panel but has changed address 8 weeks ago and had not informed Bank of Scotland of their new address. Bank of Scotland has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Bank of Scotland branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership 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 approved list of firms.
I have decided to exercise my right to buy my property off the council. I have a mortgage agreed with Bank of Scotland. 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 use 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 Bank of Scotland you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. 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 Bank of Scotland?
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 Bank of Scotland 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 Bank of Scotland and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
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