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approved by Bluestone Mortgages
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Bluestone Mortgages list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
My wife and I are first time buyers. 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. Bluestone Mortgages have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
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 Accreditation Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Bluestone Mortgages and see if they can apply for membership of the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Bluestone Mortgages will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My conveyancer has identified a difference when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in Bluestone Mortgages’s valuation survey and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor says that as he is on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel he needs to check that the bank is happy with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s stance right?
A precondition to being on the Bluestone Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Bluestone Mortgages) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
What tools are available to find a local solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 miles to meet the solicitor.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Bluestone Mortgages solicitor panel.
I am in the process of refinancing my apartment does my lawyer have to be on the Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel, but Bluestone Mortgages would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Can you point me to a directory of Bluestone Mortgages panel solicitors on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save on the costs? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Bluestone Mortgages involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Bluestone Mortgages. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Bluestone Mortgages 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 Bluestone Mortgages mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Bluestone Mortgages 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 Bluestone Mortgages 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.