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approved by Darlington Building Society
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Darlington Building Society list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Darlington Building Society Solicitor Panel
I am selling my apartment and the EA has just called to say that the buyers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that Darlington Building Society will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a leading lender only engage with certain lawyers?
Banks have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Lenders blame a rise in fraud as the reason 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
Our nephew is buying a house that has just been built with a home loan from Darlington Building Society. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
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 Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when asked.
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 Darlington Building Society 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 directory have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Darlington Building Society solicitor panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I was supposed to complete on my first house yesterday. My lawyer’s firm is on the Darlington Building Society solicitors panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not informed Darlington Building Society of their new address. Darlington Building Society has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is a rare situation indeed. Most 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 Darlington Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
When it comes to lenders such as Darlington Building Society do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
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.
I currently have a mortgage with with Darlington Building Society. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Darlington Building Society?
You must advise Darlington Building Society before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Darlington Building Society’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Darlington Building Society will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Darlington Building Society directly. You need not do this via a Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel lawyer.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having checked that they are on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've read lots of house buying,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?
Darlington Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Darlington Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Darlington Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.