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approved by RBS - Direct Line
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the RBS - Direct Line list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the The Royal Bank of Scotland plc Direct Line Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
FAQs for the RBS - Direct Line Conveyancing Panel
What is the rationale as to why all property lawyers are not on the RBS - Direct Line Conveyancing panel?
Even though it may seem unfair for RBS - Direct Line to restrict who can act for them from the public’s or solicitor’s point of view, the other side of the coin is that the lenders are becoming ever more anxious and feel the necessary need to protect them from mortgage fraud and other illegal activities. As a result of this concern RBS - Direct Line have restricted their conveyancing panel to a manageable size. The RBS - Direct Line lawyer panel is not the smallest
I am purchasing a newly built apartment and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to disclose incentives from the seller as her firm is on the RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel. I am on a tight deadline to sign contracts and I have no desire to delay matters. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the RBS - Direct Line approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on RBS - Direct Line). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
How up to date is your search tool for the RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel? Do RBS - Direct Line send you an updated list?
The law firm practices themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from RBS - Direct Line directly.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Why might a lender such as RBS - Direct Line withdraw a mortgage offer?
Lenders such as RBS - Direct Line can withdraw their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. If RBS - Direct Line withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to their reasoning. There are various possible reasons but here are a number of examples:
- Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. RBS - Direct Line may amend or withdraw an offer before the end of its validation period if an offer extension is requested and following a re-evaluation of the property the value of the security is below a level which is acceptable to them.
- If the borrower informs RBS - Direct Line of a change in the loan amount agreed
- Amendments if purchase price adjusted and the loan to value limits exceeded by this. Please note that RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel solicitors would be obliged to notify RBS - Direct Line of a change in the price of the property.
- Following advice from the valuer on their lender panel or If the lender has doubts about the effectiveness of the valuation as a result of subsequent events or information received post valuation but pre completion
- If the lender reasonably believe that the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor is insolvent or is about to become insolvent or has or will have a petition presented or if any one or all enter into any arrangement with their creditors generally or if any one or all should suffer a material change in their financial circumstances
I have agreed a price on a house I spoke to a solicitor recommended by my brother and he suggested retaining a solicitor approved by RBS - Direct Line. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked RBS - Direct Line if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. RBS - Direct Line pointed out that either firm can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of RBS - Direct Line 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Ask RBS - Direct Line to suggest a law firm in your location. 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 RBS - Direct Line 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 RBS - Direct Line conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet RBS - Direct Line’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.
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 booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with RBS - Direct Line?
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 RBS - Direct Line 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 RBS - Direct Line and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.