Find a Law Firm
approved by Saffron BS
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Saffron BS list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Looking for information about your firm's panel status?
How does my firm apply to be on the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing Panel
FAQs for the Saffron Building Society Solicitor Panel
My husband and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Saffron Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
If you are buying a property with the assistance 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 solicitors should contact Saffron Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Saffron Building Society will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our conveyancing solicitor has requested from me proof of ID documents saying that this is part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the Saffron Building Society Conveyancing panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
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 Saffron Building Society 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 Saffron Building Society CML Handbook requirements last updated on Saffron Building Society
I see that you have a search directory listing solicitors on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for my own conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
I am trying to get my former partner taken off the mortgage deeds. Can Saffron Building Society really insist on which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Saffron Building Society then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Saffron Building Society solicitors panel
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel?
Some major banks and building societies now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their panels.
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Saffron Building Society’s conveyancing panel criteria.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having made sure that they are on the Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
Or
Having 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 Saffron Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Saffron Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Saffron 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.
or
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 Saffron Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.