Find a Law Firm
approved by Swansea BS
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Swansea BS list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
Find an Approved Solicitor on the Swansea Building Society Conveyancing Panel
Swansea Building Society Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions
Is the fact that my solicitor is not on the Swansea Building Society Conveyancing panel that there is a problem with the quality of her conveyancing?
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 most common reasons for removal are: (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 Swansea Building Society.
I do hope you can help me. My conveyancer is advising me that he has to apply for a Local Authority search because the firm are on the Swansea Building Society approved lawyer panel. Is my lawyer correct?
You have limited options available to you. As you are taking a mortgage with Swansea Building Society your lawyer has to comply with their conditions as set out in their version of the CML Conveyancing Handbook. Your lawyer would have previously signed the Terms and Conditions of Swansea Building Society’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Swansea Building Society. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to visit the offices of the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in London
so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in London
.
The lawyers that just started acting on my house acquisition in Brighton has suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a lawyer on the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I gave my credit card details for them to take £175 for searches. What are my options?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Most sellers would be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist
Do most banks 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 Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Swansea Building Society’s conveyancing panel criteria.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Swansea Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment on the 5th March 2014, valuation was booked 2 days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Swansea Building Society and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel. Are Swansea Building Society entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Swansea Building Society to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Swansea Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.