Find an Approved Solicitor on the Holmesdale Building Society
Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Holmesdale Building Society Conveyancing Panel
I am progressing with the sale of my maisonette and the EA has just texted me to say that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The reason given is that Holmesdale Building Society will only deal with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading mortgage company only engage with certain lawyers?
Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Santander, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase 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.
My grandson is in the process of securing a new build apartment with a mortgage from Holmesdale Building Society. His solicitor has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties engaged in the transaction. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
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 Holmesdale 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.
I require the services of a Holmesdale Building Society panel solicitor in Stirling. Can you assist?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a Holmesdale Building Society panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Holmesdale Building Society to find out which solicitors in Holmesdale Building Society are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
I would like to get my former partner removed the mortgage deeds. Can Holmesdale Building Society really insist on which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Holmesdale 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 Holmesdale Building Society solicitors panel
I had instructed online conveyancers located in Manchester who are on the Holmesdale Building Society solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £135 for dealing with the Holmesdale Building Society mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Holmesdale Building Society?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Holmesdale Building Society but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Holmesdale Building Society will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Holmesdale 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 Holmesdale 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.
Planning on purchasing a flat with a mortgage with Holmesdale Building Society. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Holmesdale Building Society conveyancing panel