Find an Approved Solicitor on the Market Harborough Building Society
Conveyancing Panel
Common questions asked concerning the Market Harborough Building Society Solicitor Panel
My wife and I are first time buyers. Within the 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Market Harborough Building Society have this evening contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
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 Accreditation Scheme.
Your solicitors should contact Market Harborough Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Market Harborough Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Market Harborough Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Market Harborough Building Society conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our solicitor has requested from me identification documents stating that this is part of his obligations as a solicitor on the Market Harborough Building Society Conveyancing panel. This is news to me - can I refuse?
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 Market Harborough 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 Market Harborough Building Society CML Handbook requirements last updated on Market Harborough Building Society
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your search have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Market Harborough Building Society solicitor panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Market Harborough Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Market Harborough Building Society 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.
When it comes to lenders such as Market Harborough 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.
Is there a list of Market Harborough Building Society panel conveyancers on the CML Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
Completion of my remortgage has taken place with a loan from Market Harborough Building Society. Conveyancing was satisfactory but I would like to complain about Market Harborough Building Society. Who do I contact should I wish to lodge a complaint?
All banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first point of contact should be one of the Market Harborough Building Society branches or the Customer Care Team at Market Harborough Building Society head office. We understand that complaints to Market Harborough Building Society are resolved effectively and efficiently. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.