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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Santander list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Santander Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Santander Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Santander Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Santander Conveyancing Panel
Is the fact that my conveyancer is not on the Santander Solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard 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 Santander.
can you help? My conveyancer is assuring me that she is duty-bound to apply for a Local Authority search as the firm are on the Santander conveyancing panel. The searches cost a lot of money. Can this be avoided?
Unfortunately both you and your lawyer have little choice here. Given that you are taking out a loan with Santander 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 Santander’s conveyancing panel appointment which obliges them to follow the CML Handbook requirements last updated Santander. even if you were a cash buyer you would be ill advised not to carry out a local authority search.
Do I have to visit the offices of the Santander conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in Leeds
so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to twenty 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 Leeds
.
I was due to move into my dream home yesterday. My solicitor is on the Santander solicitors panel but has changed address 8 weeks ago and had not informed Santander of their new address. Santander is now refusing to release my funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Santander branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Santander. Solicitors have been chosen? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Santander?
There is no definitive answer here. Have Santander conducted the valuation? Have you advised Santander as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Santander conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through
My fiance and I are in the throws of viewing houses and now considering a potential offer. Is it best to have a conveyancer on ‘stand by’? I will be getting a home loan with Santander
It would be sensible to have your start your search soon rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their details on the the EA. As you are getting a mortgage with Santander , ask your prospective lawyers check they are on the Santander conveyancing panel otherwise they can't do the mortgage legal work.
My offer on house has been accepted, but there is a chain. 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 Santander?
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 Santander 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 Santander and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
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