Darlington Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The Scottish Law Society has suggested that solicitors should check their lender panel status before accepting client instructions to act. The advice is lender-agnostic as it does not relate specifically to solicitors on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel. The suggestion arises from the practice of a number of mortgage lenders who remove solicitors from their panels without prior notice as part of their panel management system, which can lead to some solicitors discovering this only once instructed. This is sensible advice as a client finding out midway through a transaction that their lawyer is not on the approved lender panel is very frustrating and can lead to complaints. Many online consumer forums contain posts where someone is complaining about finding that their lawyer is not on a lender conveyancing panel. Such forums include moneysavingexpert.com

The majority of lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with Darlington Building Society as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Darlington Building Society we suggest that you call Darlington Building Society to check the position.

Darlington Building Society approved panel lawyers are bound by the Part II instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if Darlington Building Society require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Darlington Building Society CML Part 2 conditions to see if Darlington Building Society have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel

Assuming that your firm in is on the Darlington Building Society conveyancing panel and you are representing them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If Darlington Building Society are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Darlington Building Society’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Darlington Building Society will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Darlington Building Society alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

CQS membership is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms. Some mortgage companies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel approval such as HSBC.

You need to communicate with Darlington Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an individual question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Darlington Building Society in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote the firm’s Darlington Building Society solicitors panel number.