Dudley Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

Lexsure only know of two or three banks that operate a separate approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. You should nevertheless check directly with Dudley Building Society. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Dudley Building Society

There are various requirements you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (a) You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Dudley Building Society immediately. (II) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Dudley Building Society’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Dudley Building Society know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Dudley Building Society to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Dudley Building Society are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (c) Dudley Building Society recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Dudley Building Society recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Dudley Building Society have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers report or structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Dudley Building Society or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel

With banks and conveyancing firms working so closely together it is surprising that there has not been much call for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Dudley Building Society conveyancing panel but for all lender panels

We would recommend that you supply details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not adversely impact your application but gives the CQS team viability as to what has happened.

You should communicate with Dudley Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an express question for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Dudley Building Society in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to disclose your Dudley Building Society solicitors panel reference.