Family Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

The requirements to join the Family Building Society conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

We can't comment specifically on Family Building Society. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the borrower and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if he is in dispute with the lender she is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

One might ordinarily expect Family Building Society via their Part Two obligations to address this but the Handbook makes no mention on time frames. Do look at the Terms of Family Building Society’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you are bound by. For many lender's these Terms include a clause such as: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is imperative to keep Family Building Society updated. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Family Building Society conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation gives 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 join their panels. Some Lenders now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel approval such as Astra Mortgages.

You need to contact Family Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes an explicit section for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Family Building Society in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to quote the firm’s Family Building Society solicitors panel reference.