Scottish Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

Although not necessarily published, lenders have varying criteria . We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor

List of fee-earners who are foreign qualified

Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover

Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers

Summary of annual accounts

Charge registration history

Automated alerting to inform lenders when there is a fundamental change to the firm (e.g. new disciplinary action)

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

In the same way that there is a unique Scottish Building Society conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

Please tread carefully here as what you are intending may not be acceptable to the mortgage company. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. An increasing amount of lenders are making it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender must appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancer. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

Assuming that your practice in is on the Scottish 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 Scottish Building Society are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Scottish Building Society’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Scottish Building Society will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Scottish Building Society alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee freeholder.

The best placed professionals to answer this question are your insurance brokers. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Scottish Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You need to contact Scottish Building Society to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook incorporates an individual inquiry for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Scottish Building Society in their Part 2’s state: You will need to quote the firm’s Scottish Building Society solicitors panel number.