Find an Approved Solicitor on the Chelsea Building Society (a trading name of Yorkshire BS)
Conveyancing Panel
FAQs for the Chelsea Building Society Conveyancing Panel
My partner and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the 48 hours our property lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Chelsea Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our conveyancer is not on their conveyancing panel. Is this a problem?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Chelsea Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Chelsea Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our conveyancer has discovered a defect with the lease for the property we are buying. The other side have offered defective title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our solicitor has advised that as he is on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel he must check that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is Chelsea Building Society?
Just because you have a mortgage offer from Chelsea Building Society does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the CML Handbook Requirements. You and Chelsea Building Society are the client. These conveyancing instructions have to be complied with by the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and Chelsea Building Society
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to pop into the offices of the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the legal charge? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Newcastle
so that I can pop in to their offices if required.
Whereas this was necessary ten 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 Newcastle
.
I am buying a terraced house and getting a mortgage with Chelsea Building Society. How practical is it for me to do the conveyancing?
Leaving aside the complexities and merits of DIY conveyancing you will have to appoint a solicitor on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel to look after their interests. Most people therefore find it easier to let the solicitor act for them and the lender. Furthermore there is minimal cost savings to made in you doing to conveyancing for yourself and another lawyer conducting the conveyancing for the lender. Please feel free to use the search tool to find a lawyer on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel in your location.
Is there a list of Chelsea Building Society panel solicitors on the CML Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
Is it the case that all solicitor firms on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel overseen by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Chelsea Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.