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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Chesham Building Society Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Chesham Building Society Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Chesham Building Society Conveyancing Panel
Frequently asked questions relating to the Chesham Building Society Conveyancing Panel
My wife and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Chesham Building Society have this afternoon contacted us to advise us that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Chesham Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Chesham Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Chesham 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.
My solicitor has spotted a difference between the assumptions in Chesham Building Society’s home valuation survey and what is in the conveyancing documents. My lawyer has advised that as he is on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel he needs to ensure that the bank is with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s approach legitimate?
A precondition to being on the Chesham Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Chesham Building Society) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
Do I have to have a meeting at the offices of the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Leeds
so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
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 Leeds
.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
How can we tell if a solicitor on the Chesham Building Society panel is any good?
obtaining recommendations is a good starting point. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing
I have today made my last payment due on mortgage with Chesham Building Society. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Chesham Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm
If you have finished paying off your Chesham Building Society mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Chesham Building Society mortgage from the register. Chesham Building Society,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the Chesham Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Chesham Building Society has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Chesham Building Society mortgage has been paid off.
My offer was accepted on a house on the 6th February 2014, valuation was booked five days later, received a clean bill of health. Conveyancer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Chesham Building Society and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. Are Chesham Building Society entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Chesham Building Society to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.