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Common questions asked concerning the Cumberland Building Society Solicitor Panel
My partner and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Cumberland Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with the benefit 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 Cumberland Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Cumberland Building Society will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
We are getting closer to an exchange and my parents having sent the 10% deposit to my lawyer. I am now advised that as the deposit has not come from me my lawyer needs to disclose this to my lender Cumberland Building Society. Apparently, being on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel and acting on their behalf he must inform Cumberland Building Society if the balance of the mortgage advance is not just from me. I disclosed to the bank about my parent’s contribution when I applied for the mortgage so is it really necessary for this now to be an issue?
Your lawyer is obliged to check with Cumberland Building Society to make sure that they are aware that the balance of the purchase price is not from your own funds. Your solicitor can only report this to Cumberland Building Society if you agree, failing which, your lawyer must cease to continue acting.
Are there any apps to help find a local solicitor on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
Feel free to make use of the find a conveyancing panel search on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Cumberland Building Society solicitor panel.
The firm that I appointed last week on my purchase in Newcastle has without warning closed. I chose them because I needed a lawyer on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel and my family lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What should be my next steps?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers may be able to assist
Do conveyancing lawyers on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
On the whole there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their service
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Cumberland Building Society. Solicitors have been instructed? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Cumberland Building Society?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Cumberland Building Society done the valuation? Have you advised Cumberland Building Society as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued
I am due to exchange contracts on my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in month 8 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Cumberland Building Society are being difficult. The solicitor who is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Cumberland Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Cumberland Building Society have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Cumberland Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Cumberland Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.