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approved by Cumberland BS
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Cumberland BS list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
My fiance and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Cumberland Building Society have this morning contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitors 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 are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.
My property lawyer has requested from me identification documents saying that this forms part of his requirements as a solicitor on the Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing panel. Can this be correct?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offense if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage with Cumberland Building Society your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Cumberland Building Society
I note that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I appoint them for my own house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
We're in Wales, First timers buying with a mortgage (lender is Cumberland Building Society , but our solicitor is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Is there a list of Cumberland Building Society panel conveyancers on the Building Society Association’s 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.
My brother and I have had an offer accepted on a house I spoke to a solicitor previously used by my dad and he advised retaining a property lawyers approved by Cumberland Building Society. The estate agent recommended two local firms so I asked Cumberland Building Society if the 2 suggested solicitors are approved, which they are not. Cumberland Building Society pointed out that either firm can fill out the appropriate forms to become approved. Do I (1) save myself the aggravation and use one of Cumberland Building Society 's conveyancing panel solicitors (2) Use the local solicitor and accept there may be delays etc as they go through the approval process.
Enquire of Cumberland Building Society to suggest a law firm in your location. Most banks have lawyers on their panel throughout the UK. You can also use our search tool at the top of this page to search for a lawyer on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel based on location. If you particularly like the sound of one of the local lawyers that you have spoken to ask them if they would go onto Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel as it may only take about 2-3 weeks. As long as they meet Cumberland Building Society’s requirements it can be a very simple job for the solicitor. Other stuff will be going on in parallel (as you are at an early stage) so it may not delay matters.
I have instructed a lawyer having checked that they are on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've digested plenty of house buying,I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Cumberland Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Cumberland Building Society will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Cumberland Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.