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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.

Find an Approved Solicitor on the Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing Panel

Frequently asked questions relating to the Cumberland Building Society Solicitor Panel

I am selling my apartment and the EA has just texted me to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that Cumberland Building Society will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major mortgage company only deal with specific law firms?
Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

Our son-in-law is purchasing a house that has just been built with a mortgage from Cumberland Building Society. His lawyer has said that there is a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. Who needs to receive the form?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested.

The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.

The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.

I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Cumberland Building Society approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Cumberland Building Society solicitor panel.
I was expecting to complete on my first house last Friday. My solicitor is on the Cumberland Building Society solicitors panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not advised Cumberland Building Society of their new address. Cumberland Building Society is now refusing to release my funds as the information from the solicitors isn't correct.
This is a rare situation indeed. The majority of lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Cumberland Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
My ex -wife’s name is on the Cumberland Building Society mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Cumberland Building Society mortgage in order to sell?
In terms of the Cumberland Building Society mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Cumberland Building Society in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What should be my next step? When should I get the mortgage app going with Cumberland Building Society?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Cumberland Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.
My husband and I are taking a long lease of a flat in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon need to begiven the go-ahead. My fatherrecommended that we enquire that the property lawyer in Hendon is on the Cumberland Building Society panel. Is this right?
Not all Hendon conveyancing practices are on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to locate a Hendon conveyancing lawyer on the on the Cumberland Building Society solicitors pane.