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FAQs for the Cambridge Building Society Solicitor Panel
I am progressing with the sale of my apartment and the estate agent has just e-mailed to warn that the purchasers are changing their property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Cambridge Building Society will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a big named lender only deal with certain law firms?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
I am due to complete my purchase next Tuesday. I have now been asked to send a copy of my building insurance schedule by my solicitor as as he informs me that he is duty bound to validate that it is in order for Cambridge Building Society. What risks do Cambridge Building Society expect the insurance to cover?
Any lawyer on the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in Cambridge Building Society’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on Cambridge Building Society). Being on the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these instructions.
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to pop into the offices of the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Liverpool
so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 15 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 Liverpool
.
The lawyers that I appointed last week on my house acquisition in Hendon has suddenly closed. I chose them because I had to have a firm on the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel and my preferred lawyer was not. I paid them £200 on account. What do I do now?
Assuming that you have an Estate Agent in the equation then let them know straight away so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to reasons beyond your control. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Cambridge 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 solicitors should be in a position to help
Is it the case that all solicitors on the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Cambridge 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).
I have a mortgage with Cambridge Building Society. My uncle retired last week and wants to pay off the mortgage left on the property. After Cambridge Building Society is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long will it roughly take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the Cambridge Building Society conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Cambridge Building Society mortgage is discharged.
Although you do need to retain the services of a lawyer they dont
need to be on the Cambridge Building Society panel.
You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and
to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to
consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about
the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die
within 7 years of this. There's no capital gains tax for you as it is
your main residence.
At last I have had an offer on an apartment accepted, the seller does however have a dependent purchase. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties in the pipeline. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? At what point should I appy for the mortgage with Cambridge 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 Cambridge 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 Cambridge Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.