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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
Common questions asked concerning the Chesham Building Society Solicitor Panel
We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Leeds with a mortgage from Chesham Building Society. We like our lawyer but Chesham Building Society says she’s not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the Chesham Building Society panel solicitors or keep our solicitor and pay for one of their panel ones to represent them. This seems very unfair; is there anything we can do?
No, not really. The mortgage offered to you is subject to its terms and conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. Until recently, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels: a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. Another option that might be available is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Chesham Building Society
I am purchasing a new build apartment and my lawyer is advising me that she has to reveal incentives from the developer as her practice is on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. The Estate Agents are hassling me to sign contracts and my preference is not to prolong matters. is my lawyer taking the correct approach?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. 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). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
What tools are available to find a local solicitor on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 kilometers to meet the solicitor.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool 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 Chesham Building Society solicitor panel.
I would like to get my former partner taken off the mortgage deeds. Can Chesham Building Society really insist on which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Chesham Building Society then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Chesham Building Society solicitors panel
How can we tell if a solicitor on the Chesham Building Society panel is any good?
obtaining recommendations is a sensible 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 advise that you speak with the lawyer conducting your conveyancing
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My mortgage broker suggested a solicitor I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Chesham Building Society panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.
My offer on house has been 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 booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage app going with Chesham 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 Chesham 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 Chesham Building Society and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.