Q and A’s regarding the Chesham Building Society Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
My husband and I are hoping to buy a 1 bedroom apartment in Leeds with a mortgage from Chesham Building Society. We like our lawyer but Chesham Building Society says he'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?
Unfortunately,no. 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 solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Chesham Building Society
Our conveyancer is asking me for identification documents stating that this is part of his retainer as a conveyancer on the Chesham Building Society Solicitor panel. Is this right?
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 Chesham Building Society your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Chesham Building Society
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the legal charge? If so, I will appoint a lawyer who conducts conveyancing in London
so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Chesham Building Society undertake all of the work via the post, internet or over the phone. This means that they can undertake your Conveyancing Transaction no matter where you live in England or Wales. However you should check if you can still book an appointment to go into appointed conveyancing lawyer if you prefer.
I was expecting to complete on my dream home last Thursday. My lawyer’s firm is on the Chesham Building Society solicitors panel but has moved offices 8 weeks ago and had not informed Chesham Building Society of their new address. Chesham Building Society is now refusing to release my funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most 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 Chesham Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to move forward? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Chesham Building Society. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save us both money? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Chesham Building Society involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Chesham Building Society. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with Chesham Building Society. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Lender if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel
I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed
to by Chesham Building Society. Is it usual for Chesham Building Society to only issue the offer once my
solicitor is approved on their conveyancing panel?
A lender would not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Chesham Building Society to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Chesham Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.