Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing Lender Panel Compliance Tool

COMPLETIONmonitor is an online pre- and post-completion checklist for property lawyers. Supported by the Council of Mortgage Lenders and professional indemnity insures. COMPLETIONmonitor is a unique risk management tool.

This system optimises the way you can prove to lender panels that you are, and can stay fully compliant with their requirements, with alerts on Cumberland Building Society’s changes. While utilising the tool is not a prerequisite for Cumberland Building Society , demonstrating you can remain up to date with Cumberland Building Society’s Handbook requirements is an excellent support to your application to their lender panel and, more importantly, safeguard your firm’s panel standing.

COMPLETIONmonitor generates real-time alerts, automatically produces SRA and CQS reports, and will enhance your firm's efficiency. In addition it is user friendly, cost-effective and, for some firms, leads to reduced PII premiums.

Find a Law Firm approved by Cumberland Building Society

Banks and building societies frequently vary their requirements. The BSA instructions from Cumberland Building Society are not guidelines, they are instructions from a client. As with many clients, instructions can change - and they do change, frequently:

A Timeline of Policy Changes


Since 2010, Cumberland Building Society has made 78 revisions or additions to sections of their version of the BSA Requirements.
That equates to a section change every 35.0 days. In total, 34% of the sections of the BSA Requirements for Cumberland Building Society have been changed since 26/1/2010.

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Cumberland Building Society Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public

I would like to know the reason why all solicitors are not on the Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing panel?
As unjust as it may seem for Cumberland Building Society to restrict who can act for them from the public’s or solicitor’s point of view, the other side of the coin is that the lenders are becoming ever more anxious and feel the necessary need to protect them from mortgage fraud and other illegal activities. As a result of this concern Cumberland Building Society are limiting their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a size that they are happy to control. The Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel is not the smallest
Much to my surprise my solicitor is asking me for proof of ID documents stating that this forms part of his requirements as a solicitor on the Cumberland Building Society Solicitor panel. Can you confirm whether this is the case?
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
Do I need to have a meeting at the offices of the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Liverpool so that I can pop in to their offices if necessary.
Whereas this was necessary 12 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 .
My lawyers in London have advised me that no longer have my conveyancing file. At the time of my purchase I took out a mortgage with Cumberland Building Society. Is it case that being on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Cumberland Building Society Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Cumberland Building Society directly.
We have agreed to purchase a house.One unusual aspect is that the roof has a solar panel. Cumberland Building Society have issued a mortgage offer so presumably this is not a concern to them. Why is my solicitor raising questions about the panel?
Given that your lender is Cumberland Building Society your lawyer must to check the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing instructions contained in the Part of CML Handbook for Cumberland Building Society . The CML Handbook contains minimum requirements for solar panel roof-space leases, and solicitors are required to report to Cumberland Building Society where a lease does not meet these requirements. The requirements relate to the installation of panels on properties in England and Wales. Requirements for Scotland are due in the near future.
I have a mortgage with Cumberland Building Society. My godfather retired last week and wants to pay off the mortgage left on the property. After Cumberland 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 Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the Cumberland Building Society mortgage is discharged.
You will need a solicitor but they need not be on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing 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. As the property is your main residence you need not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.
Cumberland Building Society have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Cumberland Building Society or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Cumberland Building Society will tell you what documents they want. Cumberland Building Society will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Cumberland Building Society will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.