Cumberland Building Society Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
We are purchasing a 2 bedroom apartment in Newcastle with a mortgage from Cumberland Building Society. We would like to retain our lawyer but Cumberland Building Society says he's not on their "panel". We have to appoint one of the Cumberland 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 Cumberland 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. A further alternative is for your lawyer to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for Cumberland Building Society
Expecting to move into my new home next Friday. My conveyancing lawyer has asked me to provide him with a copy of the building insurance for the house as he says that he has to check this in has capacity as lawyer for Cumberland Building Society. What does the insurance need to cover?
Any lawyer on the Cumberland 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 Cumberland Building Society’s Part 2 requirements of the CML Handbook (last updated on Cumberland Building Society). Being on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel your lawyer is expect to follow these instructions.
Having used 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 scheduled to move into my flat two days ago. My lawyer’s firm 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 has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is a rare situation indeed. 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 Cumberland Building Society branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Cumberland Building Society as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Cumberland Building Society conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?
Cumberland Building Society would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Cumberland Building Society list
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, 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 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.