Q and A’s regarding the Cynergy Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
For what reasons could a firm of solicitors be excluded from the Cynergy Bank approved conveyancing panel?
A survey recently commissioned by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority found that three quarters of solicitor practices had been excluded from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Cynergy Bank
Can you clarify something for me?. For no fault of my lawyer but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Cynergy Bank was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My solicitor says that as she is on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
One of the many conditions to being on the Cynergy Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Cynergy Bank)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Cynergy Bank.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Manchester
so that I can attend their offices when needed.
Most conveyancing panel lawyers for Cynergy Bank 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.
We're in Wales, First timers purchasing with a mortgage (lender is Cynergy Bank , but our solicitor is on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
Is it the case that all conveyancing lawyers on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
On the whole there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their service
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to proceed? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Cynergy Bank. Is there anyway to cut out the solicitors to save on the costs? My dad reckons back in the day he did a lot of it himself, just went into the land registry office and providing them with the info they needed himself
If you are getting a mortgage with Cynergy Bank involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Cynergy Bank 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 Cynergy Bank. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel.
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having checked that they are on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?
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I've digested plenty of mortgage guides,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Cynergy Bank conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Cynergy Bank will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Cynergy Bank will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey.
You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.
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Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Cynergy Bank you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.