Chelsea Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

Although not necessarily published, lenders have varying criteria . We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

List of all solicitors within firm

Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer

and Conveyancing Quality Scheme

Firm name, address and contact details including all branches (including evidence of existence through risk-based physical visits and Google Streetview checks)

Full career history for each solicitor including admission date to the relevant Law Society

House price discrepancies (declared to lender vs. registered at Land Registry)

purchase and remortgage)

Solicitor

When a solicitor is acting for both Chelsea Building Society and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender the solicitor must cease to act for the Chelsea Building Society and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Chelsea Building Society the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel status.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Chelsea Building Society immediately. (b) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Chelsea Building Society’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Chelsea Building Society know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Chelsea Building Society to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Chelsea Building Society are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) Chelsea Building Society recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Chelsea Building Society recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Chelsea Building Society have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers survey or comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Chelsea Building Society or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel

Assuming that your firm in is on the Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel and you are representing them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If Chelsea Building Society are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Chelsea Building Society’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Chelsea Building Society will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Chelsea Building Society alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Chelsea Building Society solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You would be advised to contact Chelsea Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an individual section for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Chelsea Building Society in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to disclose the firm’s Chelsea Building Society conveyancing panel number.