The Chorley & District Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

Unlike the CML the Building Society Mortgage Instructions deal with this. Section A.12 states ‘In order to act on our behalf your firm or company must be a member of our conveyancing panel provided we are a society that operates one – see specific requirements for details of our arrangements. The Special Requirements state:

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your The Chorley & District Building Society solicitor panel appointment.

The BSA, as is the case with the CML do not keep copies of Specific Requirements. We would advise that you contact The Chorley & District Building Society direct.

The BSA do not involve themselves in training however they do arrange a number of general conveyancing related conferences which are attended by firms on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel. It is our intention to run specific lender focused seminars in the near future including a webinar on The Chorley & District Building Society’s obligations . Law firms on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel will be invited . Information about the webinar will be made available as part of the LENDERmonitor Alerts .

The fact of the matter is that estate agents are feeling the pain if their clients start out on the buying process having appointed a solicitor who is not on the panel with the purchaser’s chosen lender. Many conveyancing firms are only discovering when they begin working on a case that they are no longer able to work with that lender. Given the inevitable resultant delays in the transaction the chances of an abortive deal increases dramatically. in the circumstances there is understandable anguish on the part of the estate agent as a result of the lost time should the client have to change solicitors lawyers.

Criteria differ from lender to lender. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

• List of all solicitors within firm
• Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers
• Conveyancer client account(s) details
• Whether the firm is able to operate in other jurisdictions
• List of all those who fund the firm, including non-lawyers if applicable
• List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title
• The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing broken down into sale
• Full career history for each solicitor including admission date to the relevant Law Society
• Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

In order to be on the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily The Chorley & District Building Society) are as follows:

• To carry out our instructions with reasonable care and skill, ensuring that all employees carrying out mortgage work on our behalf are qualified and competent to do so
• To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds.)
• You have the consent of all borrowers to apply for the deeds, before making any request for deeds. We will accept your request for deeds on the understanding that you have obtained such consent. If this is not the case then you should advise our Deeds Services Department in writing when you make your request
• To quote on all communications with us relating to registration issues, whether by telephone or in writing, the panel number that we provide for each practising address and the mortgage account or application number for the mortgage concerned.
• If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.

With mortgage companies and conveyancing firms working so closely together it is surprising that there has not been much call for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the The Chorley & District Building Society conveyancing panel but for all bank panels

BSA lenders do not come within the top 20 lenders in terms of frequency of questions. The most popular lender panels in terms of questions are as follows:

• Santander Conveyancing Panel
• National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel
• Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel
• HSBC Conveyancing Panel
• Lloyds Conveyancing Panel