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ASTRA mortgages Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
I instructed a firm of solicitors to work on my remortgage 4 weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with ASTRA mortgages. The law firm assured me that they are on ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel and gave me their panel reference. ASTRA mortgages then told me that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What happens next? Do I instruct a different law firm listed on the conveyancing panel for ASTRA mortgages?
You may be very frustrated with the lawyer but if it only go take a few more days they it may be worth waiting as, depending on how far progressed you are you may end up delaying the transaction by a number of weeks if you need to replace your solicitor You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the ASTRA mortgages as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.
I am purchasing a newly constructed flat and my solicitor is informing me that she is duty bound to reveal incentives from the seller as her practice is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to sign contracts and I would rather not prolong matters. Can I insist on an exchange regardless of what my lawyer says about being on the ASTRA mortgages panel?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the ASTRA mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on ASTRA mortgages). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I am looking to buy a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Birmingham who is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing. Can you recommend a local conveyancing firm?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for ASTRA mortgages . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
My lawyers in Liverpool have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with ASTRA mortgages. Is it case that being on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
It very much depends from lender to lender 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 ASTRA mortgages Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting ASTRA mortgages directly.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
There is generally 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 package
Why might a lender such as ASTRA mortgages withdraw a mortgage offer?
Banks and Building Societies such as ASTRA mortgages can revoke their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. In the unlikely event that ASTRA mortgages withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to their reasoning. There are various possible reasons but here are a number of examples:
- If the financial circumstances of the borrower have changed to the detriment and the ASTRA mortgages has been notified
- If the borrower informs ASTRA mortgages of a change in the loan amount agreed
- Situations where information provided by the borrower that enabled the lender to make a lending decision is fraudulent, incorrect or misleading.
- Where the sale is not at arms length for value to unconnected persons
- If the solicitor on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel acting for the applicant, borrower, mortgagor or guarantor cannot comply with ASTRA mortgages ‘s instructions
My offer was accepted on an apartment on the 6th March 2014, valuation was booked 2 days after, all came back fine. Solicitor instructed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to ASTRA mortgages and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel. Are ASTRA mortgages entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for ASTRA mortgages to deal with your lawyers application to be on the ASTRA mortgages conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.