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Conveyancing Panel
Fleet Mortgages Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
I am progressing with the sale of my flat and the EA has just e-mailed to say that the purchasers are appointing a new law firm. The excuse is that Fleet Mortgages will only engage with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain law firms?
Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Our property lawyer has informed me that he requires identification documents stating that this is part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the Fleet Mortgages Solicitor panel. Is this right?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Fleet Mortgages also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Fleet Mortgages CML Handbook requirements last updated on Fleet Mortgages
I am looking for conveyancing quotes online. Can I be assured that all the firms that are identified on your website are on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices listed on our site have assured us via an online form that they are on the Fleet Mortgages panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Fleet Mortgages panel. To date we have not been informed by either a bank or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel is incorrect.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
I have not been happy with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
Complaining to Fleet Mortgages about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. All solicitors and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. Usually one can find this information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is addressed by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.
Fleet Mortgages have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on house has been accepted, now what?
The estate agent will want to know who your solicitors are (make sure these solicitors are on the lenders panel). Call up Fleet Mortgages or your broker and complete any relevant paperwork. Fleet Mortgages will tell you what documents they want. Fleet Mortgages will instruct a valuer. The valuer will get in touch with the estate agent or seller to book an appointment. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about week to get a mortgage offer. Fleet Mortgages will issue the offer to you and your lawyer. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing.
Me and my partner are purchasing a terraced house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beretained. My mothersuggested that we enquire that the property lawyer in Hendon is on the Fleet Mortgages solicitors panel. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
A limited percentage of Hendon conveyancing practices are on the Fleet Mortgages conveyancing panel. 5 people a month use our search tool to locate a
Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the Fleet Mortgages list of approved conveyancing firms.