Find an Approved Solicitor on the Kensington Mortgage Company Ltd
Conveyancing Panel
FAQs for the Kensington Mortgage Conveyancing Panel
My husband and I are first time buyers. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Kensington Mortgage have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Kensington Mortgage and see if they can apply for membership of the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Kensington Mortgage will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
My lawyer has discovered a difference when comparing the information in Kensington Mortgage’s home valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My lawyer says that as he is on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel he must ensure that the bank is with this discrepancy and is still content to lend. Is my conveyancer’s stance right?
A precondition to being on the Kensington Mortgage approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Kensington Mortgage) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Kensington Mortgage solicitor panel?
No. There is no CML Part 2 or Building Society Association requirement relating to online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
Please explain the implications if my lawyer’s firm is removed from the Kensington Mortgage Solicitor panel prior to the moving date as agreed at exchange of contracts?
First, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
When it comes to lenders such as Kensington Mortgage do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Can you point me to a directory of Kensington Mortgage panel conveyancers on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
We expect to receive a DIP from Kensington Mortgage this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc).Do the Kensington Mortgage recommend a solicitor on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel, or is it better to go independently
You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the Kensington Mortgage through the process.