Find an Approved Solicitor on the Masthaven Bank
Conveyancing Panel
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I am in the process of selling my house and the EA has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are swapping solicitor. The reason given is that Masthaven Bank will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific lawyers?
Banks have always had panels 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 25 years.
Banks blame a rise 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 hearing daily from firms 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 god-son is about to exchange on a new build apartment with a mortgage from Masthaven Bank. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. What is this document - I have never come across this before?
The form is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the surveyor when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
How do I search for a local solicitor on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 10 miles to meet the lawyer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this website. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Masthaven Bank solicitor panel.
I would like to get my former partner taken off the mortgage deeds. Can Masthaven Bank really insist on which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but Masthaven Bank then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the Masthaven Bank solicitors panel
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Masthaven Bank do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
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.
Is it the case that all conveyancing lawyers on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
In the main there are 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 service
Me and my partner are purchasing a house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beretained. My motheradvised that we check that the solicitor in Hendon is on the Masthaven Bank approved list of lawyers. Is this really necessary?
Not all Hendon conveyancing firms are on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel. Use the above search tool to search for a
Hendon conveyancing practitioner on the on the Masthaven Bank panel.