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approved by theMortgageLender
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the theMortgageLender list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the The Mortgage Lender Limited Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the The Mortgage Lender Limited Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the The Mortgage Lender Limited Conveyancing Panel
Examples of recent questions relating to the The Mortgage Lender Solicitor Panel
I am selling my apartment and the EA has just texted me to say that the purchasers are swapping solicitor. The excuse is that The Mortgage Lender will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major lender only engage with certain solicitors?
Mortgage companies 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 Lloyds Banking Group, 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 by way of justification 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.
My partner and I changing mortgage lender for our flat with The Mortgage Lender. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of concerns (1) Is this document specific to the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we remortgaged 5 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to The Mortgage Lender .This is solely used to protect the The Mortgage Lender if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of The Mortgage Lender had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
What tools are available to search for a local solicitor on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 miles to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this page. 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 The Mortgage Lender solicitor panel.
I was scheduled to move into my first house two days ago. My solicitor is on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel but has moved offices in the past couple of months and had not informed The Mortgage Lender of their new address. The Mortgage Lender has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is a rare situation indeed. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local The Mortgage Lender branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
Do conveyancing lawyers on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
On the whole 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
I have a mortgage with The Mortgage Lender. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. If I am intending to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform The Mortgage Lender?
Your original mortgage agreement with The Mortgage Lender will provide that you need their approval prior to renting your property as this is likely to be a breach of The Mortgage Lender’s mortgage conditions. It may be that The Mortgage Lender will allow you to rent out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact The Mortgage Lender directly. You need not do this via a The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel firm.
It is not clear whether my mortgage offer requires a lease extension . I have called into my local branch The Mortgage Lender on numerous occasions and told it wasn't a problem and they would lend. My solicitor - who is on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel- telephoned and was told not they would not lend in accordance with their CML Handbook minimum lease term requirements. Who do I believe?
As long as the conveyancer is on the The Mortgage Lender panel she or he must comply with the CML Handbook requirements for The Mortgage Lender. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that The Mortgage Lender will go ahead your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask The Mortgage Lender to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the remaining number of years left on the lease.
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Transfer of Equity for The Mortgage LenderPlease note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors