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The Mortgage Lender Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers

I am in the process of selling my apartment and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the purchasers are appointing a new property lawyer. The excuse is that The Mortgage Lender will only deal with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a major mortgage company only engage with certain law firms?
UK lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.

Banks blame a rise 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 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.

We are due to exchange on the purchase a house but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the seller of £3k approx by way of a reduction in the price. This was going to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process but my mortgage company The Mortgage Lender will not agree to this. Why was The Mortgage Lender even consulted?
Your lawyer being on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel is duty bound to inform The Mortgage Lender of any changes to the purchase price. If you were to refuse your lawyers to disclose the reduction to The Mortgage Lender then they would have to discontinue acting for you and The Mortgage Lender.
I see that you have a search directory identifying solicitors on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I instruct them for my house purchase?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the The Mortgage Lender 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.
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the The Mortgage Lender 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 service
I previously instructed online solicitors located in Birmingham who are on the The Mortgage Lender solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £195 for dealing with the The Mortgage Lender mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by The Mortgage Lender?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by The Mortgage Lender but by your lawyers. Some firms on the The Mortgage Lender will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee but plenty of firms include it on their overall fee.
I have a mortgage with The Mortgage Lender. My grandfather has just retired and wants to pay off my mortgage. After The Mortgage Lender is paid, I want to transfer the property to my mother's name; How long will it roughly take? Do we need two separate solicitors on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel? I do not intend to live at the property once the The Mortgage Lender mortgage is discharged.
You will need a solicitor but they need not be on the The Mortgage Lender conveyancing panel. You will need a solicitor to draw up the transfer and to deal with the Land Registry formalities. The only thing you need to consider is that by selling at an undervalue so ask your lawyer about the implications. There could be an inheritance tax issue if you die within 7 years of this. As the property is your main residence you need not pay CGT but you should speak with your accountants in any event.