Ahli United Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

You need to be careful here as what you are intending may not be acceptable to the lender. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. Lenders such as Nationwide BS make it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender will appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancing firm. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Ahli United Bank immediately. (b) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Ahli United Bank’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Ahli United Bank know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Ahli United Bank to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Ahli United Bank are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Ahli United Bank recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Ahli United Bank recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Ahli United Bank have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers report or comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Ahli United Bank or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel

Ahli United Bank approved solicitors are bound by the Part II instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if Ahli United Bank require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Ahli United Bank CML Part 2 conditions to see if Ahli United Bank have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel

With mortgage companies and conveyancers working so closely with one another it is surprising that there has not been much call for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Ahli United Bank conveyancing panel but for all mortgage panel listings

You should supply details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not adversely impact your application but gives the CQS team viability as to what has occured.

You would be advised to get in touch with Ahli United Bank to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an express question for lenders to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Ahli United Bank in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to disclose the firm’s Ahli United Bank solicitors panel number.