April Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The requirements to join the April Mortgages conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

One might ordinarily expect April Mortgages via their Part 2 obligations to address this but the Handbook is silent on deadlines to send deeds. You need to look at the Terms of April Mortgages’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you entered into. For many lender's these Terms contain a clause such as: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is important to keep April Mortgages informed. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

In order to be on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily April Mortgages) are as follows:

• That any deeds you borrow from us in connection with the personal mortgage of a partner or director at your firm must be requested by a partner or director other than the partner or director concerned and the transaction must be handled by that other partner or director. If you are a sole practitioner and require the loan of deeds in connection with your own mortgage, you must nominate a different firm on our panel to request the deeds and handle the transaction.
• To be responsible for the reconstitution of the title deeds (whether the title is registered or unregistered, at your own cost), where any deeds in your possession, or were last known to be in your possession, go missing.
• To forward the title deeds and documents to another solicitor/conveyancer within 24 hours of an instruction from us requiring you to do so. On forwarding the deeds as instructed you will confirm to us that you have done so. Upon receipt of your confirmation, we will release you from all undertakings relating to your holding the title deeds.
• To carry out our instructions with reasonable care and skill, ensuring that all employees carrying out mortgage work on our behalf are qualified and competent to do so
• If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.

The key here is the caveat ‘more onerous’. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the April Mortgages conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.

We would recommend that you 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 negatively affect your application but gives the Law Society viability as to what has gone on.

You should communicate with April Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook incorporates an individual section for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. April Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: It helps to quote the firm’s April Mortgages solicitors panel reference.