Hodge Equity Release Conveyancing Panel Information

We can't comment specifically on Hodge Equity Release. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the borrower and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if she is in arrears with the lender she is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

When a solicitor is acting for both Hodge Equity Release and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender the solicitor must cease to act for the Hodge Equity Release and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Hodge Equity Release the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your Hodge Equity Release conveyancing panel status.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Hodge Equity Release to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Hodge Equity Release panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Hodge Equity Release have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new UK Finance Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Hodge Equity Release’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Hodge Equity Release. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Hodge Equity Release’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Hodge Equity Release conveyancing panel.

7 people attempt to locate a solicitor on the Hodge Equity Release panel each month in Hendon. Please contact the team at lenderpanel.com to see how your firm can be listed by those searching for conveyancing in Hendon.

It would be advisable to 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 need to get in touch with Hodge Equity Release to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes a specific inquiry for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Hodge Equity Release in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote your Hodge Equity Release solicitors panel reference.