Hodge Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Hodge are silent on this. Most mortgage companies address the question of file retention via their Terms and Conditions where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for at least of 6 years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect Hodge’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Hodge requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Hodge’s conveyancing panel appointment.

The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the Hodge 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.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Hodge conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

With banks and property lawyers 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 Hodge conveyancing panel but for all mortgage panel listings

In this situation please explain on the form what steps you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Hodge panel status. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before cessation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender advising you as to their reasons?

You need to communicate with Hodge to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an individual section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Hodge in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose the firm’s Hodge conveyancing panel number.