Intelligent Finance Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Licensed Conveyancers has entered dialogue with banks and their representative bodies to see whether and how the risks that lenders wish to mitigate could be addressed through the regulatory framework rather than via ad hoc arrangements that can differ from lender to lender. We expect that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as Intelligent Finance since 2008 which is when lenders started being more restrictive.

When a solicitor is acting for both Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel status.

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 Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

There are various requirements you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (a) 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 Intelligent Finance immediately. (II) 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 Intelligent Finance’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Intelligent Finance know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Intelligent Finance to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Intelligent Finance are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Intelligent Finance 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. Intelligent Finance recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Intelligent Finance 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 survey or structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. Some mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with HSBC.

You need to communicate with Intelligent Finance to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an individual section for lenders to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Intelligent Finance in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose the firm’s Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel reference.