LendInvest Conveyancing Panel Information

Lexsure only know of a couple of banks that operate a separate conveyancing panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. You should nevertheless check directly with LendInvest. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with LendInvest

You might expect LendInvest via their Part 2 conditions to address this but the Handbook makes no mention on deadlines to send deeds. You need to look at the Terms of LendInvest’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you entered into. For a number of banks these Terms include 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 LendInvest informed. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

Most lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with LendInvest as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from LendInvest we suggest that you call LendInvest to check the position.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as LendInvest 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 LendInvest panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and LendInvest have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires LendInvest’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 LendInvest. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to LendInvest’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 LendInvest conveyancing panel.

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms. A number of Lenders now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel approval as is the case with HSBC.

You need to communicate with LendInvest to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook includes an individual section for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. LendInvest in their Part 2’s state: You will need to disclose the firm’s LendInvest solicitors panel number.