Masthaven Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders, together with Masthaven Bank and other members developed a standard set of requirements where a conveyancer is representing a lender such as Masthaven Bank alone in a residential conveyancing matter. These legal instructions are contained at Part III of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook and are to be read in conjunction with Part I and II. The CML have published an example requirements letter to the borrower’s conveyancer for adaptation by the lender's conveyancer, and sets out to the borrower's conveyancer, the documentary and information requirements of the lender's panel lawyer.

Many estate agents are suffering if their clients start out on the buying process having appointed a conveyancer who is not on the panel with the purchaser’s chosen lender. Many conveyancing firms are only discovering when they begin working on a case that they are no longer able to work with that lender. Given the inevitable resultant delays in the transaction the chances of an abortive deal increases dramatically. in the circumstances there is understandable anguish on the part of the estate agent as a result of the lost time should the client have to change solicitors .

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

List of all those who fund the firm, including non-lawyers if applicable

Areas of Law covered by the firm

Full career history for each solicitor including admission date to the relevant Law Society

Structure of firm and, where applicable, its group

Number of lender conveyancing panels the firm is currently on

Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

List of all Licensed Conveyancers within firm

Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Masthaven Bank 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 Masthaven Bank panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Masthaven Bank 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 Masthaven Bank’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 Masthaven Bank. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Masthaven Bank’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 Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel.

You should provide 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 firm’s application but gives the Law Society a complete picture of what has gone on.

You would be advised to get in touch with Masthaven Bank to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an express inquiry for banks to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Masthaven Bank in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose the firm’s Masthaven Bank solicitors panel number.