Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel Information

The CLC has begun 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 Mortgage Agency Services in the recent past.

One might ordinarily expect Mortgage Agency Services via their Part Two requirements to address this but the Handbook is silent on deadlines to send deeds. You need to look at the Terms of Mortgage Agency Services’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you previously signed. For a number of banks these Terms have a provision 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 imperative to keep Mortgage Agency Services updated. 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 Mortgage Agency Services as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Mortgage Agency Services we suggest that you call Mortgage Agency Services to check the position.

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

Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Mortgage Agency Services solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You would be advised to communicate with Mortgage Agency Services to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes a specific question for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Mortgage Agency Services in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to quote your Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel reference.