MPowered Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders do not keep duplicates of the Part 2's Pre January 2011. The CML recommend you make a request of MPowered Mortgages directly.

In the same way that there is a unique MPowered Mortgages conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

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

On the basis that your firm in is on the MPowered Mortgages conveyancing panel and you are instructed by them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If MPowered Mortgages are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check MPowered Mortgages’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether MPowered Mortgages will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for MPowered Mortgages alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

In this situation please clarify on the form what steps you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your MPowered Mortgages panel status. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before revocation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender informing you as to why they reached this decision?

You need to get in touch with MPowered Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an express inquiry for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. MPowered Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: It helps to quote your MPowered Mortgages conveyancing panel reference.