NRAM Ltd Conveyancing Panel Information

The CML Part II requirements of NRAM Ltd are silent on this. Most mortgage companies address the issue of file retention via their Terms and Conditions where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for a minimum six years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect NRAM Ltd’s interest. To be absolutely sure of NRAM Ltd requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of NRAM Ltd’s conveyancing panel membership.

Please tread carefully here as what you are intending may not be acceptable to the mortgage company. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not at liberty instruct a panel firm of your choice. Many lenders make it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender will appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancer. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations. You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the NRAM Ltd conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.

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

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 conveyancing solicitors. Some Lenders now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as Santander.

You need to contact NRAM Ltd to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an express section for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. NRAM Ltd in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to disclose the firm’s NRAM Ltd conveyancing panel reference.