Paratus Conveyancing Panel Information

As is the case with the Law Society the CLC has initiated discussions with lenders 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 Paratus in recent years.

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data
• Buy to Let transactions
• The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale/purchase and remortgage)
• Average mortgage advance
• Analysis as to the nature of clients (e.g.existing/new/seen in person)

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 Paratus 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.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (I) You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Paratus immediately. (II) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Paratus’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Paratus know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Paratus to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Paratus conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Paratus are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) Paratus recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Paratus recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Paratus have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers survey or comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Paratus or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Paratus conveyancing panel

We would recommend that you supply details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not adversely impact your application but gives the Law Society a complete picture of what has happened.

You need to contact Paratus to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates an express question for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Paratus in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose the firm’s Paratus conveyancing panel reference.