Royal Bank of Scotland Conveyancing Panel Information

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

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

Assuming that your practice in is on the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel and you are acting for 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 Royal Bank of Scotland are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Royal Bank of Scotland’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Royal Bank of Scotland will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Royal Bank of Scotland alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee landlord.

With mortgage companies and property lawyers working so closely with one another it is surprising that there has not been greater demand for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel but for all lender panel listings

CQS accreditation gives 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 panels. Some mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel acceptance such as HSBC.

You need to communicate with Royal Bank of Scotland to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an individual inquiry for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Royal Bank of Scotland in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote the firm’s Royal Bank of Scotland conveyancing panel reference.