The Mortgage Works Conveyancing Panel Information

The CML is not a regulator and therefore will not advise on complaints against lenders. You can of course contact Lexsure to see if we can help.

The majority of 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 The Mortgage Works as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from The Mortgage Works we suggest that you call The Mortgage Works to check the position.

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

The Mortgage Works approved solicitors have to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if The Mortgage Works require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check The Mortgage Works UK Finance Part 2 conditions to see if The Mortgage Works have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel

The Law Society’s CQS membership gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Some mortgage companies now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel membership as is the case with HSBC.

You should contact The Mortgage Works to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an individual inquiry for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. The Mortgage Works in their Part 2’s state: It helps to disclose your The Mortgage Works conveyancing panel reference.