Zephyr Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

Paragraph 16.2.1 of Part 1 of the Handbook relevant to a solicitor on the Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel reads ‘Our mortgage secures further advances. Consequently, when a further advance is required for alterations or improvements to the property we will not normally instruct a member of our conveyancing panel but if you are instructed the appropriate provisions of this Handbook will apply’.

We can't comment specifically on Zephyr Mortgages. Many major lenders are now introducing ‘file auditing’ as standard practice in relation to completed matters. This raises questions of confidentiality in relation to the buyer client and the purpose to which the results of such audits will be put. The starting point is to remember that the file does not belong to your firm, it belongs to the ‘client’. But, of course, we will normally have two clients – the buyer and the lender - and you will owe a duty of confidentiality to each. So basically, you have to separate the file and just send the lender the parts solely relating to themselves. But, of course, as this will basically be correspondence with the lender, mortgage instructions etc.

Check with your COLP but a firm should not send the complete conveyancing file without the buyer client’s express consent – and if she is in arrears with the lender he is hardly likely to agree. However, if the lender can establish a prima facie case of fraud, then you may be under an obligation to disclose the whole file.

The emerging convention is that lenders are including an authority to disclose in loan application forms to counter this problem. Mortgage Express v Sawali, [2010] EWHC 3054 (Ch) indicates that such provisions are valid. Please click here for more information about that case.

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

With mortgage companies and property lawyers working so closely together 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 Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel but for all mortgage panel listings

The Law Society’s CQS membership 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 panels. Some mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel acceptance such as Santander.

You need to get in touch with Zephyr Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates a specific section for lenders to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Zephyr Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose your Zephyr Mortgages conveyancing panel number.