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Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Foundation list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.
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How does my firm apply to be on the Foundation Home Loans Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Foundation Home Loans Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Foundation Home Loans Conveyancing Panel
FAQs : The Foundation Home loans Solicitor Panel
Is there a reason why all property lawyers are not on the Foundation Home loans Conveyancing panel?
Pre- 2008 most lenders had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing solicitors that you are dealing with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many firms that have been excluded from lender panels have 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the lenders required.
My conveyancer has discovered a difference when comparing the surveyor’s assumptions in Foundation Home loans’s home valuation survey and what is in the legal papers for the property. My solicitor informs me that as he is on the Foundation Home loans conveyancing panel he is obliged to check that the lender is with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s stance right?
A precondition to being on the Foundation Home loans approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Foundation Home loans) which do require that your lawyer disclose any incorrect assumptions in the lender’s valuation report and the legal papers. Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for both parties.
I have been Googling for online conveyancing estimates. Can I be confident that all the firms that are identified on your directory are on the Foundation Home loans conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have advised us that they are on the Foundation Home loans panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Foundation Home loans panel. To date we have not been informed by either a mortgage company or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Foundation Home loans conveyancing panel is not accurate.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Foundation Home loans Conveyancing panel in advance of the completion date?
First, this is very unlikely to happen. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit at a cost.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Foundation Home loans do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Foundation Home loans as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Foundation Home loans conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Foundation Home loans would not normally appoint a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Foundation Home loans list
My husband and I are remortgaging a terraced house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon are about to beretained. My friendadvised that we check that the conveyancer in Hendon is on the Foundation Home loans panel. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
Not all Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the Foundation Home loans conveyancing panel. 8 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the Foundation Home loans list of approved conveyancing firms.
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Transfer of Equity for Foundation Home loansPlease note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors