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approved by Mortgage Agency Services
Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Mortgage Agency Services 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 Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel? How can my firm be reinstated onto the Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel?Find an Approved Solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel
Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions
Am I correct in assuming that the fact that my solicitor is not on the Mortgage Agency Services Solicitor panel that there is a problem with the standard of her conveyancing?
That would more than likely be a wrong assumption to make. There are all sorts of perfectly reasonable explanations. A recent report by the solicitors regulator indicated 76% of law firms surveyed had been removed from at least one lender panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows: (1) lack of transactions (2) the lawyer is a sole practitioner (3) as part of the HSBC panel reduction (4) regulatory contact by SRA (5) accidental removal. If you are concerned you should simply call the firm and ask them why they are no longer on the approved list for Mortgage Agency Services.
Our conveyancing solicitor is asking me for proof of ID documents asserting that this is part of his obligations as a solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services Solicitor panel. Can this be correct?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Client Care letter that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Mortgage Agency Services also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Mortgage Agency Services CML Handbook requirements last updated on Mortgage Agency Services
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Mortgage Agency Services approved panel. How can I be sure given that they are not listed on your directory?
Not all firms are yet listed on our lender panel search tool which is still relatively new. Law firms are listing on a daily basis and it is probably the case that your lawyer is on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing lawyer and you should probably take them at their word. Please do feel free to suggest that they completing their listing on our site as it would only cost them £1 a month to list themselves as being on the Mortgage Agency Services solicitor panel.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Can you point me to a directory of Mortgage Agency Services panel solicitors on the CML Handbook Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Mortgage Agency Services as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Mortgage Agency Services do not ordinarily instruct a member of their conveyancing panel 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 Mortgage Agency Services panel
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My mortgage broker pressured me to appoint their lawyers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Mortgage Agency Services panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.