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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
Q and A’s regarding the Mortgage Agency Services Solicitor Panel
I am selling my flat and the EA has just e-mailed to warn that the buyers are changing their property lawyer. The excuse is that Mortgage Agency Services will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only work with certain lawyers?
Banks have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for decades.
Banks point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Much to my surprise my lawyer is asking me for proof of ID documents stating that this forms part of his legal duty as a solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing panel. Is this right?
Due to Money Laundering Regulations your conveyancing lawyer is duty bound to confirm positively your identification when entering into a business relationship with you. It is a criminal offense if your lawyer not do this. If you do not provide ID early in the transaction the solicitor must refuse to act for you. It’s unlikely a lawyer will turn you away if you come to the first meeting without relevant ID but you will have to produce it at some point so you might as well bring it with you to the initial meeting so the lawyer can tick the ID verification box and start sorting out the conveyancing straight away. If you are getting a mortgage with Mortgage Agency Services your lawyer also has to check ID documents to satisfy Mortgage Agency Services
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to have a meeting at the offices of the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will choose one who does conveyancing in Leeds
so that I can attend their offices if necessary.
As opposed to 12 years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Leeds
.
I was due to complete on my first house yesterday. My solicitor is on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel but has moved offices 8 weeks ago and had not advised Mortgage Agency Services of their new address. Mortgage Agency Services is now refusing to release my funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is as unusual as it is unlucky. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Mortgage Agency Services branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can help.
Hi, thinking about buying a house off my mate. Once we agree a price, what’s the best way to proceed? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Mortgage Agency Services. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save us both money? My dad reckons back in the day he did a lot of it himself, just went into the land registry office and providing them with the info they needed himself
If you are getting a mortgage with Mortgage Agency Services involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Mortgage Agency Services. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel.
The mortgage over my property is with Mortgage Agency Services. Conveyancing was finalised months ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Mortgage Agency Services?
Mortgage Agency Services must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Mortgage Agency Services’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Mortgage Agency Services directly. It should not be necessary to do this via a Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel firm.
Me and my partner are remortgaging a garden flat in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beappointed. My colleagueadvised that we check that the property lawyer in Hendon is on the Mortgage Agency Services solicitors panel. Is this really necessary?
Not all Hendon conveyancing practices are on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to locate a Hendon conveyancing solicitor on the on the Mortgage Agency Services approved list of lawyers.