Find an Approved Solicitor on the Precise Mortgages (Charter Court Financial Services Ltd)
Conveyancing Panel
Q and A’s regarding the Precise Mortgages Conveyancing Panel
My fiance and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our solicitor has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Precise Mortgages have this morning contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our solicitor is not on their approved list of lawyers. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Your property lawyers should contact Precise Mortgages and see if they can apply for membership of the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Precise Mortgages will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
I am purchasing a newly built duplex and my solicitor is informing me that she has to disclose incentives from the seller as her practice is on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel. I am under pressure to sign contracts and I have no desire to prolong deal. is my lawyer taking the correct approach?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Precise Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Precise Mortgages). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
Are there any apps to help find a local solicitor on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel? I have a car and am prepared to travel up to 25 kilometers to meet the conveyancer.
You can use the find a conveyancing panel tool on this page. Please choose the lender and your location and you will see a number of lawyer located nearest you. Alternatively you can type in the name of your proposed law firm and see if they are listed as being on the Precise Mortgages solicitor panel.
My lawyers in Newcastle have advised me that they can not locate my conveyancing file. To assist with my purchase I took out a mortgage with Precise Mortgages. Is it case that being on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel they need to have retained the file for a number of years?
Different lenders have different requirements but many of the Terms and Conditions of Conveyancing Panel Appointment require the file to be held for a period of 6 years. That being said we have not seen a copy of the Precise Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Terms. It might be worth you contacting Precise Mortgages directly.
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with Precise Mortgages. Solicitors have been chosen? How long does it take for Precise Mortgages to send the offer to our conveyancer
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Precise Mortgages done the valuation? Have you advised Precise Mortgages as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through
We expect to receive a DIP from Precise Mortgages this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we are dependent on web based calculators (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc).Do the Precise Mortgages recommend a solicitor on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer
You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the Precise Mortgages through the process.
I recently had an offer accepted on an apartment. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Precise Mortgages 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 Precise Mortgages 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.