Paragon Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
A solicitor I had intended to instruct on a remortgage said he will levy higher legal fees if my lender is because of their difficult processes! Am I likely to be frustrated using Paragon Mortgages? Is Paragon Mortgages conveyancing so much more difficult?
Paragon Mortgages conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Paragon Mortgages will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My partner and I are refinancing our penthouse with Paragon Mortgages. We have a son 18 who lives with us. The solicitor on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is forfeited by the lender. I have a couple of questions (1) Is this form unique to the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we bought 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights to inherit the property?
On the face of it your lawyer has done nothing wrong as it is established procedure for any occupier who is aged 17 or over to sign the necessary Consent Form, which is purely to state that any rights he has in the property are postponed and secondary to Paragon Mortgages .This is solely used to protect the Paragon Mortgages if the property were re-possessed so that in such circumstances, your son would be legally obliged to leave.
It does not impact your son’s right to inherit the apartment. Please note that if your son were to inherit and the mortgage in favour of Paragon Mortgages had not been discharged, he would be liable to take over the loan or pay it off, but other than that, there is nothing stopping him from keeping the property in accordance with your will or the rules of intestacy.
Do banks and building societies provide you with an approved list of solicitors? How do you know who is on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel?
The firms themselves provide us confirmation that they are on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel as opposed to being supplied with a list from Paragon Mortgages directly.
My uncle passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Paragon Mortgages , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Paragon Mortgages will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Paragon Mortgages mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. The Law Society’s CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of firms.
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Paragon Mortgages do solicitors have to be pay a fee to be on the list of approved solicitors?
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.
Is it the case that all solicitor practices on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Paragon Mortgages conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).