April Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my house and the estate agent has just telephoned to advise that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The reason given is that April Mortgages will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with certain solicitors?
Lenders 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 Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Banks blame a rise 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
My lawyer has identified an inconsistency when comparing the information in April Mortgages’s valuation survey and what is in the title deeds. My solicitor informs me that as he is on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this discrepancy and is content go ahead. Is my conveyancer’s approach correct?
A precondition to being on the April Mortgages approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on April Mortgages) 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.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the April Mortgages 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 April Mortgages 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 April Mortgages solicitor panel.
I am in the process of remortgaging my home does my lawyer have to be on the April Mortgages Conveyancing panel?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on April Mortgages conveyancing panel, but April Mortgages would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same transaction.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel?
A selection of banks and building societies now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however gives no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. That being said,the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms.
Intending to buy a house with a mortgage with April Mortgages. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel
My ex -wife’s name is on the April Mortgages mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the April Mortgages mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the April Mortgages mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of April Mortgages in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.