April Mortgages Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
I am in the process of selling my house and the EA has just texted me to say that the buyers are appointing a new property lawyer. I am told that this is due to the fact that April Mortgages will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only deal with specific law firms?
Banks have always had panels 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 25 years.
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 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.
Can you help?. My lawyer is not to blame but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from April Mortgages was issued random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 10 days inc Day of week eg. Mon. My lawyer has advised that as she is on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
One of the many conditions 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 states that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to April Mortgages.
I note that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My grandfather passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to April Mortgages , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then April Mortgages will insist on your using a conveyancer on the April 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 April 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 April Mortgages mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
is it true that all conveyancing solicitors on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
We expect to receive a DIP from April 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 April Mortgages recommend a solicitor on the April 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 April Mortgages conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the April Mortgages through the process.
My husband and I are acquiring a terraced house in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon will soon beretained. My fatheradvised that we enquire that the conveyancing practitioner in Hendon is on the April Mortgages list of approved conveyancing firms. Surely I don't need to do this, do I?
It is not that case that all Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the April Mortgages conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing lawyer on the on the April Mortgages panel.