Intelligent Finance Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers from members of the public
I instructed a solicitor to conduct the legal paperwork on my house purchase 4 weeks ago having applied for a mortgage with Intelligent Finance. The law firm reassured me that they are on Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel and provided me their panel number. Intelligent Finance then called me to say that their panel number was dormant and would need to be reactivated. What do I do from here? Do I instruct a different law firm listed on the conveyancing panel for Intelligent Finance?
The answer depends on whether you still have confidence in the said solicitors and how long it will take for the firm to be reinstated on the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel You may wish to enlist the help of your broker to check with the Intelligent Finance as to how long they think it will take to get the firm to get back on the panel.
My son-in-law is buying a house that has just been built with a home loan from Intelligent Finance. His conveyancer has advised him of a delay in completing the ‘Disclosure of Incentive Form’. This document is news to me - what is it and who needs sight of it?
The document is intended to provide information to the main parties involved in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel as a standard part of the process, and to the valuer when requested.
The Developer will be required to start the process by downloading the form and completing it.
The form will therefore need to be available for the valuer at the time of his or her site visit. The form should be sent to the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
Having used your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance solicitor panel.
Please explain the implications if my solicitor is suspended from the Intelligent Finance Solicitor panel prior to completion?
The first thing to point out is that, this is a very rare occurrence. In most cases even where a law firm is removed off of a panel the lender would allow the completion to go ahead as the lender would appreciate the difficulties that they would place you in if you have ti instruct a new solicitor days before completion. In a worst case scenario where the lender insists that you instruct a new firm then it is possible for a very good lawyer to expedite the conveyancing albeit that you may pay a significant premium for this. The analogous situation is where a buyer instructs a lawyer, exchanges contracts and the law firm is shut down by the regulator such as the SRA. Again, in this situation you can find lawyers who can troubleshoot their way to bring the conveyancing to a satisfactory conclusion - albeit for a fee.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
There is generally no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
We are getting a further advance on our mortgage from Intelligent Finance as we wish to carry out alterations or improvements our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Intelligent Finance would not normally instruct a member of their approved list of lawyers to deal with such a matter. If they did require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Intelligent Finance list
I have a mortgage with Intelligent Finance. Conveyancing was finalised some time ago. Should I wish to rent out my property and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a BTL mortgage or inform Intelligent Finance?
Intelligent Finance must be informed of your intention prior to letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Intelligent Finance’s mortgage conditions. It may be that Intelligent Finance 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 Intelligent Finance directly. You need not do this via a Intelligent Finance conveyancing panel solicitor.