JPMorgan Conveyancing Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
I am selling my maisonette and the estate agent has just texted me to advise that the purchasers are switching law firm. The excuse is that JPMorgan will only engage with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a leading mortgage company only deal with specific 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 25 years.
Banks blame a rise in fraud by way of justification 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.
Our conveyancer has identified a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing. The other side have offered title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or JPMorgan?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and JPMorgan are the client. A precondition to being on the JPMorgan approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on JPMorgan). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that JPMorgan can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Do I need to pop into the offices of the JPMorgan conveyancing panel solicitor to sign the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Newcastle
so that I can pop in to their offices when needed.
As opposed to ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Newcastle
.
The firm that I recently instructed on my purchase in Manchester has suddenly closed. They were on acting for me because I had to have a solicitor on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel and my previous lawyer was not. I gave them a cheque for £150 in advance. What do I do now?
If you have an estate agent involved then inform them straight away so that they advise the vendors that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You will need to appoint new lawyers that are on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new solicitors may be able to assist
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from JPMorgan as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
JPMorgan 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 JPMorgan list
We have a mortgage agreed in principle with JPMorgan. Solicitors have been instructed? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from JPMorgan?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have JPMorgan done the valuation? Have you advised JPMorgan as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through
My offer was accepted on an apartment on the 7th March 2014, valuation was booked 3 days after, all came back fine. Conveyancer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to JPMorgan and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for JPMorgan to deal with your lawyers application to be on the JPMorgan conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.