Kensington Mortgage Solicitor Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
I have been advised by my broker that I have to pay Kensington Mortgage fees if I use my own solicitor. How good are the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel solicitors? I'm happy to use any solicitor in the country TBH provided that they are good and not exorbitantly priced. Would you recommend a specific law firm on the Kensington Mortgage panel?
Kensington Mortgage’s conveyancing panel is substantial so it would be advisable to check with the firms you are getting quotes from that they are on the panel. You can search by postcode on the search tool on this site to find solicitors that Kensington Mortgage will allow to act for them.
My fiance and I are refinancing our apartment with Kensington Mortgage. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel has asked us to disclose anyone over the age of 17 other than ourselves who lives in the flat. Our lawyer has now e-mailed a document for our son to sign, waiving any legal rights in the event that the flat is forfeited by the lender. I have two concerns (1) Is this form unique to the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 4 years ago (2) In signing this form is our son in any way compromising his right 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 Kensington Mortgage .This is solely used to protect the Kensington Mortgage 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 Kensington Mortgage 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.
I require the services of a Kensington Mortgage panel solicitor in Inverness. Can you assist?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a Kensington Mortgage panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to Kensington Mortgage to find out which solicitors in Kensington Mortgage are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month
Can you clarify what the consequences are if my solicitor is removed from the Kensington Mortgage Solicitor panel in advance of 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.
Are all Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel?
It is true that some lenders now use CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation 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 remain on their panels.
The for formalities of my purchase has taken place with a mortgage from Kensington Mortgage. Conveyancing was of an acceptable standard but I would like to complain about Kensington Mortgage. How do I make a complaint?
Most banks and building societies have complaints procedures. Your first port of call should be one of the Kensington Mortgage branches or the Customer Care Department at Kensington Mortgage head office. Ordinarily complaints to Kensington Mortgage are resolved very quickly. If you feel that the matter is not resolved you can write to the
Financial Ombudsman Service who will take matters further.
I had an offer accepted on a property on the 5th February 2014, valuation was booked 4 days later, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Kensington Mortgage and chasing them on my offer I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel. Are Kensington Mortgage entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Kensington Mortgage to deal with your lawyers application to be on the Kensington Mortgage conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitors will be accepted.