FAQs for the Masthaven Bank Solicitor Panel from members of the public
For what reasons would a law firm be removed from the Masthaven Bank approved conveyancing panel?
According to a recent survey report by the solicitors regulator three quarters of solicitor practices had been removed from a lender panel. The most common reasons in order are :
- Low volume of transactions
- the lawyer is a sole practitioner
- as part of the HSBC panel reduction
- regulatory contact by SRA
- accidental removal. We are not aware of the specific or common criteria for removal by Masthaven Bank
My wife and I intend to remortgage our maisonette with Masthaven Bank. We have a son approaching twenty who lives with us. The solicitor on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel requested us to identify any adults other than ourselves who reside at the property. The solicitor has now sent a form for our son to sign, giving up any rights in the event that the property is repossessed. I have two concerns (1) Is this document specific to the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel as he did not need to sign this form when we purchased 5 years ago (2) Does our son by signing this giving up his rights 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 Masthaven Bank .This is solely used to protect the Masthaven Bank 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 Masthaven Bank 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 note that you have a post code search directory listing solicitors on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I retain them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
We're in Liverpool, First time buyers buying with a mortgage (lender is Masthaven Bank , but our solicitor is on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel). How long should the conveyancing process take?
The fact that your lawyer is on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel is a help. It would almost certainly delay matters if they were not. However, no conveyancer should guarantee a time-frame for your conveyancing due to third parties outside of our control such as delays caused by lenders,conveyancing search providers or by the other side’s solicitors. The time taken is often determined by the number of parties in a chain
When it comes to mortgage companies such as Masthaven Bank do lawyers have to be pay a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?
We are not aware of any lender fees to be on their panel although some do charge an administration charge to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel application.
Is it the case that all conveyancing solicitors on the Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge basis?
On the whole there are 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
On the whole I have been dissatisfied with the level or service received from my lawyer. Is there a Masthaven Bank conveyancing panel complaints department or do I complain directly to the law firm?
Complaining to Masthaven Bank about their conveyancing panel is unlikely to yield much of a response. Every solicitor firm and conveyancer must have a complaints procedure. You can get information from the solicitor’s or conveyancer’s website or ask at their office. They must tell you about it if you ask.
The Legal Ombudsman will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the solicitor. It can also advise you how to complain.
If a licensed conveyancer does not have a complaints procedure or will not tell you about it, contact the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), which will make sure that your complaint is properly dealt with by the conveyancer. Please see below for more information.