MBS Lending Ltd Solicitor Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
My wife and I are FTBs. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. MBS Lending Ltd have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their conveyancing panel. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme. Your property lawyers should contact MBS Lending Ltd and see if they can apply for membership of the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable MBS Lending Ltd will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case your legal fees may increase, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Can you clarify something for me?. My lawyer is not to blame but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from MBS Lending Ltd was dated random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6 months + 3. My lawyer informs me that as she is on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the MBS Lending Ltd approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on MBS Lending Ltd)which states that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to MBS Lending Ltd.
I require the services of a MBS Lending Ltd panel solicitor in Inverness. Can you assist?
It is not clear why you need a MBS Lending Ltd panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to MBS Lending Ltd to find out which solicitors in MBS Lending Ltd are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. At a fee of one pound per month it is not expensive to register on the site
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Is the case that all CQS (Conveyancing Quality Scheme) solicitors on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel?
Some major lenders now use the accreditation scheme as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS accreditation however gives 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 join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors.
Can you point me to a directory of MBS Lending Ltd panel conveyancers on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
Is it the case that all solicitors on the MBS Lending Ltd conveyancing panel regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?
As solicitors, in order to be on the MBS Lending Ltd 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).