Frequently asked questions relating to the Paratus AMC Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
The conveyancer my husband and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said she will levy higher legal fees if my lender is because of their unusual legal requirements. Will I regret using Paratus AMC? Any comments will be appreciated
Paratus AMC conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the Paratus AMC conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as Paratus AMC will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
My grandson is about to exchange on a newly built flat with a mortgage from Paratus AMC. His conveyancer has said that there is a delay in receiving 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 engaged in the purchase. Therefore, it will be provided to your son’s lawyer who should be on the Paratus AMC 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 Paratus AMC conveyancing panel solicitor as early as possible, in order to avoid any last minute delays, and no later than at exchange of contracts.
I have checked your search tool I can't find the lawyer I was hoping to instruct as being on the Paratus AMC conveyancing panel. My lawyer has said that they are on the Paratus AMC 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 Paratus AMC 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 Paratus AMC solicitor panel.
My house is up for sale and I have a buyer. Does my solicitor have to be on the Paratus AMC conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Paratus AMC 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.
I had instructed online conveyancers located in Bristol who are on the Paratus AMC solicitor panel. They have just invoiced me a separate fee of £195 for dealing with the Paratus AMC mortgage. Is this a supplemental conveyancing fee specified by Paratus AMC?
Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by Paratus AMC but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Paratus AMC will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
I have paid off my mortgage with Paratus AMC. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Paratus AMC panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Please confirm
If you have finished paying off your Paratus AMC mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the Paratus AMC mortgage from the register. Paratus AMC,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the Paratus AMC has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Paratus AMC has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Paratus AMC mortgage has been paid off.
I recently had an offer accepted on a house. My mortgage broker recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 175. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the Paratus AMC conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?
You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Paratus AMC panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.