Pepper Homeloans Solicitor Panel Example Support Desk Enquires from members of the public
My fiance and I are FTBs. Within the 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with a view to exchanging next week. Pepper Homeloans have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. Please explain?
When purchasing a property with the benefit 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 Quality Scheme. Your solicitors should contact Pepper Homeloans and see if they can apply for membership of the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Pepper Homeloans will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our conveyancer has identified a problem with the lease for the apartment we are buying. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will pay for it. Our lawyer has advised that as he is on the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or Pepper Homeloans?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and Pepper Homeloans are the client. A precondition to being on the Pepper Homeloans approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Pepper Homeloans). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that Pepper Homeloans 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 all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel in order to deal with paying off my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Pepper Homeloans 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 previously instructed online solicitors based in Cardiff who are on the Pepper Homeloans solicitor panel. They are now charging me a separate fee of £175 for the legal aspects of the Pepper Homeloans mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee set by Pepper Homeloans?
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 Pepper Homeloans but by your lawyers. Some firms on the Pepper Homeloans will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.
My wife and I have arranged a further advance on our mortgage from Pepper Homeloans as we wish to carry out a loft conversion to our home. Do we need to appoint a solicitor on the Pepper Homeloans conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?
Pepper Homeloans do not ordinarily instruct firms on 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 Pepper Homeloans list
My ex -wife’s name is on the Pepper Homeloans mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the Pepper Homeloans mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the Pepper Homeloans mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of Pepper Homeloans in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.