Examples of recent questions relating to the Whistletree Solicitor Panel from members of the public
What is the rationale as to why all UK lawyers aren't included on the Whistletree Solicitor panel?
As unjust as it may seem for Whistletree to restrict who can act for them from the public’s or solicitor’s point of view, the other side of the coin is that the lenders are becoming ever more anxious and feel the necessary need to protect them from mortgage fraud and other illegal activities. As a result of this concern Whistletree are limiting their panel of approved conveyancing lawyers to a manageable size. The Whistletree conveyancing panel is not the most exclusive of all lenders
Our lawyer has informed me that he requires ID documents asserting that this is part of his legal duty as a conveyancer on the Whistletree Solicitor panel. Am I being spun a yarn?
Anti-terror and anti-money-laundering rules require solicitors and licensed conveyancers to verify the identity of the person or body they are dealing with before they can accept their conveyancing business. The Terms and Conditions that you need to sign will no doubt confirm this. Your lawyer is right that Whistletree also require certain documents to be viewed. If a you refuse to provide ID verification documents, your conveyancer would not be able to accept instructions from you. Your lawyer also has obligations to obtain certain documents in accordance with Whistletree CML Handbook requirements last updated on Whistletree
Is it necessary during the course of the conveyancing process to attend the offices of the Whistletree conveyancing panel solicitor to execute the mortgage deed? If so, I will instruct a firm who offer conveyancing in Bristol
so that I can attend their offices if required.
Whereas this was necessary ten years ago, most lenders no longer require their conveyancing panel solicitor to witness the borrowers signature. You will still be obliged to provide ID Documents and there are still distinct advantages to using a local solicitor, in your case a conveyancing solicitor in Bristol
.
I was supposed to move into my flat last Thursday. My solicitor is on the Whistletree conveyancing panel but has changed address in the past couple of months and had not informed Whistletree of their new address. Whistletree has locked down the release of mortgage funds until such time as their systems are up to date with the correct details.
This is a rare situation indeed. Most lender Terms of Conveyancing Panel Appointment specifically oblige the solicitor to inform the lender of an address change. Your solicitor needs to treat this with the utmost urgency. Do speak with or register your concern with the senior partner (assuming he or she is not your direct lawyer). Most lenders would be reasonable in this situation and expedite the resolution of this issue. It may be prudent to enlist the help of your local Whistletree branch or your mortgage broker to see if they can assist.
Do the majority of lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Whistletree conveyancing panel requirements are different to Whistletree’s conveyancing panel requirements.
After much negotiation I have agreed a price on an apartment. My financial adviser recommended their conveyancers I paid an upfront payment of 150. Soon after the conveyancers contacted me to say that they were not on the Whistletree 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 Whistletree 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.
My offer on house has been accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have offered on somewhere, but not been accepted yet, and have viewings of other properties booked. My conveyancing solicitor has been instructed. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage app going with Whistletree?
It is usual to have concerns where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (mortgage application is approx £1k, then survey/valuation, conveyancing search costs, etc). First you should check that your solicitor is on the Whistletree conveyancing panel. As to the next stages this very much depends on the circumstances of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot mortgage some buyers would pally for the mortgage with Whistletree and pay for the valuation and only if it comes back ok would they pay their solicitor to press on with searches.