Aldermore Bank Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders do not maintain historic copies of P2 requirements pre-December 2010. We would recommend you contact Aldermore Bank directly.

In the same way that there is a unique Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Aldermore Bank to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Aldermore Bank panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Aldermore Bank have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Aldermore Bank’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Aldermore Bank. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Aldermore Bank’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel.

Assuming that your practice in is on the Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel and you are representing them in relation to a leasehold property, you must report to them if it becomes apparent that the landlord is either absent or insolvent. If Aldermore Bank are to lend, they may require indemnity insurance. In any event,you will need to check Aldermore Bank’s specific requirements. Notwithstanding whether Aldermore Bank will lend in such circumstances you still need to advise the borrower (unless you are acting for Aldermore Bank alone) as to the risks of buying a property with an insolvent or absentee freeholder.

Your insurance brokers are your best port of call to address this question. The chances are that on the basis that you have not been removed for fraud or negligence reasons that there will be little or no impact. The main reason why a firm would be removed off of a lender panel is due to low volume of conveyancing cases although there may be a number of criteria for Aldermore Bank solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You would be advised to communicate with Aldermore Bank to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates a specific section for banks to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Aldermore Bank in their Part 2’s state: It helps to quote your Aldermore Bank conveyancing panel reference.