Bluestone Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (or the BSA) do not involve themselves in training but they do organise a number of useful legal related conferences which are attended by firms on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel. Lexsure intend to run specific lender focused seminars in the coming months including a webinar on Bluestone Mortgages’s Part 2 obligations. Law firms on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel are welcome. Further details will be made available as part of the LENDERmonitor P2 change Notifications.

The CML, together with Bluestone Mortgages and other lenders developed a standard set of instructions where a solicitor is acting for a lender such as Bluestone Mortgages alone in a residential conveyancing transaction. These legal instructions are contained at Part III of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook and are to be followed in conjunction with Part I and II. The CML have published an example requirements letter to the borrower’s conveyancing solicitor for use by the lender's conveyancer, and sets out to the borrower's conveyancer, the documentary and information requirements of the lender's panel conveyancer.

In order to be on the Bluestone Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily Bluestone Mortgages) are as follows:

• You have the consent of all borrowers to apply for the deeds, before making any request for deeds. We will accept your request for deeds on the understanding that you have obtained such consent. If this is not the case then you should advise our Deeds Services Department in writing when you make your request
• That any deeds you borrow from us in connection with the personal mortgage of a partner or director at your firm must be requested by a partner or director other than the partner or director concerned and the transaction must be handled by that other partner or director. If you are a sole practitioner and require the loan of deeds in connection with your own mortgage, you must nominate a different firm on our panel to request the deeds and handle the transaction.
• Without prejudice to your obligation to comply in full with the Safeguards provisions in the CML Lenders’ Handbook, to report to us as soon as possible any suspicion that you have about the genuineness of any transaction in any respect.
• If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.
• To forward the title deeds and documents to another solicitor/conveyancer within 24 hours of an instruction from us requiring you to do so. On forwarding the deeds as instructed you will confirm to us that you have done so. Upon receipt of your confirmation, we will release you from all undertakings relating to your holding the title deeds.

14 potential conveyancing clients attempt to locate a property lawyer on the Bluestone Mortgages panel on a monthly basis in Hendon. Feel free to contact the Lexsure team who will tell how your firm can be found by those searching for conveyancing in Hendon.

The best placed professionals to answer this question are your insurance brokers. 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 Bluestone Mortgages solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You need to communicate with Bluestone Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an explicit inquiry for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. Bluestone Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: Always remember to quote your Bluestone Mortgages solicitors panel number.