Coutts Finance Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Coutts Finance are silent on this. Most mortgage companies deal with the question of file retention via their Terms and Conditions where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for at least of 6 years from the date of the mortgage. Data imagining is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. Many lenders point out in that it is the practice of some fraudsters to demand the conveyancing file on completion in order to destroy evidence that may later be used against them. It is therefore important to retain these documents to protect Coutts Finance’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Coutts Finance requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Coutts Finance’s conveyancing panel membership.

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Number of conveyancing cases by lender
• Average time frame to register charges at the Land Registry
• Evidence of undertaking logs
• Buy to Let transactions
• Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data

Most lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with Coutts Finance as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Coutts Finance we suggest that you call Coutts Finance to check the position.

When a solicitor is acting for both Coutts Finance and borrower there is potential for conflicts to arise. You owe duties to both clients. All information received by you from your client is confidential and cannot be disclosed without the client’s consent. In the situation you find yourself in if the purchaser will not consent to the information being passed on to the lender the solicitor must cease to act for the Coutts Finance and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Coutts Finance the reason for termination of the retainer over and above the fact that a conflict has arisen. The fact that you can no longer act should alert even the most somnambulistic of lenders that something is wrong with the borrower and/or purchase. The fact that you have disinstructed yourself should not affect your Coutts Finance conveyancing panel status.

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 Coutts Finance solicitor panel membership. Please remember that it is always important that you complete your insurance forms accurately.

You would be advised to get in touch with Coutts Finance to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an explicit section for lenders to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Coutts Finance in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to disclose your Coutts Finance solicitors panel number.