Hodge Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lenders (or the BSA) do not involve themselves in training but they do host a number of general legal related conferences which are attended by firms on the Hodge conveyancing panel. It is our intention to run specific lender focused seminars in the near future including a webinar on Hodge’s Part 2 requirements. Practitioners on the Hodge conveyancing panel will be invited. Information about the webinar will be made available as part of the LENDERmonitor P2 change Notifications.

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Hodge conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer

Whether the firm has ever applied for accreditation and the outcome of the application

Firm name, address and contact details including all branches (including evidence of existence through risk-based physical visits and Google Streetview checks)

Full disciplinary history for each conveyancing solicitor

Solicitor

List of fee-earners who are foreign qualified

Areas of Law covered by the firm

Charge registration history

Full career history for each licensed conveyancer including registration date with Council of Licensed Conveyancers

House price discrepancies (declared to lender vs. registered at Land Registry)

Please tread carefully here as what you are intending may not be acceptable to the lender. It is possible that you (as a non-panel firm) or the mortgage applicant are not entitled instruct a panel firm of your choice. An increasing amount of lenders are making it clear to their panel firms that where a non-panel member firm is instructed by one of their mortgage applicants, the lender must appoint a panel firm to carry out its instructions and to liaise with the borrower's conveyancing firm. You also need to make the costs implications and potential for delay very clear to your client.

There are various requirements are to followed if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. First, You must take reasonable steps to verify that there are no discrepancies between the description of the property as valued and the title and other documents which a reasonably competent conveyancer should obtain, and, if there are, you must tell Hodge immediately. (b) You should take reasonable steps to verify that the assumptions stated by the valuer about the title (for example, its tenure, easements, boundaries and restrictions on its use) in the valuation and as stated in Hodge’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Hodge know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Hodge to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Hodge conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Hodge are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Hodge recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by their valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to them as a lender but which would matter to the borrower. Hodge recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Hodge have obtained, you should also advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection such as a homebuyers report or structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Hodge or the borrower. You still need to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Requirement relating to valuation reports even if you don't receive one directly. Failure to comply not only runs the risk of facing a claim by the lender but also being removed from the Hodge conveyancing panel

In the circumstances please clarify on the form what action you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Hodge panel status. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before revocation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender informing you as to why they reached this decision?

You would be advised to communicate with Hodge to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates a specific inquiry for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents. Hodge in their Part 2’s state: Don’t forget to quote your Hodge conveyancing panel reference.