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Manchester Building Society Conveyancing Panel: Recently Asked Questions
Can you recommend what we should do if we wish to lodge an appeal being removed from the
Manchester Building Society approved solicitor list?
If you are removed from the
Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel and you are unaware of or disagree with the reasons for your removal you should: (a) Contact
Manchester Building Society directly. (b) If there is an appeals process detailed on your letter you should follow the process.
In appealing a decision by Manchester Building Society, it may be useful to provide the following information:
- Comprehensive account of your transaction history
- Your COMPLETIONmonitor reports, assuming you use the Lexsure software
- Your recent claims history
- Full details of all employees in your firm and their position.
- Note down if a solicitor has been admitted to the role on completion of the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Test.
- Provide copy practising certificates, the firm's current professional indemnity policy and the firm’s accountant's certificate, calculating what percentage of the firm's gross fee income is generated from residential conveyancing transactions
It is encouraging that some solicitors have been able to regain membership to panels notwithstanding the policy by the respective lenders to refuse panel membership to firms with certain profiles or characteristics. Success is primarily due to the firms’ ability to persuade the lender to make an exception if there is sufficient evidence to reassure them that the firm is well risk-managed.
A recent SRA survey reveals that 76% of
solicitors have been removed from a lender conveyancing panel. Manchester Building Society and other lenders have restricted their panel over
the years. Why?
In operating open conveyancing panels, lenders such as Manchester Building Society
face a number of fraud and negligence risks. While
there is no authoritative source of data on lender exposure to
solicitor–led mortgage fraud, anecdotal evidence from lenders
indicates exposure on individual cases are often in the millions of
pounds. The National Fraud Authority estimates that £1bn per year is
lost in mortgage -related frauds in total, which is seen as a
conservative estimate.
These risks are exacerbated by the lack of a comprehensive set of data on all conveyancing firms (which, for the avoidance of doubt, would include solicitors and conveyancers across the UK) which is in a readily accessible format. Currently, lenders vet the suitability of their panel firms against a variety of disparate, incomplete and potentially inaccurate sets of information. One top 5 lender pointed out to us that it is almost impossible to track individual fraudsters who move from firm to firm, especially where they are no longer registered or no longer hold a valid practicing certificate.
Manchester Building Society and other lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced. There is also regulatory impetus on lenders to ensure that they have satisfactory oversight of their third party panels, including a due-diligence process.
Who do building societies include on their Conveyancing Panels?
In the same way that there is a unique Manchester Building Society
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.
I noticed the following question on my PI renewal form this year ‘Has your Firm been asked by a lender to agree to more onerous terms and conditions than provided for in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook?’ My firm is on numerous lender panels including the
Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel. We have Terms and Conditions of appointment which we have to follow. Do I disclose these these Terms ?
The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations.
You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the
Manchester Building Society conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Conditions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before moving forward on this question.
I read the occasional LENDERmonitor notification but I rarely see change of note. For instance, Fortunately my practice on the
Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel and get an alerts simply telling me a change of address. Why is that of any relevance?
It is important that you take note of such changes because sending a communication or deeds to the wrong address can cause delays that might not only affect your borrower client but also affect your ability to remain on the
Manchester Building Society solicitor panel. Lets say that Manchester Building Society change their requirements as to where their panel firm send the deeds.
Do you change the details in your CMS? Do you make a note? Is this information passed on to secretaries and assistants? By virtue of your COT Manchester Building Society you are giving assurances that you will forward the relevant documents within 10 days of receiving the Title Information Document. Leaving to one side whether you are in breach of an undertaking in sending it to the wrong address, you run the risk of
Manchester Building Society suspending you off the panel because they are not receiving the deeds in accordance with the COT. It will not be a valid excuse to say that you sent it to an out of date postal address or DX details.
Should Conveyancing Quality Scheme acceptance secure my firm’s acceptance on to lenders conveyancing panels?
CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to remain on their approved list of firms. A number of mortgage companies now use the Conveyancing Quality Scheme accreditation as the starting point for Panel acceptance as is the case with Santander.
My firm is listed on the
Manchester Building Society
conveyancing panel and scheduled to complete a purchase within the next week. My papers do not include a Legal Charge for the client to execute.
Who do I contact at Manchester Building Society to obtain duplicate documents?
You would be advised to contact Manchester Building Society
to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook contains an express inquiry for banks to set out who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Manchester Building Society in their Part 2’s state:
You will need to quote the firm’s Manchester Building Society conveyancing panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the Manchester Building Society Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Manchester Building Society
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
| Year | Days* |
|---|---|
| 2026 | [no data] |
| 2025 | [no data] |
| 2024 | [no data] |
| 2023 | [no data] |
| 2022 | [no data] |
| 2021 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Manchester Building Society Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Manchester Building Society borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Manchester Building Society panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Manchester Building Society lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Manchester Building Society
- Consent-to-Let help for Manchester Building Society
- Contractor Mortgages with Manchester Building Society
