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Mortgage Agency Services Solicitor Panel: Recently Asked Questions
I am on the Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. Can I get an archived copy of a Mortgage Agency Services Part 2 from the CML?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders do not keep duplicates of the Part 2's Pre January 2011. The CML recommend you contact Mortgage Agency Services directly.
What can you suggest we do if we wish to appeal being removed from the
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel?
Should you firm be removed from the
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel and you are unaware of or disagree with the reasons for your removal you should: (a) Contact
Mortgage Agency Services directly. (b) If there is an appeals process detailed on your letter you should follow the process.
In appealing a decision by Mortgage Agency Services, it may be useful to provide the following information:
- Comprehensive disclosure of your firm’s transaction history
- A copy of your COMPLETIONmonitor reports if you use that service
- 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.
- Supply copy practising certificates, the firm's current professional indemnity policy and the firm’s accountant's certificate, summarising the percentage of the firm's gross fee income is generated from residential conveyancing
On appeal some firms 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 has a healthy attitude towards risk mitigation.
What is the CLC doing to protect licensed conveyancers from being removed from lender panels?
The Council of Licensed Conveyancers has begun discussions with lenders and their representative bodies to see whether and how the risks that lenders wish to mitigate could be addressed through the regulatory framework rather than via ad hoc arrangements that can differ from lender to lender. It is likely that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as
Mortgage Agency Services as well as the BSA.
My firm is on the
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel. I am dealing with
Mortgage Agency Services mortgage on a purchase. My borrower client is asking not to disclose an issue to
Mortgage Agency Services. What do I do in this conflict situation?
When a solicitor is acting for both
Mortgage Agency Services 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 Mortgage Agency Services
and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as
well. You can not tell the Mortgage Agency Services 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 Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing
panel status.
I seldom receive a copy of a lender valuation any more. Do my Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel obligations extend to checking the valuation details where I am acting on a purchase with
Mortgage Agency Services as the Mortgagee?
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. (a) 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
Mortgage Agency Services immediately. Second, 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
Mortgage Agency Services’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let
Mortgage Agency Services know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for
Mortgage Agency Services to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised.
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer.
Mortgage Agency Services are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. Thirdly, Mortgage Agency Services 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.
Mortgage Agency Services recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that
Mortgage Agency Services 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 survey or comprehensive survey.
If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from
Mortgage Agency Services 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
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel
Prime Professional’s PII renewal form enquires if my practice had been excluded from any mortgage panels in the last 12 months.
I recently discovered that the practice is no longer on the
Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel? Is this likely to effect my PII premium?
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 Mortgage Agency Services solicitor panel
membership. Please remember that it is always important that you
complete your insurance forms accurately.
My firm is listed on the
Mortgage Agency Services
conveyancing panel and due to complete a remortgage shortly. My file does not contain a Mortgage Deed for the client to execute.
Who do I contact at Mortgage Agency Services to request substitute deeds?
You should contact Mortgage Agency Services
to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an express section for banks to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents.
Mortgage Agency Services in their Part 2’s state:
It helps to quote your Mortgage Agency Services conveyancing panel number.
Find a Lawyer on the Mortgage Agency Services Conveyancing Panel
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Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of Mortgage Agency Services
This information relates to purchase only and not remortgages.
Year | Days* |
---|---|
2025 | [no data] |
2024 | [no data] |
2023 | [no data] |
2022 | [no data] |
2021 | [no data] |
2020 | [no data] |
* Data aggregated from sources including COMPLETIONmonitor
Other related topics:
- CQS policy templates and procedures for accredited Mortgage Agency Services Firms
- Draft Report on Title precedent for Mortgage Agency Services borrowers
- Draft Anti Money Laundering PolicyTemplate for Mortgage Agency Services panel firms to consider
- Dealing with Lender Policy Template panel for CQS accredited firms on the Mortgage Agency Services lender panel
- Buy-to-Let help for Mortgage Agency Services
- Consent-to-Let help for Mortgage Agency Services
- Contractor Mortgages with Mortgage Agency Services