Nedbank Conveyancing Panel Information

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Nedbank are silent on this. Most mortgage companies address the question of file retention via their Terms of panel appointment where they generally provide that for evidential purposes, the firm must keep the file for a minimum six 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 Nedbank’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Nedbank requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Nedbank’s conveyancing panel acceptance.

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

• Current and historic missed priority dates
• Average mortgage advance
• Average time frame to send deeds to the lender (calculated from completion date or title registration)
• Analysis as to the nature of clients (e.g.existing/new/seen in person)
• Disclosure/Notification to Lender analysis indicating frequency and nature of disclosures - to include benchmarking analysis against aggregate data

When a solicitor is acting for both Nedbank 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 Nedbank and it may well be prudent you to cease to act for the purchaser as well. You can not tell the Nedbank 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 Nedbank conveyancing panel status.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which you need to follow if you wish to comply with your lender client’s instructions as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook. (I) 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 Nedbank immediately. (II) 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 Nedbank’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Nedbank know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Nedbank to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Nedbank conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Nedbank are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (III) Nedbank 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. Nedbank recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Nedbank 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 comprehensive survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Nedbank 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 Nedbank conveyancing panel

In the circumstances please clarify on the application what steps you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Nedbank panel membership. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before termination of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender advising you as to their reasons?

You should get in touch with Nedbank to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook includes an express question for banks to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Nedbank in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose your Nedbank conveyancing panel number.