Paratus Conveyancing Panel Information

As is the case with the Law Society the Council of Licensed Conveyancers has initiated discussions with banks 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. We expect that that the CLC have been in touch with lenders such as Paratus as well as the CML.

You might expect Paratus via their Part Two conditions to address this but the Handbook is silent on deadlines to send deeds. Do look at the Terms of Paratus’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you are bound by. For a number of banks these Terms include a clause along the following lines: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is important to keep Paratus updated. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

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

• 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
• Average mortgage advance
• Buy to Let transactions
• The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale/purchase and remortgage)

Paratus approved solicitors have to comply with the Part II instructions relating to Transfer of Equity. These are set out in Section 16.3. First, your firm must approve the form of Transfer of Equity (which should be in the Land Registry's standard form) and, if Paratus require, the deed of covenant on their behalf. You will need to check Paratus CML Part 2 conditions to see if Paratus have standard forms of transfer and deed of covenant. Please note that this requirement can change from one transaction to another so do check! Second,When drafting or approving a transfer, you should bear in mind that: although the transfer should state that it is subject to the mortgage (identified by date and parties), it need give no details of the terms of the mortgage; the transfer need not state the amount of the mortgage debt. If it does, the figure should include both principal and interest at the date of completion, which you must check ; there should be no statement that all interest has been paid to date. Further obligations are set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook which have to be followed by all firms on the Paratus conveyancing panel

You should provide details of the date of removal, information on the reason for removal, date of appeal and any reason given for reinstatement. This should not negatively affect your application but gives the CQS team viability as to what has occured.

You need to communicate with Paratus to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an individual question for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Paratus in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to disclose your Paratus conveyancing panel reference.