Rooftop Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The fact of the matter is that estate agents are suffering if their clients start out on the buying process using a solicitor who is not on the panel with the purchaser’s chosen lender. Many conveyancing firms are only discovering when they begin working on a case that they are no longer able to work with that lender. Given the inevitable resultant delays in the transaction the chances of an abortive deal increases dramatically. in the circumstances there is understandable anguish on the part of the estate agent as a result of the lost time should the client have to change lawyers.

One might ordinarily expect Rooftop Mortgages via their Part 2 conditions to address this but the Handbook makes no mention on time frames. You need to look at the Terms of Rooftop Mortgages’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you entered into. For many lender's these Terms contain a clause such as: ‘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 Rooftop Mortgages informed. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

The majority of lenders do not operate a specific buy to let conveyancing panel but we are hearing about a few that do. We do not know what the position is with Rooftop Mortgages as at todays date. If you're about to receive instructions from a client on a buy to let purchase with a mortgage from Rooftop Mortgages we suggest that you call Rooftop Mortgages to check the position.

The answer to this question really depends on the reason that your firm has been removed off the Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel. The top 3 reasons are as follows:

1. lack of transactions
2. the lawyer is a sole practitioner
3. as part of the HSBC panel reduction.

In these three circumstances it is unlikely that you would expected to take any action. Disclosure and other compliance considerations are more likely to be relevant if the reason for removal is due to breaches of lender requirements or allegations of fraud or negligence. Whether the reasoning should trigger a disclosable 'material' breach will depend on the firm and the circumstances around possible failures to comply with the SRA Authorisation Rules, and the SRA will judge each case on its own merits. Factors such as the detriment or risk of detriment to clients, the scale of the issue and overall impact on the firm will need to be considered in deciding whether a failure is 'material'. As the compliance officer you will need systems to identify patterns of breaches. Even if you don't consider there to be regulatory implications the firms COFA should give some thought to whether she/he needs to take any action as result of being removed from the Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel.

In this situation please explain on the form what action you have taken to discover the reasons behind cancellation of your Rooftop Mortgages panel status. In particular please provide details if you have received communications from the lender. E.G. before cessation of your panel membership did you receive any letters or calls from the lender putting you on notice?

You should contact Rooftop Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook has an express section for lenders to establish who to contact to obtain standard documents. Rooftop Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: You will need to quote the firm’s Rooftop Mortgages solicitors panel number.