Rooftop Mortgages Conveyancing Panel Information

The criteria to join the Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel is likely to be fairly detailed and is unlikely to include signing up to LENDERmonitor alerts.

We only know of two or three banks that operate a separate approved solicitors panel where the mortgage advance is over a certain amount. You should nevertheless check directly with Rooftop Mortgages. At one stage HSBC would only allow Sole practitioners to act for them where the mortgage was below £150,000. We are not sure if HSBC still operate such a condition. In your case it is best to check with Rooftop Mortgages

The Council of Mortgage Lender requirements of Rooftop Mortgages are silent on this. Most lenders deal with 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 at least of 6 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 Rooftop Mortgages’s interest. To be absolutely sure of Rooftop Mortgages requirements in this regard please check the Terms and Conditions of Rooftop Mortgages’s conveyancing panel membership.

You have a number of obligations in this regard which 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 Rooftop Mortgages 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 Rooftop Mortgages’s mortgage offer are correct. If they are not, please let Rooftop Mortgages know as soon as possible as it will be necessary for Rooftop Mortgages to check with the valuer whether the valuation needs to be revised. Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel solicitors are not expected to assume the role of valuer. Rooftop Mortgages are simply trying to ensure that the valuer has valued the property based on correct information. (c) Rooftop Mortgages 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. Rooftop Mortgages recommend that, if we send a copy of a valuation report that Rooftop Mortgages 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 structural survey. If you do not receive a copy of the valuation you can always ask for a copy of one from Rooftop Mortgages 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 Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel

In the circumstances please clarify on the form what steps 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 revocation 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 Rooftop Mortgages to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook has an individual inquiry for lenders to reveal who to contact to obtain standard documents. Rooftop Mortgages in their Part 2’s state: You will need to disclose your Rooftop Mortgages conveyancing panel reference.