West Bromwich Mortgage Company Conveyancing Panel Information

The information on this page is designed to keep solicitors and licensed conveyancers abreast of latest requirements changes by West Bromwich Mortgage Company and to assist in remaining on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company Approved Conveyancing Solicitors Solicitors.

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West Bromwich Mortgage Company Conveyancing Panel Information:

What are the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel arrangements?

Unlike the CML the Building Society Mortgage Instructions deal with this. Section A.12 states ‘In order to act on our behalf your firm or company must be a member of our conveyancing panel provided we are a society that operates one – see specific requirements for details of our arrangements. The Special Requirements state:

Generally, all Firms must have at least two Partners however all Firms wishing to be admitted to the conveyancing panel should contact Mortgage Deeds Administration Department in the first instance - See E.33 below for contact details.

You must also comply with the terms and conditions of your West Bromwich Mortgage Company solicitor panel appointment.

Are West Bromwich Mortgage Company Conveyancing panel lawyers exposed to the possibility of the society altering or retracting the mortgage offer?

West Bromwich Mortgage Company ‘s answer to this question can be found at section B.3 of their BSA specific requirements which states:

Individual cases should be referred to The Processing Team for consideration where a conveyancer identifies an issue– See A.3 above for contact details

Given my firm’s membership on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel how long am I obliged to retain the original conveyancing file?

The BSA Mortgage Instructions state that the firm must keep the file for at least 6 years from the date of the mortgage. Data imaging is normally suitable compliance with this requirement. As a firm on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel you must allow West Bromwich Mortgage Company to conduct such reasonable audit of your information security measures as West Bromwich Mortgage Company or their agents may to ensure your compliance with your file retention obligations.

A recent SRA survey reveals that three quarters of solicitors have been removed or threatened with removal from a lender conveyancing panel. West Bromwich Mortgage Company and other building societies have restricted their panel over the years. Why?

The feeling from lenders generally (we can not speak for West Bromwich Mortgage Company specifically), is that for too long solicitors have concentrated on their duty of care to their purchasing client, and have paid scant attention to the duty they owe to the lender, whom they conveniently forget is also their client.

Looking from the lenders’ perspective, it has to be said that there are pressures to encourage smaller panels. The Financial Services Authority regards the open panel system as a major contributor to mortgage fraud and negligence cases, and has been leaning on lenders to move to proactive panel management, which is more expensive the larger the panel. Hence it is becoming more common for lenders to charge fees, and/or require extensive form-filling, from would-be panel members

West Bromwich Mortgage Company and other BSA lenders are in varying stages of reviewing their approach to vetting firms on their conveyancing panels, to ensure their ongoing exposure to unsuitable firms is reduced.

Are there conditions, outside the BSA Mortgage Instructions, that a firm should be aware of when on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel?

In order to be on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel solicitors have to complete an application form and agree Terms and Conditions. A sample of 5 conditions that we see amongst many lenders Terms (but not necessarily West Bromwich Mortgage Company) are as follows:

If you are a sole practitioner, to arrange for appropriate locum cover from our panel where necessary. Your locum must be a member of the Conveyancing panel.
To be responsible for the reconstitution of the title deeds (whether the title is registered or unregistered, at your own cost), where any deeds in your possession, or were last known to be in your possession, go missing.
To carry out our instructions with reasonable care and skill, ensuring that all employees carrying out mortgage work on our behalf are qualified and competent to do so
Without prejudice to your obligation to comply in full with the Safeguards provisions in the BSA Lenders’ Handbook, to report to us as soon as possible any suspicion that you have about the genuineness of any transaction in any respect.
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.)

I noticed the following question on my PI renewal form this year ‘Has your Firm been asked by a lender to agree to more onerous terms and conditions than provided for in the BSA Mortgage Instructions?’ My firm is on numerous bank panels including the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel. We have Terms and Conditions of appointment which we are duty bound to comply with. Do I disclose these these Conditions?

The concern here is if you are expect to enter into ‘more onerous’ conditions that than the Handbook obligations.

You have to try and take an objective view as to whether the Terms relating to the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing appointment (or other terms for other lenders) are ‘more onerous’ than the BSA Mortgage Instructions. Depending on the Terms you may need to provide details on your renewal form. If you are in any doubt please call your broker to discuss before completing the answer.

I have been a qualified solicitor for over 25 years enjoy an unblemished record and have been refused acceptance on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel with no explanation. Am I not entitled to know why?

Participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. The days of open panels are now long gone. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the West Bromwich Mortgage Company conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

What lender panels do you receive the most questions about?

BSA lenders do not come within the top 20 lenders in terms of frequency of questions. The most popular lender panels in terms of questions are as follows:

Find a Lawyer on the West Bromwich Mortgage Company Approved Conveyancing Solicitors Solicitors

Average number of days to register title including a charge in favour of West Bromwich Mortgage Company

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

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Please note that Lexsure Ltd is in no way associated with nor affiliated with Lexsure Solicitors