Whistletree Conveyancing Panel Information

Many estate agents will be suffering if their clients start out on the buying process using a conveyancer 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.

Each lender has different criteria. We do not hold specific requirements relating to the questions raised as part of the application to be on the Whistletree conveyancing panel. Typically lenders need to have full knowledge of a firm including (but not limited to):

Whether the firm has ever accepted instructions in respect of property clubs and investment schemes

Whether any lender has ever made a claim against the firm’s PII cover

Full complaints history for each conveyancing solicitor

Areas of Law covered by the firm

Full complaints history for each licensed conveyancer

Whether the firm has ever knowingly accepted instructions on transactions involving Sale and Rent Back, Back to Back, Exchange and Delayed Completion and Lease Option, Below Market Value.

Details of any accreditation e.g. Lexcel or

List of all those who can sign off the Certificate Of Title

The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale

SRA or equivalent regulator registration number where applicable

You will be aware of the trend in recent years for lenders such as Whistletree to take a much more pro-active approach in relation to the management and make up of their conveyancer panels. The knock on effect of this is that it is more likely that there will be a higher number of cases where a conveyancer is not on the Whistletree panel. The situation that you find yourself in is where your client’s purchaser has his/her own lawyer and Whistletree have appointed a separate lawyer to act on their behalf where the new CML Part 3 requirements apply. Section 11.1 of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3 requires Whistletree’s panel solicitor to ‘ ...transfer the mortgage advance directly to the Seller’s conveyancer. The Seller’s conveyancer must be required to hold the mortgage advance on the terms of the required undertaking. The example borrower’s conveyancer’s undertaking letter includes a specific example of the seller’s undertaking’. You should expect to be advised to received the mortgage advance directly from the conveyancing solicitors for Whistletree. You will no doubt be required to undertake directly to Whistletree’s solicitors to discharge any charges secured on the property and to send directly to them the executed transfer and any other documents required to enable us to effect registration. Please remember to carefully consider undertakings in accordance with your firm’s protocol and record them in your undertakings logg. Please remember that as well as this breach of this undertaking having regulatory and compliance implications it’s breach could also result in your firm being removed off the Whistletree conveyancing panel.

For most lenders participation on the lender's panel of conveyancers is at the absolute discretion of the the lender. Many lenders reserve the right to accept or reject any application without giving any reason. You should check your original application to join the Whistletree conveyancing panel to see if you are entitled to a reason.

We would recommend that you 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 adversely impact your application but gives the CQS team viability as to what has gone on.

You should get in touch with Whistletree to obtain standard documents. The CML Handbook contains an explicit section for lenders to cite who to contact to obtain standard documents. Whistletree in their Part 2’s state: It is likely that you will need to quote your Whistletree solicitors panel reference.