Mortgage Solicitors - What extra do they do?
04/06/2020
1,069
5 min read
When getting a mortgage to buy a house you need to instruct a solicitor who is on the selected panel for your lender. Not all solicitors or conveyancing can work with every mortgage lender. Some mortgage lender's only work with a handful of solicitors so it can be hard to know the best mortgage solicitors to work with, especially if you haven't chosen who your lender is before finding a property to buy.
This article explains:
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When do you provide your solicitor's details to your mortgage lender?
You need to provide your conveyancing solicitor's details to your mortgage lender at the point of making a formal mortgage application (this may be earlier when buying using the Government's Help to Buy scheme). The challenge buyers face is that they may not complete their formal mortgage application until some weeks into the conveyancing process. Changing solicitors during the conveyancing process can cause weeks of delays as the seller's solicitors will need to retrieve the contract pack issued to the original solicitors and resend to the new solicitor.
Worried your conveyancing solicitor isn't on your mortgage lender's panel?
We can help because our solicitors are on all mortgage lenders' panels so they can act for you regardless of the lender you choose.
You also benefit from a fixed fee, a No Sale No Fee Guarantee and our property lawyers are all accredited by the Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS).
Fixed Fee | Rated Excellent on Trustpilot | No Sale No Fee | On all Mortgage Lender Panels
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What work does the solicitor do for the mortgage lender?
The bank or building society providing the mortgage to the borrower require a solicitor to:
- act on their behalf adhering to the criteria set out in the UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook (formerly CML);
- receive the mortgage funds and use them for the stated purpose; and
- register the mortgage lender's charge over the property post completion.
Different mortgage lenders have different mortgage lending criteria that the solicitor needs to adhere to. For example, some mortgage lenders do not require to see sight of any planning permission granted over a property, however Paragon Buy to Let Mortgages state "Yes, please place originals with the deeds. Where the property is a House in Multiple Occupation copies will need to be provided prior to release of funds" .
the solicitor acts for the lender, not you!
It is a common mistake to think that the solicitor acts for you in regards to the mortgage, whereas they actually act on behalf of the mortgage lender and must report to them anything that could affect the mortgage lending. Examples of this include:
- Gifted Deposits - if you are getting a gifted deposit then your solicitor will report this to your mortgage lender unless it is already noted within the mortgage offer. See what the mortgage lender needs for a gifted deposit.
- Loans from family or friends - the solicitor will inform the mortgage lending about any other lending that is to be secured over the property or unsecured to buy the property.
- No planning permission - if the seller hasn't got planning permission for works completed then the solicitor will inform the mortgage lender.
In all cases the mortgage lender reserves the right to refuse to lend the mortgage based on the information the solicitor reports to them.
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Which solicitors can't work with which mortgage lenders?
A solicitor will need to apply to be on a mortgage lender panel and mortgage lenders choose which solicitors they will allow to be on their panel based on set criteria. The mortgage lender might choose to remove a solicitor from their panel if they haven't worked with them for a long time or if the solicitor has breached the terms set out by the mortgage lender (mortgage requirements are listed here - UK Finance Mortgage Lenders’ Handbook).
Here are some mortgage lender's criteria for solicitors to join their panel:
- Santander UK PLC - require the solicitor firm to be CQS accredited and to have 2 principals - Click to see if your solicitor is on the Santander panel
- HSBC Bank PLC - require the solicitor firm to be CQS accredited and to have 1 principal for properties up to £350k, 2 principals for properties up to £2m and 4 principals for properties up over £2m - Click to see if your solicitor is on the HSBC panel
- Royal Bank of Scotland - require the solicitor firm to be CQS accredited and to have 1 principal
- Natwest Bank - require the solicitor firm to be CQS accredited and to have 1 principal
- The Mortgage Works (TMW) - require the solicitor firm to have 2 principals - Click to see if your solicitor is on The Mortgage Works panel
- Paragon Mortgages - Click to see if your solicitor is on the Paragon mortgage panel
Mortgage lender criteria changes so make sure to speak to your mortgage lender to find out their current mortgage lender panel of solicitors.
Our panel solicitors are on all mortgage lender panels* and we offer fixed fee quotes for purchase and remortgages - call us now on 0207 112 5388.
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Mortgage solicitors near me?
Back 30 years ago you would get a mortgage from your local lender, if in Coventry it'd most like be the Coventry Building Society, and instruct your local high street solicitor in Coventry. This could be a limiting factor if that solicitor wasn't very good at conveyancing or they charged too much money. The market has now opened up to allow you to work with and conveyancing solicitor you like - you can choose a cheap one, one with an Excellent rating on Trustpilot or even one referred to you by your friend. As long as the solicitor works on the panel of your mortgage lender then they can help you.
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Which mortgage lender panels are SAM's solicitors on?
SAM Conveyancing's panel solicitors are on all mortgage lender panels* meaning our solicitors can always act for you when you're buying - or selling - and there is a mortgage involved.
* Islamic Bank is the only exception.
FREE Online Conveyancing Process for Buyers
Includes online checklists, videos, downloads and tips - plus it is completely free to use from start to finish and saves your progress along the way.
