Recent Reports Suggest Lenders are Tightening Their Panel Criteria

With recent reports suggesting lenders are tightening the criteria for their conveyancing panels, one firm says lenders should judge conveyancers on the quality of their work, not just the number of completed transactions.

According to recent reports, mortgage lenders have tightened the criteria for law firms to be appointed to their conveyancing panels, with a growing number of lenders choosing to work only with conveyancers that have completed 120 conveyancing transactions.

Jonathan Smithers, President of the Law Society, said:

"We encourage lenders to be flexible and open with their approach to managing their panels of solicitors.

"The amount of transactions a firm has completed, particularly for smaller firms, does not necessarily indicate the quality of that firm's work.

"We would urge lenders to look at qualitative indicators such as membership of the Conveyancing Quality Scheme when selecting firms."

Despite the Law Society being aware of the current criteria being used, it could only advise lenders that they should not consider law firms based on the number of transactions alone.

If you're looking to sell, purchase or remortgage a residential property, contact our conveyancing solicitors on 0161 492 0300 for advice.

Crumpsall Solicitors

Conveyancing Solicitors