A Precise Mortgages offer does not automatically mean that the conveyancer you have chosen can represent both you and the lender. Checking the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel before instructing a firm can prevent additional legal fees, duplicated work and avoidable delay.
The issue is slightly more complicated than a simple yes or no panel search. Precise Mortgages currently describes different representation routes, including joint representation through its Preferred Conveyancer Panel or Core Conveyancer Panel and a separate representation option.
The important question is therefore not merely whether a conveyancer can act for you. It is whether that firm can act for both you and Precise Mortgages under the route selected for your mortgage application.
Check the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel
Search by postcode for regulated solicitors and licensed conveyancers working with Precise Mortgages instructions. The directory contains a curated selection rather than the lender’s complete approved panel, so always ask the firm to confirm its current status and the representation route that will apply.
Why does the Precise Mortgages conveyancing panel matter?
Where a mortgage lender permits joint representation, one conveyancing firm acts for both the borrower and the lender. The firm must protect the buyer’s interests while also investigating the title, reporting relevant problems and satisfying the lender’s instructions.
This arrangement usually avoids a second firm repeating parts of the legal work. It can also reduce the number of organisations that must communicate before mortgage funds are released.
If the buyer’s chosen conveyancer cannot act for Precise Mortgages under the relevant joint representation route, the transaction may need separate representation. The buyer’s conveyancer continues to act for the buyer, while another approved firm acts for the lender.
Separate representation is not necessarily a defect in the transaction, but it can mean:
- two firms must review and communicate about the mortgage and title
- the borrower may be responsible for both firms’ legal fees
- additional enquiries or reporting may be required
- completion may take longer than under joint representation
These consequences are best understood before money is paid on account or substantial work begins.
Precise Mortgages currently describes three representation options
Preferred Conveyancer Panel joint representation
Under this option, a firm from the lender’s Preferred Conveyancer Panel acts for both Precise Mortgages and the borrower. The borrower agrees the legal fees directly with the chosen firm and is responsible for paying them.
Core Conveyancer Panel joint representation
The Core Conveyancer Panel provides a wider choice of firms in England and Wales. A participating firm can again act jointly for the borrower and Precise Mortgages, with fees agreed between the borrower and the firm.
Separate representation
A borrower may choose a conveyancer who is not on either joint representation panel. In that situation, Precise Mortgages states that a firm from its Preferred Conveyancer Panel must be selected to act for the lender.
The borrower remains responsible for instructing their own conveyancer and may also have to meet the lender conveyancer’s legal costs. Precise Mortgages warns that applications involving separate representation can take longer to reach completion.
Panel arrangements and lender procedures can change. Borrowers and professionals should check the lender’s current information for the particular application rather than relying on an old list or a previous Precise Mortgages transaction.
Ask the right question before instructing
Asking “Are you on the Precise Mortgages panel?” is a useful start, but it may not produce a sufficiently precise answer.
Ask the firm to confirm in writing:
- whether it can act for both you and Precise Mortgages
- whether it is acting through the Preferred or Core joint representation route
- whether any separate lender firm will be required
- who will pay each firm’s legal fees
- whether the panel status applies to the particular office and regulated entity being instructed
You should also give your mortgage broker the conveyancer’s complete and accurate details. Precise Mortgages identifies incorrect conveyancer information as a cause of application delay.
What if you have already instructed a conveyancer?
Do not assume that you must immediately change firms. First establish which representation route is available and what the cost and timing consequences would be.
Your practical choices may include:
- continuing with your chosen conveyancer and using separate representation
- changing to a firm that can act jointly for you and Precise Mortgages
- asking whether your existing firm is already eligible under the relevant panel route
The cheapest option on paper may not be the cheapest overall. Consider work already completed, abortive fees, duplicated searches, the stage of the chain and the risk of delay before deciding.
Problems surrounding lender panels are not new. An earlier About Conveyancing article considered how lender panel decisions can also affect mortgage brokers and their clients. The modern lesson is practical: confirm the representation arrangements early and make sure every participant is working from the same information.
Transfers of equity, lease extensions and changes to the title
The panel question does not arise only when buying or remortgaging. It may return when a Precise Mortgages charge is already registered and the owners want to change the title.
Examples include:
- adding or removing an owner
- transferring the property following separation
- extending a lease
- splitting a title
- selling part of a mortgaged property
These changes may require the lender’s consent and a conveyancer able to deal with its instructions. Our earlier article on why cheap transfer of equity conveyancing can become expensive remains relevant. A transfer of equity is not simply an administrative alteration to the names on the register.
Panel membership does not mean every property will be acceptable
A panel firm is authorised to work with the lender’s instructions. That does not guarantee that the property satisfies those instructions or that Precise Mortgages will accept every title problem.
The conveyancer may still need to investigate or report matters such as:
- missing building regulations approval
- missing planning permission
- defective or absent rights of access
- breaches of restrictive covenants
- lease defects and unusual lease provisions
- proposed changes to the ownership or extent of the title
An indemnity policy may sometimes be acceptable, but it does not repair defective work, create a missing right or make a property suitable for every lender. The lawyer must consider the lender’s current instructions as well as the implications for the buyer.
If missing approval was not properly explained when the property was originally purchased, the problem may emerge years later during a sale or remortgage. The When I Bought guide to missing building regulations approval explains why obtaining a mortgage at the time does not necessarily establish that the property was readily mortgageable across the wider market.
The current panel and a historical lender problem are different questions
A present panel search helps a borrower identify firms working with Precise Mortgages instructions now. It does not establish what Precise Mortgages required when an older purchase or remortgage completed.
Lender requirements change over time. If a problem is discovered during a later sale, remortgage, complaint or professional negligence investigation, the relevant question may be what the lender’s written instructions said on the original completion date.
The Lexsure Lender Archive record for Precise Mortgages provides a route for investigating the lender requirements recorded for a particular historical date. That is separate from checking whether a firm can act on a new mortgage today.
How to avoid a panel problem delaying completion
- Identify the lender early. Do not instruct solely on the assumption that every regulated conveyancer can act for every lender.
- Search by lender and postcode. Use the directory as a starting point for finding firms familiar with Precise Mortgages instructions.
- Confirm the representation route. Establish whether the firm can act jointly or whether separate representation will be used.
- Confirm the regulated entity. Panel approval may attach to a particular legal entity or office rather than every firm using a similar trading name.
- Give accurate details to the broker. Errors in the conveyancer’s name, office or contact information can slow the application.
- Ask about fees and timing. Obtain the complete position before choosing separate representation or changing firms.
- Recheck before relying. Panel membership can change, so ask the conveyancer to confirm its status for your particular matter.
Mortgage arranged? Check the legal route now
Do not wait until the transaction is approaching exchange to discover that another firm must become involved. Search for conveyancers working with Precise Mortgages instructions, then confirm directly whether joint or separate representation will apply.
Frequently asked questions
Can any solicitor act on a Precise Mortgages transaction?
A solicitor or licensed conveyancer may be able to act for the borrower, but that does not automatically mean the firm can also act for Precise Mortgages. The available panel and representation route must be checked.
What happens if my conveyancer is not on the relevant joint representation panel?
Separate representation may be possible. A different approved firm would act for Precise Mortgages, while your chosen conveyancer acts for you. This may involve additional fees, communication and time.
Does a missing firm in the postcode results mean it is not approved?
No. The Lender Monitor directory is a curated selection and not the complete Precise Mortgages approved panel. Ask the firm to confirm its current position directly.
Is the nearest panel conveyancer necessarily the best choice?
No. Location may be convenient, but experience, capacity, communication, fees and familiarity with the type of property are also important. Much conveyancing work can be handled remotely.
Can panel status change during a transaction?
Panel arrangements can change. If there is any uncertainty, the firm should confirm its current authority to act and explain what would happen if separate representation became necessary.
This article provides general information rather than legal, mortgage or financial advice. Panel arrangements, lender requirements and representation options may change. Borrowers should check the current position with their conveyancer, mortgage broker and lender before relying on it. Lender Monitor is an independent directory and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Precise Mortgages.