Conveyancing

In order to complete a mortgage transaction with us, both Zephyr Homeloans and your client must instruct a conveyancer to act for them to complete the necessary legal work. You will need to complete and submit our Conveyancing Information form.

You can see the full list of conveyancers we currently work with on our Solicitors Panel List. This is updated every few weeks in conjunction with Lender Exchange.

Please note – there are currently 18 specific conveyancing firms on our panel who are authorised to undertake LTD Company (SPV) applications. These firms are listed below and are highlighted on our Panel List document. Whilst these firms can also undertake applications from individuals, you must choose one of these firms if your application is from a LTD Company (SPV).

LTD Company (SPV) Applications

Please choose from the below list of approved conveyancers for all new Ltd Company (SPV) case submissions.

*Please note – Shoosmiths LLP are unable to act on any BTL transactions where the property is in Wales.

These are the only firms of solicitors on our panel authorised to undertake LTD Company (SPV) cases. However, the above firms can also undertake applications from Individuals.

Individual Applications

If you would like to use another solicitor other than the ones shown above for an application from an Individual, please follow the process below.

First view our list of solicitors currently active on Lender Exchange, or visit the Lender Exchange website and by using their search facility you will be able to see which other conveyancers are on the Zephyr panel authorised to undertake Individual cases.

If the conveyancing firm you want to use is not listed but they meet the criteria below they can apply to be part of our panel.

Zephyr Individual Conveyancers Panel Requirements:

• Member of the Law Society Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
• Also be a licenced conveyancer or firm of solicitors authorised to practice law by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers or the Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales (as applicable).
• Minimum of three Partners/Members/Directors in the firm.
• Minimum PI Cover – £2m professional indemnity insurance. Cover can be through more than one policy.
• Conveyancing experience of your most experienced lawyer – 10 yrs and/or a member of CQS for 5 yrs.

How to apply to be on the Zephyr Individual Conveyancers Panel

If the firm in question is already a member of Lender Exchange all they have to do is request to join Zephyr’s Panel using the Lender Exchange Portal. Lender Exchange will then perform their internal checks prior to sending the request over to Zephyr for review.

If the firm is not already a member of Lender Exchange, they will first need to apply to Lender Exchange to become a member. Please contact Lender Exchange regarding what is involved with this process. Once approved by Lender Exchange the firm will then be able to request to join the Zephyr Panel.

In both cases, as a responsible lender, Zephyr will then review the request and undertake our own additional due diligence checks on the firm. Only once all checks have been performed will Zephyr approve or reject the application. Firms will be notified via Lender Exchange of the decision.

The conveyancing process

The chosen conveyancer will issue contact details to you directly on instruction of a case and can provide their full fee structure for Zephyr cases upfront on request.

For more information, such as details of the fees/costs that the chosen conveyancer will charge – please contact them directly.
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Options for your clients to consider:

Whilst the chosen conveyancer from our panel will always act on behalf of  Zephyr, your client will need to decide if they want to use the same solicitor for their needs, or use their own. There are two options:

Dual Representation (Dual Rep) – this is where the chosen conveyancer from our panel is nominated to act on behalf of Zephyr and your client. The solicitor must be from our panel. Both Zephyr and your client will need to instruct/engage with the chosen conveyancer.

Separate Representation (Sep Rep) – this is where your client doesn’t want to use the solicitor from our panel for their own needs. This would mean you instruct a solicitor from our panel to act on behalf of Zephyr, and your client appoints their own solicitor for their own needs. See ‘please note’ below.

When making this decision, please bear in mind that using two forms of solicitors can increase costs and timescales, due to duplication of effort and work that inevitably takes place. If your client does not have a preference to use their own solicitor and would like one solicitor to be involved in the transaction, then choosing Dual Rep and just using a solicitor from our panel can be beneficial.

If your client chooses Sep Rep, their conveyancer should liaise with the chosen conveyancer from our panel to ensure any work they are undertaking is sufficient for our purposes. In particular, it is worth ensuring that there is agreement on which searches will be required and a confirmed approach to the property information form.

Sep Rep is an option for a re-mortgage, although it will not necessarily provide any benefits in terms of reduced costs or a faster timescale.

Please note – if your client chooses Sep Rep, they will be responsible for paying both conveyancers’ legal fees, which might be higher than under Dual Rep. You will need to make sure both conveyancers are instructed accordingly, and that they communicate with each other so they know who is responsible for what work. Under the Sep Rep option, the solicitor from our panel which will act on behalf of Zephyr, will not be able to speak with your client directly since they will have instructed separate legal representation.

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When do Zephyr instruct solicitors?

Your client has two options around the timing of when we should instruct the chosen conveyancer from our panel:

Immediately – if speed of completion is important, we are able to instruct the chosen conveyancer from our panel immediately following receipt of your application so they can open the file, request searches and issue the property information form.

Please note – with this option your client will be liable for any conveyancing costs incurred if the sale falls through or we are unable to issue a mortgage offer and another lender cannot be found. This cost could vary depending upon the amount of work completed by the chosen conveyancer.

Post-offer – an alternative is for Zephyr to instruct the chosen conveyancer from our panel following the mortgage offer. On average, this could be three weeks after application but timescales will vary for more complex cases. The benefit of this option is that legal costs are not incurred until an offer is in place.

Once you submit an application, you will need to complete the conveyancing information form to let us know which option you would like to take.
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What you need to do:

• Determine if your client wishes to use the chosen conveyancer from our panel on a Dual or Sep Rep basis, ensuring you are aware of all the potential legal fees that your client may be liable for.
• Complete and submit our Conveyancing Information form. Zephyr will keep a copy and provide this to the chosen conveyancer from our panel.
• Let us know ASAP if anything changes. For example, if your client later decides to switch from Sep Rep to Dual or vice versa.
• If your client is applying as a Director of a Limited Company, arrange for them to obtain independent legal advice so that they can provide a personal guarantee. You will need to demonstrate they have received independent legal advice prior to signing the personal guarantee and notify the Zephyr New Business team which firm of solicitors provided the advice.

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