The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

JUNE 1996

E

Mortgage Brokers in the UK

aware of whether or not that transaction will g o further.

precious confidentiality that exists b e t we en solicitor and client, wh i le some memb e rs of the bar - the bar which w e have supported and kept in business for centuries - wo u ld "bar" us from sharing with them appointments to the Circuit and the High Court bench? What can we do? In your March issue you say that 2 2 0 memb e rs attended the "marathon" EGM Me e t i ng held on the 7th March wh en virtually all the 106 recommendations for change of the R e v i ew Working Group were adopted. Where were the remaining 4 0 0 0 plus of us? In He a v e ns name let us rise up and assert ourselves. We need to support our Law Society and local Bar

From John M.

Spencer

It is clear from the f o r e g o i ng e xp e r i e n c es that care is needed in advising clients dealing with UK brokers offering mortgages. At the very m i n i mum intending customers should request a c omp l e te and true breakdown of the method of application and the total costs i n v o l v ed as well as the security and s o undn e ss of the proposed financier.

Ma d am, I wo u ld like to sound a note of caution to memb e rs of the profession wh o se clients may be directed towards a mortgage broker for re-financing. The f o l l ow i ng may not be typical but it d o es explain my concern. My j particular client's application went j through a local Irish insurance broker i to a mortgage broker in the UK. On j receipt of what was admittedly a very j | basic profile form, the mortgage broker j issued a letter of approval in principle. • It also sent a more detailed loan application form which was filled up and returned together with a requested I loan application fee of £ 3 0 0 which was 1 % of the loan sought. Instead of the expected formal loan sanction the applicant's Irish insurance broker then received a letter indicating that a formal appraisal of the property wo u ld have to be carried out and that this wo u ld be at the cost to the applicant for the loan and to all else concerned. It I was particularly disappointing to find this further layer of e x p e n se seeing as the loan application f ee of £ 3 0 0 was clearly marked to be not refundable in any circumstances. At that stage the applicant refused to | invest further funds. The matter | ; therefore remains up in the air with no | sign of a refund o f the £ 3 0 0 loan I application fee. i I am aware from the e x p e r i e n c es of another c o l l e a g ue in the Tipperary region of a client w h o has a total sum of £ 1 , 0 00 n ow paid to an associated c omp a ny of the s ame mortgage broker. That particular client is being asked for a further £ 2 5 0 before J business can be d o ne and I am not |

Yours etc.,

John M. Solicitor Friar

Spencer

Street

Nenagh Co

Tipperary

As s o c i a t i ons to the hilt. We need to j make our way on to the Me d ia and i into Politics. We need to get to k n ow one another better and to plan and work together. We can and w e must ensure that ours shall ever remain an e f f e c t i ve and respected profession.

Raising our Profile

From Sean O

'Ceallaigh

Ma d am, there was a time wh en many memb e rs felt that the Council of the Law S o c i e ty was aloof from and unsympathetic to them. This is no longer the case. Our "headaches" n ow c ome from elsewhere. Are w e g o i ng to stand still while other b o d i es make inroads on our professional work, while the Me d ia berate us for the failing of the .01 per cent but never c omme nd us for the performances of the 9 9 . 99 per cent of our memb e rs - w h o represent their clients conscientiously and e f f i c i e n t ly - s ome t i mes for little or no reward - and on a voluntary basis ably serve their c ommu n i ty in so many wa y s?

N i neart g o cur le céile,

Sean

O'Ceallaigh,

Solicitor, j 393 North Circular

Rd.,

Phibsboro, Dublin 7.

Conveyancing Fees

From Sean O 'Brien & Co.

Ma d am, I write concerning the present level of f e es being charged for c o n v e y a n c i ng in the Dublin area. It has c o me to my attention, that a purchaser can n ow obtain the services of a Solicitor to include all work on investigation of title, the purchase of

Are w e g o i ng to sit idly by wh i le some politicians wo u ld seek to r emo ve that

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