The Gazette 1996

GAZETTE

JUNE 1996

Mortgage Brokers in the UK

From John M.

Spencer

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

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

| 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

application fee.

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

business can be d o ne and I am not

aware of whether or not that

transaction will g o further.

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.

Yours etc.,

John M.

Spencer

Solicitor

Friar

Street

Nenagh

Tipperary

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?

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

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

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.

N i neart g o cur le céile,

Sean

O'Ceallaigh,

Solicitor,

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

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