Key Takeaways
- Precise Mortgages ILA is independent legal advice from an SRA-regulated solicitor. Precise may require it before you sign a personal guarantee, occupier consent or similar document for a Precise bridging loan, buy-to-let mortgage or development finance facility.
- Your lender, broker or transaction documents may require an ILA certificate before funds are released. Missing or incomplete ILA can delay or prevent completion.
- The solicitor confirms you understand the document and your potential liability, and that you sign freely. The solicitor does not certify affordability, suitability or the value of the loan.
- Common documents for Precise Mortgages ILA include the personal guarantee, facility letter, occupier consent and lender instructions. Bring the final version to your appointment.
- Arrange Precise Mortgages ILA as soon as you receive your documents, especially for auction or urgent bridging cases where a same-day certificate may be needed.
- Joint guarantors may need separate, independent ILA where their interests differ, because solicitors must not act where there is a conflict of interest.
Do I need independent legal advice for a Precise Mortgages bridging loan or guarantee?
Precise Mortgages may ask for independent legal advice before it releases bridging, buy-to-let or development funds. This is not a formality. Signing a personal guarantee or occupier consent can put your home or assets at direct risk if the main borrower defaults. Without the right certificate, your completion can stall even when every other hurdle is cleared.
What many clients miss is what our Precise Mortgages ILA certificate actually does, and what it cannot do for you. Our solicitor confirms you understand your liability and that you are signing freely. Our solicitor does not tell you whether the loan itself is affordable or a good deal. Timing is also critical: late ILA can delay drawdown or put an auction completion date at risk.
If you are facing a Precise Mortgages deadline, you can book your fixed-fee ILA with our SRA-regulated solicitors online or call 020 7459 4037 for urgent support.
Why does Precise Mortgages require independent legal advice?
Precise Mortgages may ask for independent legal advice when a document puts someone other than the main borrower at personal risk, or when it needs evidence that a signer understood a security document before it releases funds. Precise is a trading name of Charter Court Financial Services Limited, authorised and regulated by the PRA and FCA. It lends on bridging, buy-to-let and development finance. Its ILA requirement depends on the product, the parties and the lender’s instructions for your case. It is not a blanket rule for every loan.
Independent legal advice is a private meeting with a solicitor who acts for you alone, not for the lender or the borrower. The solicitor explains what the document does to you. The solicitor’s certificate is the signed confirmation that this meeting took place.
The documents that most commonly lead to a Precise ILA requirement are:
- A personal guarantee. given by a director for a company loan or by an individual for someone else’s borrowing. See our director’s personal guarantee ILA service.
- An occupier consent. signed by an adult who lives at the security property but does not own it. See our occupier’s consent form ILA service.
- A deed of postponement. sometimes called a deed of subordination. It ranks an existing debt or charge behind Precise’s security.
The split between regulated and unregulated bridging also matters. Precise’s customer bridging page lists terms of up to 12 months for regulated mortgage contracts and up to 18 months for non-regulated ones. Regulated loans fall under the FCA’s Mortgages and Home Finance: Conduct of Business sourcebook (MCOB). Under MCOB 11.6, the lender must assess whether the customer and any guarantor can pay before it proceeds. Unregulated bridging on investment, commercial or development property does not carry those consumer safeguards. That makes a personal guarantee the main point at which your own assets come into play.
Whatever the trigger, ILA makes sure you know:
- how much you could owe
- whether your liability is joint and several
- what happens on default
- which assets are exposed
- that you can pause or decline
Our bridging loan and development funding ILA page covers the wider service.
Once you know who needs advice, the next step is gathering the right paperwork.
What documents do I need for Precise Mortgages ILA?
You need the final version of every document you are being asked to sign, plus Precise’s instructions to the solicitor and your photo ID. A typical pack includes:
- Personal guarantee. This sets out what you promise to pay if the borrower does not.
- Facility letter or loan agreement. This states the loan amount, interest, fees, term and events of default that your guarantee sits behind.
- Deed of postponement or occupier consent, where applicable.
- Lender’s instructions to the solicitor. These say what Precise needs the certificate to confirm and may set out wording it requires.
- Valid photo ID that matches the name on the documents.
Our solicitor advises on the final form only. Advice on a draft does not cover clauses that change later. If a figure, party or term changes after your appointment, the certificate may no longer match the signed document, and the lender may ask for fresh advice.
You upload everything securely online before your appointment, so our solicitor has read the pack before the call begins. With the documents in hand, here is how the remote process runs.
How does the online Precise ILA process work and what risks should I watch for?
The Fast ILA process is fully remote and runs in five steps:
- Book and pay online. You pay the fixed fee at booking, before the ILA call.
- Upload your documents securely. Include the final Precise documents and the lender’s instructions.
- Verify your ID online. The name must match the documents exactly.
- Join a video call with our SRA-regulated solicitor. Our solicitor explains the documents and answers your questions in a one-hour appointment.
- Receive your certificate electronically. Our solicitor issues it once the advice is complete. A same-day ILA certificate is available.
How does remote Independent Legal Advice (ILA) for bridging work? Fast ILA explains the process for personal guarantees and bridging certificates needed by lenders.
The risks that can hold up a certificate are mostly practical rather than legal:
- Name mismatch. A middle name or spelling on the certificate differs from the guarantee or the ID.
- Wrong document version. The advice covered a draft, but a later version was sent for signing.
- Missing lender wording. Precise’s instructions required set clauses that the certificate did not include.
- ID problems. Expired or unclear ID holds up verification.
- Late booking. Questions arise on the call, and nobody has time to answer them before the funds deadline.
Each of these is quick to fix early and can cost a completion date if found late, which is why timing deserves its own attention below.
What does a Precise Mortgages ILA certificate really confirm (and what does it NOT do)?
An ILA certificate for a Precise Mortgages transaction typically confirms three things, subject to any wording Precise specifies:
- you received advice from an independent SRA-regulated solicitor
- our solicitor explained the nature and effect of the document
- you confirmed you understood it and are signing of your own free will
It says nothing about whether the deal is a good one. The certificate does not confirm:
- that the loan is affordable (for regulated loans, MCOB places that assessment on the lender)
- that the product suits your circumstances
- that the interest rate or fees are good value
- that the property is adequate security
- that your repayment or exit strategy will work
ILA is not mortgage advice, financial advice or product sign-off. Many guarantors assume a signed certificate means the solicitor has approved the loan. It does not.
The mechanism matters too. Your liability comes from the guarantee or consent you sign, not from the ILA. The certificate gives Precise evidence that you signed with full knowledge. This is relevant if you later claim you were pressured or misled. ILA neither creates nor reduces what you owe.
You can refuse to sign after ILA. If you do not understand the document, or you do not want to sign it, our solicitor will not certify that you do. Declining may mean Precise will not proceed on the current terms. The borrower may then need to restructure the deal or find another guarantor. That decision is yours alone.
Knowing the limits of the certificate makes the appointment itself easier to use well.
What will your solicitor cover in the ILA appointment?
Our solicitor will take you through the specific terms that affect you, in plain English, and check that you understand each one. The appointment typically covers:
- Your maximum liability. This includes whether the guarantee is capped or unlimited, and whether it covers interest, costs and future borrowing.
- Joint-and-several liability. Where liability is joint and several, Precise can pursue any one guarantor for the whole debt.
- Events of default. This means what counts as the borrower failing, which can include missing a payment or the term ending without repayment.
- Material loan terms. These include the amount, interest, fees, term and any early repayment charges.
- Security. This covers which property or assets stand behind the loan and your promise.
- Default consequences. This covers how a demand and enforcement could reach your home or savings.
- Pressure and free will. Our solicitor explains what undue influence looks like and confirms you are signing voluntarily.
- Your right to refuse or pause.
This is not a formality. If you seem unsure, or if someone else appears to be steering your decision, our solicitor can pause the appointment. Your conversation is with your own solicitor. Precise receives the certificate, not a record of the questions you asked or the concerns you raised.
How much time to allow for all of this depends on your deadline.
How long does Precise Mortgages ILA take and when is same-day service essential?
A same-day ILA certificate is available from Fast ILA, with same-day, evening and weekend appointments. The practical timeline is set by when you receive the final documents, not by the advice itself. Book as soon as Precise or your broker sends the final pack.
Same-day service matters most when:
- completion or drawdown is due within a day or two
- a broker or lender deadline is today
- you are buying at auction with a fixed completion date
Auction purchases carry the tightest timing risk. The auction contract fixes the completion date, and the bridging funds must be ready by then. The guarantee can arrive late in the process, after valuation and underwriting. ILA then becomes one of the last steps before completion. Leaving it to the final day removes the margin you need to fix a name mismatch or add missing lender wording.
If your deadline is close, Urgent / Same-Day ILA costs £230. You can book your same-day appointment online or call 020 7459 4037 to discuss timing.
Timing gets harder still when several people need to sign, which brings in the rules on joint advice.
What if I am a joint guarantor or director on a Precise loan?
Joint guarantors may need separate advice. The decision turns on whether their interests genuinely align. Under joint-and-several liability, Precise can pursue any one guarantor for the full debt. That means one guarantor’s position can differ sharply from another’s.
The SRA Code of Conduct says a solicitor must not act where there is a conflict of interest. Limited exceptions apply. The SRA’s conflicts guidance explains that acting for more than one client may be possible where clients have substantially common interests. The clients must give informed consent, and the solicitor must be satisfied it is reasonable to act.
In practice, two directors who own a company equally and guarantee its loan may share common interests. A director and a non-director spouse guaranteeing the same loan may not. The director benefits from the business. The spouse takes the risk without the reward. Precise’s instructions may also require each guarantor to receive separate advice, whatever the solicitor’s view.
If you are a director, the company’s limited liability does not shield you from a personal guarantee. Your home and savings sit outside the company, but within reach of the guarantee.
Where signers can be advised together, Couples / Joint Signatories ILA costs £300 and Group ILA for three signatories costs £400. Where separate advice is needed, we arrange individual appointments for each signer so the transaction keeps moving.
Independence is the point of ILA, and it shapes how we run the whole service.
The Fast ILA advantage: why book your Precise ILA with us?
Fast ILA is built for deadline-driven lender transactions such as Precise bridging, buy-to-let and development finance:
- SRA-regulated solicitors give every piece of advice.
- Fully remote. You book, pay, upload, verify ID and receive advice online, with no travel.
- Same-day ILA certificate available, with evening and weekend appointments.
- Fixed-fee ILA from £200. Every fee includes VAT, postage and disbursements, with nothing added.
- Electronic certificate, ready to forward to your broker, conveyancer or the lender.
- Our ILA certificates are accepted by banks, lenders and solicitors across England and Wales. Lenders set their own requirements, so we work to Precise’s instructions for your case.
- Rated Excellent on Trustpilot and Google, and 5 out of 5 from 1,400+ clients.
Related guides
- Precise Mortgages Consent Form Legal Advice | Fast ILA | Occupier Waivers and Legal Certification
- Precise Mortgages Joint Borrower Legal Advice | Fast ILA | ILA for JBSP Mortgages Online
Frequently asked questions about Precise Mortgages ILA
Book your Precise Mortgages ILA certificate online today
Our SRA-regulated solicitors provide fixed-fee, fully remote ILA, with a same-day certificate available and evening and weekend appointments. Our ILA certificates are accepted by banks, lenders and solicitors across England and Wales, and we work to Precise’s instructions for your transaction.
You can book your Precise Mortgages ILA appointment online and upload your final documents straight away. If you face an auction completion or a lender deadline within days, call 020 7459 4037 to arrange a same-day appointment.
