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Before the recession most lenders had an appetite for risk which was higher than today. The Financial Services Authority in 2010 conducted a thematic review into mortgage fraud which concluded: know the conveyancing solicitors that you are dealing with. Consequently, lenders have regularly sought more information from law firms about their operations and the individuals who work for them and set certain criteria such a completing on a minimum number of transactions. Many firms that have been excluded from lender panels have 100% healthy track record, no complaints and no claims and didn't just 'dabble' in conveyancing. Such firms were never going to meet the criteria of volume of transactions the lenders required.

A precondition to being on the National Counties Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on National Counties Building Society)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than 6 months old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to National Counties Building Society.

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the National Counties Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.

You can use any solicitor you like but National Counties Building Society then has the right to appoint a different solicitor to act for them at your expense. It might be more cost effective and quicker to instruct a lawyer who is on the National Counties Building Society solicitors panel

Unfortunately, as long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your solicitors can charge a fee for this. This fee is not set by National Counties Building Society but by your lawyers. Some firms on the National Counties Building Society will charge an ‘acting for lender’ fee and others do not.

obtaining recommendations is a good start. Before you go ahead check if they offer a no sale no fee offer. Also you often get what you pay for - a firm which quotes more will often provide a better service than one which is cheap as chips. We would always advocate that you speak with the solicitor carrying out your conveyancing

Lenders such as National Counties Building Society can revoke their mortgage offer although this rarely happens. In the unlikely event that National Counties Building Society withdraw their offer they may or may not inform you or the lawyer as to their reasoning. There are various possible reasons but here are 5 examples:

• Many mortgage offers have an expiry date. Your lawyer should check this. National Counties Building Society may amend or withdraw an offer before the end of its validation period if an offer extension is requested and following a re-evaluation of the property the value of the security is below a level which is acceptable to them.

• A cashback to the buyer, or | part of the price includes a non-cash incentive to the buyer (eg paid stamp duty land tax),or | any indirect incentive (cash or non cash) or rental guarantee, of which the lender was previously unaware