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Conveyancing Panel
Nationwide Building Society Conveyancing Panel : Questions and Answers
My husband and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the last couple of days our property lawyer has forwarded the sale agreement to sign with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nationwide BS have this evening contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
If you are buying a property with the assistance of a mortgage it is usual for the purchaser's solicitors to also act for the purchaser's lender.
In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Accreditation Scheme.
Your solicitors should contact Nationwide Building Society and see if they can apply for membership of the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Nationwide Building Society will instruct their own solicitors to act. You don't have to instruct a firm on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel as you are at liberty to use your preferred lawyers, in which case it will likely add costs, and it will likely delay the transaction as you have another set of people involved.
Please assist. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Nationwide Building Society was dated random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 10 days inc Day of week eg. Mon. My solicitor says that as she is on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel she needs to redo the searches as they are now out of date.
One of the many conditions to being on the Nationwide Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Nationwide BS)which specifies that a local authority search be not more than half a year old. You should nevertheless ask your lawyer to check whether something called ‘search validation’ indemnity insurance is acceptable to Nationwide Building Society.
I am buying a flat and require a conveyancing solicitor in who is on the Nationwide BS approved. Could you point me in the right direction as regards a solicitor?
Our service is a directory service for firms who wish to be listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Nationwide Building Society . We don’t recommend any particular firm.
I am considering applying for a Nationwide Building Society mortgage for purchase of a newly converted (under development) with 65 per cent loan to value. Is it compulsory to choose a solicitor on the conveyancing panel for Nationwide BS?
In theory, you could use a solicitor that is not on Nationwide BS conveyancing panel, but Nationwide Building Society would require one of their panel solicitors to be instructed to act in their interests, and you'd have to pay for this - so most people instruct a panel solicitor. It's also easier, as otherwise you'd have to deal with two solicitors for the same conveyancing matter.
Can you point me to a directory of Nationwide BS panel solicitors on the Building Society Association’s Website?
No. There is no such tool on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association websites. Very few lenders make their panel listings available online.
Do most lenders operate their own panel of solicitors?
Many lenders do operate a restricted conveyancing panel but a lot of lenders allow any solicitors to join their panel so long as they meet their criteria. Each lender sets their own criteria. For example the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Nationwide BS’s conveyancing panel requirements.
Intending to buy a flat with a mortgage with Nationwide Building Society. I have received an online quote from a licensed conveyancer, which states: "There will be no charge for dealing with the Building Society if you are obtaining a mortgage". I take this to mean that there will be no additional fee if the solicitor is on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel. I wanted to make sure it means there will be no additional fees for dealing with the mortgage.
They are simply saying that the cost for acting for the lender is included in the fee being quoted. It is worth you checking that they are on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel