Find a Law Firm
approved by Nationwide BS

Ready to buy a new home? Failing to check that a lawyer is on the Nationwide BS list of approved solicitors can put your transaction at risk of delay or failure.

Find an Approved Solicitor on the Nationwide Building Society Conveyancing Panel

Frequently asked questions relating to the Nationwide BS Conveyancing Panel

My wife and I are novices when it comes to buying a property. Within the 48 hours our lawyer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through in anticipation of exchanging contracts shortly. Nationwide BS have this afternoon contacted us to inform me that there is now an issue as our lawyer is not on their approved list of lawyers. Is this a problem?
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 Quality Scheme. Your property lawyers 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 may delay matters as you have another set of people involved.

Our solicitor has uncovered a legal deficiency with the lease for the property we are buying. The other side have put forward title insurance as a workaround. We are happy with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel he must ensure that the lender is happy with this solution. Who is the client here, us or Nationwide BS?
The short answer to your last question is that, notwithstanding the potential for a conflict of interest, you and Nationwide Building Society are the client. A precondition to being on the Nationwide BS approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Nationwide Building Society). The CML Handbook conditions require your lawyer to disclose issues such as defects will the lease so that Nationwide BS can be afforded the opportunity to check with their valuer as to the extent that the value of the property is affected . Should you refuse to allow your lawyer to make the appropriate notification then your lawyer will have no choice but to discontinue acting for you.
Do all the licensed conveyancers and solicitor practices listed on your search have online case tracking as I understood that this was a condition of being on the Nationwide Building Society solicitor panel?
The Council of Mortgage Lenders or BSA do not require online case tracking. Some law firms operate such technology and some don't.
My grandmother passed away 10 months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a relatively small loan left on it of around £5k. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nationwide BS , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Nationwide Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel. Here is link to the Land Registry online guidance around what to do when a property owner dies. This will help you to understand the registration process behind changing the details re the registered title. in your case it would appear that you are effectively purchasing the property from the estate. Your Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel solicitor pays the new mortgage money into the estate, the estate pays off the old mortgage, the charge is released and you become the owner and the Nationwide BS mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Two weeks ago we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Nationwide Building Society. Solicitors have been instructed? What is the average time that one could expect to receive a mortgage offer from Nationwide Building Society?
Some lenders take longer than others. Have Nationwide BS conducted the survey? Have you advised Nationwide Building Society as your lawyers details and checked that your lawyer is on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel? sometimes it can take as long as six weeks for a mortgage offer to be issued
After shopping around on the internet I have found a solicitor having checked that they are on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property? Or Having digested plenty of mortgage guides,I note that it is considered advisable to get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my solicitor - who is on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. is that correct?
Nationwide Building Society will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Nationwide BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller. or Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Nationwide Building Society you could contact your them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors.
We are are buying a garden flat in Hendon. Conveyancing solicitors in Hendon are preferred to beappointed. My brokersuggested that we make sure that the conveyancer in Hendon is on the Nationwide BS approved list of lawyers. Is this right?
A limited percentage of Hendon conveyancing solicitors are on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel. 7 people a month use our search tool to search for a Hendon conveyancing practitioner on the on the Nationwide Building Society list of approved conveyancing firms.