National Westminster Bank Conveyancing Panel Recently Asked Questions from members of the public
The solicitor my fiance and I wanted to use for conveyancing on a remortgage said he will levy higher legal fees if my lender is because of their unusual legal requirements. Will I regret using National Westminster Bank? Is National Westminster Bank conveyancing so much more difficult?
National Westminster Bank conveyancing requirements for their panel are no better or no more complicated than most lenders.
It is the case now the CML Handbook, the "bible" used by solicitors to establish lender requirements, is different for each lender.
It is not clear if your lawyer is on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel. If they are not, this does add further risk of delay as National Westminster Bank will appoint their own solicitors to look after their interest.
Can you help?. For no fault of my lawyer but, my purchase conveyancing has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from National Westminster Bank was date stamped random date and we have agreed a date for me to move into the property on 6. My solicitor has advised that as she is on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer acceptable to the lender.
One of the many conditions to being on the National Westminster Bank approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on National Westminster Bank)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 National Westminster Bank.
I need to find a National Westminster Bank panel solicitor in Inverness. Could you help me?
Unfortunately it’s not apparent why you need a National Westminster Bank panel solicitor but in any event, if you can not find one on our search tool you will need to speak directly to National Westminster Bank to find out which solicitors in National Westminster Bank are on their panel. If you do find such a firm not listed please direct them to our site to list. After all the cost is only one £1 a month
I am attempting to get my former partner taken off the mortgage deeds. Can National Westminster Bank really tell me which solicitor I can or can not instruct?
You can use any solicitor you like but National Westminster Bank 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 Westminster Bank solicitors panel
Do conveyancing solicitors on the National Westminster Bank conveyancing panel work on a no sale no fee basis?
In the main there are no requirements by lenders for their firms to operate on a no-sale-no-fee basis. There a small number of lenders who operate a very restricted conveyancing panel managed by a third party company (often termed in the industry as a ‘gatekeeper’). That third party may impose certain conditions such as non-sale-no fee on the panel firms. If you require this as a condition of your conveyancing then you should check with the conveyancing firm that this is part of their package
I have paid off my mortgage with National Westminster Bank. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the National Westminster Bank panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your National Westminster Bank mortgage they may send you evidence showing that you have paid it off. Alternatively they may notify the Land Registry directly. The Land Registry need to see this evidence before they will remove the National Westminster Bank mortgage from the register. National Westminster Bank,and any evidence they send you, will determine the action you need to take. In cases where no conveyancer is acting for you and you have paid off your mortgage:
but are not moving to another property
where the National Westminster Bank has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the National Westminster Bank has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your National Westminster Bank mortgage has been paid off.
My ex -wife’s name is on the National Westminster Bank mortgage of my property but not on the land registry. The apartment was transferred to me on our divorce many years ago by way of a sealed court order. Does my ex still have a say on the sale even though the land registry showing the property in my name alone? Will I be required to take her name of the National Westminster Bank mortgage in order to sell?
As regards the National Westminster Bank mortgage, it is unusual that your ex-wife’s name remains on the mortgage but not on the title. It is conceivable that this is an oversight on the part of your conveyancers to ensure that her name was removed or even an administrative error on the part of National Westminster Bank in failing to update their data. In any event, it should cause difficulty providing her name no longer appears on the Land Registry title and you have a court order ordering that the property is transferred to you.