FAQs : The Nationwide BS Conveyancing Panel from members of the public
My wife and I are first time buyers. Within the last couple of days our conveyancer has sent a preliminary report and documents to look through with a view to exchanging next week. Nationwide Building Society have this morning contacted us to advise us that they have now hit a problem as our solicitor is not on their conveyancing panel. 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 solicitors should contact Nationwide BS and see if they can apply for membership of the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable Nationwide BS will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You are not legally obliged to appoint a law firm on the Nationwide Building Society 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 are adding another lawyer into the mix.
Our lawyer has discovered a legal deficiency with the lease for the flat we are purchasing. The other side have suggested defective title insurance as a workaround. We are content with insurance and will cover the costs. Our solicitor says that as he is on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel he must be satisfied that the lender is happy with this solution. Are we the client or is Nationwide Building Society?
Just because you have a mortgage offer from Nationwide BS does not mean to say that the property will be meet their requirements for the purposes of a mortgage. Your lawyer has to ensure that the lease has to comply with the CML Handbook Requirements. You and Nationwide Building Society are the client. These conveyancing instructions must be adhered to by the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel who has to balance acting for you and Nationwide Building Society
Do all the firms listed on your search have online case tracking as I was under the impression that this was a precondition of being on the Nationwide BS 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.
I am selling my house. Does my solicitor have to be on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide BS conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. it might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their requirements fairly frequently at the moment.
Do conveyancing solicitors on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel work on a no move no charge 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 service
I have today made my last payment due on mortgage with Nationwide BS. I assume I don't need a solicitor on the Nationwide Building Society panel to remove the mortgage at the Land Registry. Am I right?
If you have finished paying off your Nationwide BS 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 Nationwide Building Society mortgage from the register. Nationwide BS,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 Nationwide Building Society has sent the Land Registry the discharge electronically, and
the Nationwide BS has instructed the Land Registry to do so
The Land Registry will send you a letter confirming that your Nationwide Building Society mortgage has been paid off.
I am selling my flat. I had a double glazing fitted in month 8 but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's mortgage company, Nationwide BS are being problematic. The solicitor who is on the Nationwide Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Nationwide BS are requiring a building regulation certificate. Why do Nationwide Building Society have a conveyancing panel of they don’t accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Nationwide BS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Nationwide Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing correctly and safely installed. It merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.