Nottingham Building Society Solicitor Panel Sample Enquires to our Call Center from members of the public
I am selling my house and the EA has just telephoned to advise that the buyers are swapping conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that Nottingham Building Society will only engage with property lawyers on their approved list. Why would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors?
Lenders have always had panels of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Lloyds Banking Group, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the cull – criteria have been tightened and a smaller panel should be easier to keep an eye on. No lender will say how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels, or have other concerns about them. Some do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyer’s case. Your purchasers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.
Can you clarify something for me?. For no fault of my lawyer but, the conveyancing for my house purchase has been going on for months. The Local Authority Search from Nottingham 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 informs me that as she is on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel she needs to reorder the searches as they are no longer valid.
One of the many conditions to being on the Nottingham Building Society approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook Part 2 obligations (last updated for this lender on Nottingham Building Society)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 Nottingham Building Society.
I have been Googling for conveyancing quotes online. Can I be confident that all the firms that are identified on your directory are on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel?
The solicitor and licensed conveyancing practices on our directory have advised us that they are on the Nottingham Building Society panel and agreed to advise us to take down their listing in the event of removal off of the Nottingham Building Society panel. To date we have not been informed by either a lender or a member of the public that the data about a specific firm being on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel is incorrect.
My aunt passed away six months ago and as sole heir and executor was left the house. The house had a small mortgage remaining of approximately £8000. I want to have the title changed into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Nottingham Building Society , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this possible?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Nottingham Building Society will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Nottingham Building Society 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 Nottingham 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 Nottingham Building Society mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Can you point me to a directory of Nottingham Building Society panel conveyancers on the Council of Mortgage Lender’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.
Are all solicitor practices on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As solicitors, in order to be on the Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
Do most banks 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 Nottingham Building Society conveyancing panel requirements are different to Nottingham Building Society’s conveyancing panel requirements.
