Common questions asked concerning the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One Solicitor Panel from members of the public
I am progressing with the sale of my flat and the estate agent has just called to advise that the purchasers are changing their law firm. The excuse is that Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a leading lender only engage with specific solicitors?
UK lenders have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide , have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for more than 15 years.
Lenders blame a rise 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 being contacted daily by practices 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.
I am purchasing a newly built duplex and my lawyer is advising me that she has to reveal incentives from the developer as her practice is on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and I have no desire to delay the conveyancing. Is my lawyer right?
You should not exchange unless you have advised to do so by your lawyer. A precondition to being on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One approved panel is to comply with the CML Handbook requirements (last updated for this lender on Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One). The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
I see that you have a post code search directory identifying law firms on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a commission if I instruct them for my conveyancing?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to the any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint.
My grandmother passed away last year and as sole heir and executor was left the property. The house had a small mortgage left on it of around £5k. I want to transfer the title deeds into my name whilst I re-mortgage to Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One , pay off the mortgage etc. Is this allowed?
If you intend to re-mortgage then Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One will insist on your using a conveyancer on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One 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 Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One 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 Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One mortgage is registered as a charge at the Land Registry.
Are all solicitor firms on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel regulated by the SRA?
As a firm of solicitors, in order to be on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the SRA. Many lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such firms would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC).
I was thinking of purchasing my friend’s property. Assuming we can agree a figure, what’s the best way to proceed? I plan to obtain a mortgage with Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One. Is it possible to avoid using solicitors to save on the costs? My father said that years ago it was possible to take the documents into the local Land Registry office and they did the rest
If you are getting a mortgage with Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One involved you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel. We would not encourage you to both use the same solicitors' firm. There are clear conflict of interest issues and it's not going to make a huge difference to the speed of the overall process. So as not to hold things us you should pass on your solicitors details to Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One. Feel free to use our search tool to look for a licensed conveyancer or solicitor on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel.
We were going to get a DIP from Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One this week so we know how much we could potentially offer as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc).Do the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One recommend a solicitor on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer
You will need to appoint solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and the Royal Bank of Scotland -Natwest One through the process.