National Counties Building Society Conveyancing Panel Information

You might expect National Counties Building Society via their Part 2 obligations to address this but the Handbook is silent on time frames. You need to look at the Terms of National Counties Building Society’s Conveyancing Panel Appointment that you previously signed. For a number of banks these Terms have a provision along the following lines: ‘To keep us informed of the reasons for any delay in your being able to send the title deeds and documents we require to us within 3 months of completion or evidence of proof of registration within that period. (We will send reminders if the deeds have not been received but will not acknowledge receipt of deeds’ It is imperative to keep National Counties Building Society informed. Law firms can often compound their problems by not communicating with the lender when there is a delay or problem.

There are many reports available, five of which are as follows:

• Evidence of undertaking logs
• The percentage of the firm’s business which is conveyancing (broken down into sale/purchase and remortgage)
• Average time frame to register charges at the Land Registry
• Average time frame to send deeds to the lender (calculated from completion date or title registration)
• Number of conveyancing cases by lender

In the same way that there is a unique National Counties Building Society conveyancing panel most building societies, operate a conveyancing panel for solicitors and other conveyancers that the lender will instruct. Terms and Conditions and criteria for inclusion on a building society conveyancing panel vary from lender-to-lender. Having CQS accreditation may be a requirement. Institutional lenders, such as a building society, is a client and is entitled to instruct the solicitor or conveyancer of its choosing (who, in turn, is free to accept or refuse instructions). Therefore, if lender and borrower cannot agree which solicitor or conveyancer should represent them jointly, they would usually proceed on a separate representation basis. The BSA have not published the equivalent of the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook Part 3s.

With mortgage companies and property lawyers working so closely together it is surprising that there has not been greater demand for the introduction of a bit of transparency regarding not just the figures for the National Counties Building Society conveyancing panel but for all lender panel listings

The Law Society’s CQS accreditation is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless the CML have indicated that it is likely to become a prerequisite for firms wishing to join their approved list of conveyancing solicitors. A number of mortgage companies now use the scheme as the starting point for Panel acceptance as is the case with HSBC.

You should get in touch with National Counties Building Society to obtain standard documents. The The Council of Mortgage Lenders Handbook incorporates an express inquiry for banks to enumerate who to contact to obtain standard documents. National Counties Building Society in their Part 2’s state: Please remember to disclose the firm’s National Counties Building Society conveyancing panel reference.