When you buy a property, the process of legally transferring ownership from the seller to the buyer, as well as the various checks and searches that need to be completed, is known as conveyancing.
With Nationwide, you can arrange for your conveyancing to be carried out through our Homebuyer Legal Service, which comprises a network of carefully chosen licensed conveyancers from a selected range of independent firms.
At a glance
- Dedicated specialist advice from carefully chosen conveyancers
- Fixed fee service, so no need to worry about spiraling costs
- No move, no fee, so if your purchase falls through there are no conveyancing fees to pay (although you may be liable for any costs incurred by your conveyancer up to that point)
- Online case tracking to keep you updated on progress
How the Homebuyer Legal Service works
The work your conveyancer carries out ensures that the seller has the legal right to sell you the property, that your new home has the rights you would expect, and isn’t subject to restrictions you’d find unacceptable (such as a public footpath through the garden).
The conveyancer’s work also ensures you are bound to buy the property through the exchange of contracts, and that the purchase is completed for you by transferring your mortgage funds.
Fixed fee service
All our conveyancers work for a fixed cost, which covers your conveyancer obtaining, considering and reporting to you on all the standard relevant home buying legal paperwork. The cost is dependant on your property value and whether you are buying, or buying and selling.
If you require your conveyancer to carry out additional work on your behalf, there may be an additional fee that will be agreed between you and your conveyancer.
For more details, including costs, download our Homebuyer Legal Service leaflet for England, Wales and N.Ireland or Scotland.
No move, no conveyancing fees
If the worst happens and the sale or purchase does not complete, you will not be charged your agreed Homebuyer Legal Service fixed conveyancing fees. You will, however, be liable for any costs incurred by your conveyancer to date, such as searches.
Keep up to date online
You can keep fully updated on all stages of the conveyancing process online at www.trackmycase.com.
How do you instruct our conveyancers?
The option to instruct Nationwide's Homebuyer Legal Service is offered as part of the mortgage application. You can apply for a mortgage online, speak to your mortgage advisor in your local branch or call us on 0800 111 44 10.
The solicitor instructed for you will then take over the case and contact you directly.
Want to know more?
Download our Homebuyer Legal Service leaflet (including costs) for England, Wales or N.Ireland or Scotland.
Moving your mortgage from one lender to another can result in having to pay legal costs. But when you move your mortgage to Nationwide, we’ll pay these costs in most circumstances.
No standard legal fees to pay when you remortgage
When you remortgage to us, we pay a fee to cover the standard solicitor’s fees, VAT and the cost of all standard disbursements (i.e. the money your solicitor has to pay to third parties), except the cost of transferring funds from the solicitor to your existing lender.
At a glance:
- No standard legal fees to pay (see what isn’t covered below)
- Dedicated specialist advice from carefully chosen conveyancers
- All remortgage customers could benefit from our free standard service
How the remortgage legal service works
We will instruct one of two external companies, Legal Marketing Services (LMS) or London and England (L&E), to appoint a solicitor to act on our behalf in the remortgaging process. LMS and L&E manage a national network of carefully chosen solicitors from a selected range of independent firms.
The solicitor acts on our behalf and will not advise you unless you specifically request them to (if you are in Northern Ireland, the solicitor acting for us cannot also act for you). You will be invoiced for any work you instruct yourself.
What isn’t covered?
The following list gives some examples of legal work that is not covered under the scheme and which you may have to pay for, depending on the circumstances of your remortgage (please note this is not a full list):
- Telegraphic transfer fee to repay your existing lender
- Mining and other unusual search fees
- Rectification of a defective title
- Change of name on title deeds
- Transfers of Equity
- Merger of titles
- Dealing with the repayment or postponement of other secured loans
- Dealing with leasehold or shared ownership properties
If additional work needs to be carried out that is not covered by our free standard legal service, we will inform you and suggest that you instruct our solicitor to carry out this work for you. You will be liable for the cost of this additional work. The solicitor will provide you with a full list of charges in their initial letter to you and will request your agreement before proceeding.
Can I use my own solicitor?
You can instruct a separate solicitor to act for you or seek independent legal advice at any stage if you wish, but you must pay for any legal services you arrange yourself. If you do instruct a separate solicitor to act for you, you will need to provide us with their details when you submit your mortgage application.
How do I instruct Nationwide’s solicitor?
The option to take advantage of our free standard legal service for remortgage customers is offered as part of the mortgage application. You can apply for a mortgage online, speak to your mortgage advisor in your local branch or call us on 0800 111 44 10.