I am one month into the sale of my ground floor flat in Thurrock and the estate agent has just telephoned to warn that the buyers are appointing a new conveyancer. The excuse is that the bank will only deal with solicitors on their conveyancing panel. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Thurrock ?

Lenders have always had an approved set of law firms that can act for them, but in the last few years big names such as Yorkshire Building Society, have reviewed and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have represented them for more than 15 years.

Lending institutions blame a rise in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to maintain. Banks tend not to reveal 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. Plenty of firms are unaware that they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. The purchasers are not going to have any sway in the decision.

I purchased a freehold house in Thurrock yet invoiced for rent, why is this and what is this?

It is rare for properties in Thurrock and has limited impact for conveyancing in Thurrock but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.

Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges have existed for many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the establishment of fresh rentcharges post 1977.

Old rentcharges can now be redeemed by making a one off payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence post 2037 is to be extinguished.

This question may be naive but I am new to the house moving as a first time purchaser of a garden flat in Thurrock. Do I receive the keys to the house on completion from my lawyer? If so, I will appoint a local conveyancing solicitor in Thurrock?

On the day of completion you will not be required to attend the conveyancers office in Thurrock. Your solicitors will electronically transfer the completion advance to the seller's solicitors, and shortly after the monies have arrived, you should be able to collect the keys from the Estate Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen early afternoon.

Are all Thurrock Conveyancing Quality Solicitors on the conveyancing list of approved solicitors?

Some major banks and building societies now make use of CQS as the starting point for Panel membership such as HSBC and Santander. CQS membership however is no guarantee to lender panel acceptance. Nevertheless,the Council of Mortgage Lenders have indicated that it is likely to become a pre-requisite for solicitors wishing to join their approved list of firms.

We are getting a further advance on our home loan from as we intend to conduct improvements to our house in Thurrock. Are we obliged to choose a nearby Thurrock solicitor on the conveyancing panel to deal with the paperwork?

would not normally require a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the panel.

It has been 4 months following my purchase conveyancing in Thurrock concluded. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £180,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the property from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

The solicitors handling our conveyancing in Thurrock has forwarded papers to review that show the property is unregistered with epitome documents. Surely all houses in Thurrock are registered?

Over ninety percent of property in Thurrock is registered. An 'epitome' is basically a dossier of photocopies of documents affecting an unregistered title. Many Thurrock conveyancing practitioners should be familiar with this type of conveyancing but where uncertainty exists the conventional recommendation these days appears to be for the vendor’s solicitor to deal with the registration formalities first and thereafter deal with the sale conveyance - this can though naturally cause a significant delay.