I am progressing with the sale of my apartment in Dagenham and the EA has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. I am told that this is due to the fact that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their conveyancing panel. On what basis would a big named lender only work with certain law firms rather the firm that they want to choose to handle their conveyancing in Dagenham ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in recent years big names such as Santander, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lenders point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the cull – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. 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. 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 buyers' case. Your buyers are not going to have any impact on this.

We are planning to move house in January. Does my conveyancing solicitor liaise with the removal company on the completion day. Incidentally, can you suggest a removal company in Dagenham. Conveyancing firm was chosen before I stumbled across this page.

On the afternoon of completion you will need to pick up the keys from the estate agent however this can only take place when the previous owners conveyancers inform the agent that the monies to complete are in and the keys can be released. Subsequently you can tell the removal men that they can start moving you in. As a matter of policy we do not suggest a particular removal company but can assist you in choosing a conveyancing in Dagenham or a solicitor with expertise in conveyancing in Dagenham.

Can you point me to a directory of Kent Reliance panel conveyancers in Dagenham on the Council of Mortgage Lender’s Website?

Unfortunately not yet. There is no such facility on the Council of Mortgage Lenders or Building Society Association sites. Very few lending institutions make their panel listings open the public over the internet. Where you are looking for a Dagenham property lawyer on the Kent Reliance please use our facility.

I recently had an offer accepted on a house in Dagenham. My financial adviser suggested a conveyancer. I paid an on account payment of £225. A couple of days later, the lawyer contacted me sheepishly admitting that they were not on the TSB conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the TSB panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

I have recentlydiscovered that Action Conveyancing have closed. They conducted my conveyancing in Dagenham for a purchase of a freehold house 12 months ago. How can I check that the property is not still registered in the name of the former proprietor?

The quickest way to see if the premises is in your name, you can make a search of the land registry (£3.00). You can either do this yourself or ask a law firm to do this for you. If you are not registered you can seek help from one of a number of Dagenham conveyancing specialists.

I am purchasing my first flat in Dagenham with a mortgage from HSBC Bank. The sellers refused to reduce the price so I negotiated 6k of extras instead. The estate agent suggested that I not to tell my lawyer about this deal as it may jeopardize my loan with the bank. Is this normal?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

I've recently found out that there is a flying freehold issue on a house I put an offer in a fortnight ago in what should have been a simple, no chain conveyancing. Dagenham is where the house is located. Is there any guidance you can impart?

Flying freeholds in Dagenham are unusual but are more likely to exist in relation to terraced houses. Even where you use a solicitor outside Dagenham you would need to get your solicitor to go through the deeds diligently. Your lender may require your conveyancing solicitor to take out an indemnity policy. Some of the more diligent conveyancing solicitors in Dagenham may ascertain that this is not enough and that the deeds be re-written to give you the most up to date legal protection. If so, the next door neighbour also had to sign up to the revised deeds.It is possible that your lender will not accept the situation so the sooner you find out the better. You should also check with your insurance broker as to whether they will insure a flying freehold residence.