I am selling my ground floor flat in Gillingham and the estate agent has just e-mailed to advise that the buyers are switching property lawyer. The reason given is that the bank will only work with solicitors on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only work with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Gillingham ?

UK lenders 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 acted for them for over 25 years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud as the reason for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to keep an eye on. Banks tend not to disclose how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society claims that it is being contacted daily by practices that have been removed from panels. Some 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 unlikely to have any impact on this.

A relative suggested that where I am buying in Gillingham I should ask my conveyancer to carry out a Neighbourhood, Planning and Local Amenity Search. What does it cover?

A search of this type is occasionally included in the estimate for your Gillingham conveyancing searches. It is not a small report of about 40 pages, listing and detailing significant information about Gillingham around the property and the people living there. It includes an Aerial Photograph, Planning Applications, Land Use, Mobile Phone Masts, Rights of Way, the local Housing Market, Council Tax Banding, the demographics of People living in the area, the dominant type of Housing, the Average House Prices, Crime details, Local Education with plans and statistics, Local Amenities and other useful information concerning Gillingham.

It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Gillingham completed. I have checked the Land Registry website which shows that I paid £175,000 when infact I paid £160,000. 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 asset 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.

How difficult is it to transfer to a new firm as I have to choose one who is on the Britannia conveyancing panel. I had appointed a local conveyancing solicitor in Gillingham five minutes from me but the firm is not approved by Britannia

It would be our pleasure to assist you find a conveyancing solicitor in Gillingham on the Britannia panel. Please note that the solicitors that we on the directory do not pay us a referral fee if you instruct them and are registered with the Solicitors Regulation Authority who regulate all conveyancing solicitors in Gillingham. In utilising the find a conveyancing solicitor tool on this website, you can compare and instruct different solicitors and conveyancers both nationally and in Gillingham.

Last May I purchased a leasehold property in Gillingham. Am I liable to pay service charges for periods before my ownership?

In a situation where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. It is an essential part of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Leasehold Conveyancing in Gillingham - Examples of Questions you should consider Prior to Purchasing

How many years are left on the lease? What is the yearly service fee and ground rent? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments?