I am nearing exchange of contracts for my apartment in Upminster and the EA has just text me to advise that the buyers are changing their solicitor. The reason given is that the mortgage company will only deal with solicitors on their approved list. Why would a major mortgage company only work with certain solicitors rather the firm that they want to appoint to handle their conveyancing in Upminster ?

Mortgage companies have always had an approved set of law firms they are willing to work with, but in the past few years big names such as HSBC, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have worked with them for many years.

Lending institutions point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the pruning – criteria have been narrowed as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to disclose 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. The purchasers are unlikely to have any impact on this.

As someone not used to the Upminster conveyancing process what’s your top tip you can impart for the ownership transfer in Upminster

Not many law firms shout this from the rooftops but conveyancing in Upminster or throughout London is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there exists an abundance of room for confrontation between you and others involved in the home moving process. For example, the seller, estate agent and on occasion the bank. Choosing a solicitor for your conveyancing in Upminster is a critical decision as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the ONLY party in the legal process whose role it is to protect your best interests and to protect you.

There is a worrying ongoing adversarial element to conveyancing- someone has to be at fault for the process taking so long. You should always trust your conveyancer above the other players in the conveyancing process.

I had intended to instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Upminster for our house move. Our financial adviser informed us that our mortgage company Norwich and Peterborough Building Society won't deal with them. Surely this is unfair competition?

Banks ordinarily imposes restrictions either the type or the amount of conveyancing firms on their approved list of lawyers. Typical examples of such restriction(s) being that a law practice must have two or more partners. As well as restricting the type of firm, some have reduced the number of firms they use to represent them. You should note that Norwich and Peterborough Building Society have no responsibility for the quality of advice provided by any member of Norwich and Peterborough Building Society Conveyancer Panel. Mortgage fraud was a key driver in the rationalisation of conveyancing panels since 2008 even though there remains differing views regarding the extent of solicitor engagement in some of that fraud. Statistics from the Land Registry reveal that hundreds of law firms, including some in or near Upminster only perform a couple conveyances per annum.

It has been five months following my purchase conveyancing in Upminster concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £200,000 when infact I paid £170,000. 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.

I was advised by a few property agents in Upminster to get a quote from a property lawyer using your seach tool. Is there a financial upside for Estate Agents to offer your site over and above alternative conveyancing organisations?

We refuse to make any commission for sending work to this site. We found it would be just too difficult a fee because home movers will think, ‘How come the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ So we decided to step away from that.