My brother-in-law has suggested I instruct a conveyancing solicitor in Thurrock. I need to find out whether they are on the Santander approved list of lawyers. Could you or the lender confirm if they are on the panel?

You should contact the solicitor and enquire if they can act for the lender. Alternatively please call Santander who may be able to assist.

I am close to exchanging contracts on the sale of our home in Thurrock and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a risk of it being constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the purchasers instructed a web based conveyancing practice as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in Thurrock. Having lived in Thurrock for 5 years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to get confirmation that there is no issue.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing firm already. Are they able to advise? You need to enquire of your lawyer before you do anything. It is very possible that once the local authority has been informed of a potential issue it cannot be insured against (a bit like being diagnosed with a serious illness and then taking out health insurance to cover that same ailment)

Just bought a detached house in Thurrock , What is the estimated time for the Land Registry to register my title? My Thurrock conveyancing solicitor works at snail pace, so I want to check the registration formalities are addressed.

As far as conveyancing in Thurrock registration is no quicker or slower than anywhere else in England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timescales can vary subject to the party submitting the application, whether it is in order and whether the Land registry must send notices to any 3rd parties. Currently approximately 80% of such applications are fully addressed within 12 days but occasionally there can be longer hold-ups. Registration takes place once the buyer is living at the property therefore registration formalities is not usually an essential issue yet if it is urgent that the the registration takes place urgently then you or your lawyers should communicate with the Registry to express the reasoning for the application to be prioritised.

My wife and I purchased a leasehold flat in Thurrock. Conveyancing and Leeds Building Society mortgage are in place. A letter has just been received from someone saying they have taken over the reversionary interest in the property. It included a demand for arrears of ground rent dating back to 1998. The conveyancing practitioner in Thurrock who acted for me is not around. Do I pay?

The first thing you should do is make enquiries of the Land Registry to make sure that the individual claiming to own the freehold is in fact the new freeholder. You do not need to instruct a Thurrock conveyancing practitioner to do this as it can be done on-line for less than a fiver. Rest assured that in any event, even if this is the legitimate landlord, under the Limitation Act 1980 the limitation period for recovery of ground rent is six years.

Thurrock Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Sample of Queries before Purchasing

Is anyone aware of any major works in the planning that will likely increase the maintenance charges? Does the lease have more than 90 years remaining?

I own a leasehold flat in Thurrock. Conveyancing was completed in last year. I have read on various consumer forums that I should not let the the remaining lease term to get too low. What is the reasoning?

Thurrock domestic long term leases are for a fixed period - often ninety nine years when they are first granted. However a significant appartments in Thurrock were built or converted 35 or more years ago and so such leases now have fewer than 80 years remaining. This may sound like a long time however Banks, Building Societies and other mortgage institutions tend to require leases to have a minimum of 75 years remaining to be mortgageable. This means that when you come to sell the property you will need to extend the term of your lease if you are approaching 75 years. To maximise your property value you should be considering whether to extend your lease well in advance of selling the property. There are also strong financial reasons to taking action before the lease reaches even 80 years as when the lease falls below 80 years the premium to be paid to extend starts to get a lot more expensive.