Finally the sale completed on my house in Cumbria last July but our buyer keeps Skype messaging every few hours complaining that her solicitor is waiting to hear from mysolicitor. What are the post completion sale formalities following completion?

After completion of your disposal your lawyer should deliver the transfer deeds and all supplemental paperwork to the buyer’s lawyers. If applicable, your conveyancer should also evidence that the mortgage has been discharged to the buyers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion tasks specific conveyancing in Cumbria.

I was told four weeks ago that my mortgage has been agreed to by RBS. Is it usual for RBS to only issue the offer once my solicitor in Cumbria is approved on their conveyancing panel? RBS have asked my solicitor to see a copy of their Professional Indemnity Insurance Schedule.

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for RBS to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the RBS conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

I've read lots of mortgage guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Cumbria solicitor - who is on the Co-operative conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

Co-operative will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Co-operative will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. You may wish to consider appointing your own Cumbria surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

I have finally had an offer on an apartment in Cumbria accepted, but there is a chain. The vendors have placed an offer on a flat, however it’s not yet tied up, and have viewings of other properties booked. I have instructed a local conveyancing solicitor in Cumbria. What do I do now? When should I get the mortgage application with HSBC going?

It is normal to have apprehensions where there is a chain as you are unlikely to want to be too out of pocket too early (home loan application is approx £1k, then valuation, Cumbria conveyancing search costs, etc). The first thing to do is check that your property lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel. Regarding the next stages this very much dictated by the uniqueness of your case, desire for this property and on the state of the market. In a hot market the majority of buyers will apply for the mortgage with HSBC and arrange for the valuation and only if it was satisfactory would they ask their conveyancing practitioner to move forward with the conveyancing in Cumbria.

I have been told that property searches are a common cause of delay in Cumbria house deals. Is this right?

The Council of Property Search Organisations (CoPSO) published determinations of a review by MoveWithUs that conveyancing searches do not feature within the top 10 causes of delays during the legal transfer of property. Searches are not likely to feature in any slowing down conveyancing in Cumbria.

Having checked my lease I have discovered that there are only Fifty years remaining on my flat in Cumbria. I now wish to get lease extension but my freeholder is can not be found. What should I do?

On the basis that you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can submit an application to the County Court for an order to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will mean that your lease can be lengthened by the Court. You will be obliged to demonstrate that you or your lawyers have made all reasonable attempts to track down the lessor. In some cases a specialist would be useful to try and locate and prepare an expert document to be used as evidence that the landlord is indeed missing. It is advisable to get professional help from a property lawyer both on investigating the landlord’s absence and the application to the County Court overseeing Cumbria.

I acquired a 2 bed flat in Cumbria, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. How much will my lease extension cost? Corresponding flats in Cumbria with an extended lease are worth £211,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 invoiced every year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2094

With just 68 years unexpired the likely cost is going to be between £9,500 and £11,000 plus legals.

The suggested premium range that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure in the absence of detailed due diligence. Do not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be considered and you obviously should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. You should not take any other action placing reliance on this information without first getting professional advice.

Me and my partner are purchasing a three room flatin Cumbria with a loan from a lender. We would like to retain our solicitor in Cumbria however our bank says she’s not listed on their "panel". It seems we have little choice but to instruct from the our lender panel solicitors or stay with our Cumbria conveyancer and incur the extra costs for one of their panel ones to represent them. We feel as though this is unjust; is there anything we can do?

No, not really. The mortgage company home loan issued is subject to conditions, one of which will be that lawyers will on the mortgage company's conveyancing panel. in the past, most lenders had large numbers of law firms on their panels, including many conveyancing solicitors in Cumbria : a borrower could choose one for themselves, as long as it was on the lender's panel. The lender would then simply instruct the borrower's lawyers to act for the lender, too. You can use your lender's panel lawyers or you could borrow from another lender which does not restrict your choice. A further alternative is for your solicitors to apply to be on the conveyancing panel for your bank.