It is 10 years ago since I bought my property in Clitheroe. Conveyancing solicitors have just been instructed on the sale but I can't find the title documents. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be kept by the lender or they could still be with the solicitor who handled the purchase. Secondly in all probability the title will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors acquiring current official copies of the land registers. Almost all conveyancing in Clitheroe involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it adds to the complexity but is resolvable.

The Clitheroe conveyancing solicitors that just started acting on my house acquisition in Clitheroe have without warning closed. They were on acting for me because I needed a solicitor on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and my preferred Clitheroe lawyer was not. I sent them a cheque for two hundred pounds in advance. What should be my next steps?

If you have an estate agent involved then inform them immediately so that they can let the sellers know that there may be a slight delay due to the problems encountered. Hopefully they will be sympathetic and urge their lawyer to send a new set of papers to your new solicitors. You should appoint new lawyers that are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel and notify the lender. If you have paid over any money, it will hopefully be held by the SRA as money in an intervened firm's bank accounts is transferred to the SRA. Then, the SRA or the intervention agent looks at the intervened firm's accounts to work out who the money belongs to. To claim your money you will need to contact the SRA. If the SRA cannot return money you are owed from the firm's bank accounts, or if they can only return part of the money, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a grant. Your new lawyers should be in a position to help.

This question may be naive but I am unexperienced as FTB of a two bedroom flat in Clitheroe. Do I collect the keys to the house on completion from my conveyancer? If so, I will instruct a High Street conveyancing solicitor in Clitheroe?

There is no need to visit the lawyers office on the day of completion. Conveyancing lawyers for you will arrange to send the purchase money to the seller's solicitors, and once they have received this, you should be called to collect the keys from the selling Agents and start moving into the property. This tends to happen between 1 and 3pm.

My stepmother advised me that in purchasing a property in Clitheroe there may be various restrictions preventing external alterations to the property. Is this right?

We are aware of a number of properties in Clitheroe which have some sort of restriction or requirement of consent to external changes. Part of the conveyancing in Clitheroe should determine what restrictions are applicable and advising you as part of a ROT that should be sent to you.

Last month we had a mortgage agreed in principle with Co-operative. Clitheroe conveyancing lawyers have been chosen. How long does it take for Co-operative to forward the offer to the conveyancing practitioner?

Some lenders take longer than others. Have Co-operative completed the valuation? Have you advised Co-operative as to your lawyers' details and checked that your lawyers are on the Co-operative conveyancing panel? It is not unusual for a mortgage offer to take a month to come through.

We're new on the property ladder - had an offer accepted, yet the estate agent told us that the owners will only go ahead if we instruct the agent's chosen conveyancers as they want a ‘quick sale’. My instinct tells me that we should use a local solicitor used to conveyancing in Clitheroe

It is unlikely the vendors are behind this. Should the owner require ‘a quick sale', turning down a serious purchaser is not the way to achieve this. Try to communicate with the sellers directly and explain that (a)you are keen to buy (b)you are ready to go, with finances arranged © you have nothing to sell (d) you wish to move quickly (e)however you will continue to use your preferred Clitheroe conveyancing firm - not the ones that will give their negotiator at the agency a kickback or achieve conveyancing thresholds set by senior management.

I am hoping to put an offer on a small detached house that seems to meet my requirements, at a great figure which is making it more attractive. I have just discovered that the title is leasehold rather than freehold. I would have thought that there are issues purchasing a house with a leasehold title in Clitheroe. Conveyancing lawyers have are about to be instructed. Will my lawyers set out the risks of buying a leasehold house in Clitheroe ?

The majority of houses in Clitheroe are freehold and not leasehold. This is one of the situations where having a local solicitor who is familiar with the area who can assist with the conveyancing process. It is clear that you are purchasing in Clitheroe in which case you should be looking for a Clitheroe conveyancing solicitor and check that they have experience in dealing with leasehold houses. As a matter of priority you will need to check the unexpired lease term. Being a lessee you will not be entirely free to do whatever you want to the property. The lease comes with conditions such as obtaining the landlord’sconsent to carry out alterations. You may also be required to pay a service charge towards the maintenance of the estate where the property is located on an estate. Your lawyer should appraise you on the various issues.

I own a split level flat in Clitheroe, conveyancing having been completed April 2006. Can you give me give me an indication of the likely cost of a lease extension? Similar flats in Clitheroe with over 90 years remaining are worth £211,000. The ground rent is £50 charged once a year. The lease ceases on 21st October 2092

You have 68 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to span between £9,500 and £11,000 plus plus your own and the landlord's "reasonable" professional fees.

The figure that we have given is a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. 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 taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first seeking the advice of a professional.