Having sold my house in Cornwall last October but the buyer keeps SMS messaging me to moan that his conveyancer is waiting to hear from myconveyancer. What should my lawyer have done now that I have sold?

Following your disposal your solicitor should send the transfer deeds and all of the paperwork to the purchaser's solicitors. Where appropriate, your conveyancer must also send confirmation that the legal charge in favour of the lender has been paid off to the purchasers conveyancers. There is unlikely to be post completion procedures unique to conveyancing in Cornwall.

My wife and I are buying a apartment in Cornwall. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? At some point we will need to deposit funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I am the single beneficiary of my late grandmother’s estate and I have everything in my name alone, including the house in Cornwall. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in November. I plan to dispose of the house. I do know about the Mortgage Lenders 6 month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be considered the same way as though I had purchased the house in November. Will no one buy the property for half a year?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges conveyancers to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." Technically you could be caught by that. How practical a view mortgage companies take of it, depend on the mortgage company as this requirement principally exists to identify the purchase and immediately sell or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

Is it the case that all Cornwall solicitors on the Co-operative conveyancing panel are regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Co-operative approved list of solicitors they would need to be overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of mortgage companies do list licenced conveyancers on their panel and in such a situation the organisation would be overseen by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

Will my conveyancer be asking questions concerning flooding as part of the conveyancing in Cornwall.

The risk of flooding is if increasing concern for lawyers dealing with homes in Cornwall. There are those who acquire a house in Cornwall, completely expectant that at some time, it may suffer from flooding. However, leaving to one side the physical destruction, if a house is at risk of flooding, it may be difficult to get a mortgage, adequate building insurance, or dispose of the property. There are steps that can be taken during the course of a house purchase to forewarn the buyer.

Conveyancers are not best placed to give advice on flood risk, however there are a various checks that can be undertaken by the buyer or on a buyer’s behalf which will give them a better understanding of the risks in Cornwall. The standard completed inquiry forms supplied to a purchaser’s solicitor (where the Conveyancing Protocol is adopted) contains a usual inquiry of the vendor to determine if the premises has historically flooded. If flooding has previously occurred which is not disclosed by the owner, then a purchaser could commence a claim for damages stemming from an inaccurate reply. The purchaser’s solicitors should also carry out an enviro search. This should higlight whether there is any known flood risk. If so, additional investigations will need to be initiated.

I am thinking of appointing a conveyancing practitioner in Cornwall for my house move. Can I review a solicitor's complaints history with the legal regulator?

Anyone can see presented Solicitor Regulator Association (SRA) decisions stemming from investigations commenced on or after Jan 2008. Visit Check a solicitor's record. To find information about the period before 1 January 2008, or to check a firm's history, call 0870 606 2555, 08.00 - 18.00 any week day save for Tuesday when lines open at 9.30am. International callers, call +44 (0)121 329 6800. The regulator may recorded telephone calls for training purposes.

Why is New Build conveyancing in Cornwall more expensive?

Purchasing a brand new premises is completely different from the standard house buying conveyancing in Cornwall. For a start developers normally need contracts to exchange within a tight deadline, so there is a lot of pressure on your conveyancer to ensure everything is in order. Furthermore new build properties often necessitate examination of adoption of highways, drains, planning considerations, building warranties or architects certificates. Mortgage company requirements are also more demanding. Taking into account the complex nature of the process for these types of properties, the conveyancing new build fees are higher than normal.