It is 10 years ago since I bought my home in St Bees. Conveyancing lawyers have now been instructed on the sale but I can't track down my title documents. Will this cause complications?

Don’t worry too much. First there is a chance that the deeds will be with your mortgage company or they may be archived with the lawyers who handled the purchase. Secondly the chances are that the property will be recorded at the land registry and you will be able to prove you own the property by your conveyancing solicitors procuring current official copies of the land registers. Most conveyancing in St Bees involves registered property but in the rare situation where your property is not registered it is more problematic but is resolvable.

My wife and I have organised a further advance on our mortgage from Nationwide as we want to carry out improvements to our property in St Bees. Do we need to appoint a bricks and mortar St Bees solicitor on the Nationwide conveyancing panel to deal with the legals?

Nationwide don't usually require a member of their conveyancing panel to deal with the formalities. If they do require any legal work then you would need to ensure that such a lawyer was on the Nationwide list.

It is not clear whether my mortgage offer obliges me to make sure the lease term for the flat is extended prior to the completion date. I have called my St Bees building society branch on numerous occasions and was informed it wasn't an issue and they would lend. My St Bees conveyancing solicitor - who is on the mortgage company conveyancing panel- called and was told they refuse to lend in accordance with their specific requirements. I have no idea who is right.

As long as the solicitor is on the bank approved list, they must comply with the CML Handbook specifications for the bank. Unless your lawyer obtains specific confirmation in writing that the mortgage company will go ahead, your lawyer has no choice but to refrain from exchanging contract and committing you to the purchase. We would suggest that you ask the bank to contact your lawyer in writing confirming that they will accept the number of years left on the lease.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a St Bees property lawyer having made sure that they are on the UBS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

UBS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually UBS 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. Your conveyancing practitioner will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your St Bees postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with UBS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in St Bees.

Will commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that could affect a commercial site in St Bees?

Many commercial conveyancing solicitors in St Bees will execute a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers invest in looking into accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in St Bees. The report sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in St Bees.

For every commercial conveyancing transaction in St Bees it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. Failure to identify developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately can result in delays to St Bees commercial conveyancing deals as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not ordered for residential conveyancing in St Bees.

I used Arc property Solicitors a few years ago for my conveyancing in St Bees. Now, I need my files but the law firm has closed. What do I do?

You should contact the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to assist in tracking down your conveyancing files. They can be contacted on please contact on 0870 606 2555. Alternatively, you should use their online form to make an enquiry. You will need to provide the SRA with as much information as possible to assist their search, including the name and address in St Bees of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously hired, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am using a search engine for the phrase conveyancing in St Bees it brings up numerous property lawyerslocally. How do I determine which is the suitable property lawyer for the sale of my house?

The ideal way of seeking a suitable conveyancer is via trusted referral, so seek the counsel of friends and those you trust who have bought a property in St Bees or the local estate agent or mortgage broker. Costs for conveyancing in St Bees differ, so it's a good idea to request at least three quotes from varying types of companies. Make sure that you clarify that the fees are fixed.