I happen to be the single beneficiary of my late father’s will and I have everything in my name alone, including the my former home in St Mawes. Conveyancing formalities meant that the Land Registry date was in December. I now wish to sell up. I understand that there is a CML six month 'rule', which means that my proprietorship could be treated the same way as though I had purchased the property in December. Do I have to wait 6 months to sell?

The Council of Mortgage Lenders’ handbook obliges solicitors to: "report to us immediately if the owner or registered proprietor has been registered for less than six months." By the strict wording you may be caught by that. Some banks would take a pragmatic view as this obligation is principally there to pick up on subsales or the wholesaling and assigning of properties.

I am currently in the process of buying my council flat in St Mawes. I have a mortgage agreed with Yorkshire BS. Conveyancing is new to me. Can I proceed without a solicitor easily? I think we can but we keep being told I should use one. Any advice?

It is not advisable to proceed with a house purchase without a solicitor. The council's solicitor are not acting for you. You need a solicitor for a number reasons. One of which is to verify what plans the Council have for repairs and refurbishment for the next five years. Many leaseholders have been stung for contributions of thousands of pounds. In any event, if you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you will need to appoint a solicitor on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel.

UBS have agreed my home loan in principle, my bid on a house in St Mawes has been accepted, what happens next?

Your estate agent will wish to know who your solicitors are (ensure that the property lawyers are on the bank’s approved list). Telephone UBS or your financial adviser and finish off any relevant forms. UBS will sellect a valuer who will get in touch with the selling agent or seller to arrange a time for the valuation to happen. Once carried out (assuming no problems) it takes approximately a week for the mortgage offer to be issued. UBS will send the offer to you and your conveyancing practitioners. The legal work will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in St Mawes.

My wife and I are selling our property in St Mawes and according to the buyers it appears that there is a risk of it being built land that was not decontaminated. Any high street St Mawes conveyancer would know this is not the case. For the life of me I don't know why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing outfit as opposed to a conveyancing solicitor in St Mawes. We have lived in St Mawes for three years we know that this is a non issue. Is it a good idea to contact our local Authority to seek clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It would appear that you have a conveyancing firm already. What do they say? You should check with 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 illness)

I'm refinancing my primary house to a BTL mortgage with TSB and I will use the rest of the raised equity towards another property. The location we are interested in is St Mawes. Will your lawyers be able to act for the two lenders and link together the transactions?

Do use our search tool on this page to be sure that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panels. Assuming that they are your conveyancer should be able to simultaneously deal with the two transactions but you should have a chat with you solicitor and communicate your expectations and needs.

I am a negotiator for a reputable estate agency in St Mawes where we see a few flat sales derailed as a result of leases having less than 80 years remaining. I have been given inconsistent advice from local St Mawes conveyancing solicitors. Please can you shed some light as to whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension process for the buyer?

As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to commence the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. This means that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years to extend their lease. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment has to be done prior to, or simultaneously with completion of the disposal of the property.

Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.

I purchased a basement flat in St Mawes, conveyancing having been completed half a dozen years ago. Can you let me have an estimated range of the fair premium for a lease extension? Equivalent flats in St Mawes with an extended lease are worth £170,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £50 levied per year. The lease finishes on 21st October 2103

You have 78 years left to run the likely cost is going to be between £7,600 and £8,800 as well as costs.

The suggested premium range above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we cannot give you a more accurate figure without more comprehensive due diligence. Do not use the figures in tribunal or court proceedings. There are no doubt additional issues that need to be taken into account and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you move forward placing reliance on this information before seeking the advice of a professional.

Our offer on detached house in St Mawes has been accepted, but there is a chain. The sellers have put an offer on a flat, although it’s not yet agreed to, and are looking at other apartments in the pipeline. I have chosen a nearby conveyancing solicitor in St Mawes. What should be my next step? When do I get the mortgage application with Santander started with Santander?

It is standard to have apprehensions where there is an associated chain as you are unlikely to want to incur costs too early (mortgage application is approx one thousand pounds, then survey, St Mawes conveyancing search costs, etc). The first course of action is to check that your lawyer is on the Santander approved list. Concerning the subsequent phase this very much depends on the specifics of your case, desire for the property and on the state of the market. In a buoyant market many purchasers will apply for the mortgage with Santander and arrange for the survey and only if it comes back ok would they pay their property lawyer to move forward with the conveyancing in St Mawes.