It is a dozen years since I bought my home in Seascale. Conveyancing lawyers have recently been instructed on the sale but I am unable to track down my title deeds. Will this cause complications?

You need not be too concerned. Firstly the deeds may be with the lender or they may be archived with the lawyers who oversaw your purchase. Secondly in most cases the property will be registered 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. Nearly all conveyancing in Seascale involves registered property but in the rare situation where your home is unregistered it is more of a problem but is resolvable.

Having spent time researching online forums for an online lawyer in Seascale, most post that I must use a CQS accredited solicitor. What is CQS?

The Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme is the recognised quality mark for legal experts in home moving process, trusted by some of the UK's biggest banks. In 2011-12 the Conveyancing Quality Scheme was officially recognised by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The scheme does not cover licenced conveyancers. Seascale is one of the numerous areas of the UK where there are Accredited solicitors.

I used Action Conveyancing a few years ago for my conveyancing in Seascale. Now, I need the files but the law firm is no longer operating. What do I do?

Do call the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA) to help locate 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 Seascale of the conveyancing firm of solicitors you previously used, the name of conveyancing solicitor with whom you had dealings, and the date on which you last had dealings with the firm.

I am buying a new build house in Seascale with the aid of help to buy. The builders refused to move on the amount so I negotiated 6k of additionals instead. The house builders rep advised me not reveal to my lawyer about the side-deal as it may jeopardize my mortgage with the bank. Do I keep my lawyer in the dark?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.

Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.

Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.

Do you have any advice for leasehold conveyancing in Seascale with the aim of saving time on the sale process?

• Much of the frustration in leasehold conveyancing in Seascale can be reduced if you appoint lawyers as soon as you market your property and request that they start to collate the leasehold information needed by the buyers’ representatives.
If you have had conflict with your landlord or managing agents it is essential that these are resolved prior to the flat being marketed. The buyers and their solicitors will be reluctant to purchase a property where a dispute is ongoing. You will have to accept that you will have to discharge any arrears of service charge or resolve the dispute prior to the buyers completing the purchase. It is therefore preferable to have any dispute settled ahead of the contract papers being issued to the buyers’ solicitors. You will still have to reveal particulars of the dispute to the buyers, but it is clearly preferable to reveal the dispute as over rather than unsettled. In the event that you altered the property did you need the Landlord’s consent? Have you, for example laid down wooden flooring? Seascale leases often stipulate that internal structural changes or addition of wooden flooring require a licence issued by the Landlord acquiescing to such changes. Where you fail to have the consents in place do not contact the landlord without contacting your lawyer before hand. You may think that you are aware of the number of years left on your lease but you should double-check by asking your solicitors. A buyer’s conveyancer will be unlikely to recommend their client to proceed with the purchase of a leasehold property the remaining number of years is less than 80 years. In the circumstances it is essential at an as soon as possible that you identify whether the lease term requires a lease extension. If it does, contact your solicitors before you put your premises on the market for sale.

I own a ground floor flat in Seascale, conveyancing having been completed in 2003. Can you let me have an estimate of the premium that my landlord can legally expect in return for granting a renewal of my lease? Comparable properties in Seascale with over 90 years remaining are worth £216,000. The ground rent is £50 per annum. The lease expires on 21st October 2093

You have 68 years left to run we estimate the price of your lease extension to be between £9,500 and £11,000 as well as costs.

The figure above a general guide to costs for extending a lease, but we are not able to provide the actual costs in the absence of detailed due diligence. You should not use this information in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There are no doubt additional concerns that need to be considered and clearly you should be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Please do not take any other action based on this information without first getting professional advice.