My wife and I are due to exchange on the purchase of a property in Bedminster but as a consequence of damage from the recent storms I have was able negotiate compensation from the vendor in the sum of £2k by way of a adjustment in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of amending the contract but RBS are not allowing this. Should they have been informed?

Any conveyancer that is on the RBS approved list is required to advise RBS of any variations to the purchase price. If you prohibit your conveyancing practitioner to disclose the price change to RBS then they would have to discontinue acting for you. In addition, RBS and you would have to appoint a new conveyancer for your conveyancing in Bedminster.

Is it the case that all Bedminster solicitors on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel are overseen by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority?

As solicitors, in order to be on the Virgin Money conveyancing panel they would need to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority. The majority of lenders do allow licenced conveyancers on their panel in which case such organisation would be regulated by the Council of Licensed Conveyancers.

My wife and I are in the throws of looking at houses in Bedminster and I am about to put in an offer. Is it too early to have a solicitor in place? I intend to finance via a home loan with HSBC.

It would be prudent to commence your search sooner rather than later. After you have chosen your lawyer and once your offer is accepted you can instruct them to work for you and pass their contact information on to the selling agent. As you are getting a mortgage with HSBC, make sure you remember to check that your lawyer is on the HSBC conveyancing panel.

I recently had an offer agreed on an apartment in Bedminster. My financial adviser pressured me to appoint their lawyer. I paid an on account payment of £150. A couple of days later, the conveyancing practitioner contacted me to say that they were not on the Principality conveyancing panel. Am I right in thinking that I should be due a refund?

You should be able to recover this from the law firm if they were not on the Principality panel. They should have asked at the outset which lender you were obtaining a mortgage with. An important lesson to readers of this site is to check that the lawyers are on the appropriate lender panel.

Just had an offer accepted on a new build flat in Bedminster. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Set out below are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you should expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Bedminster

The Vendor must covenant to keep unsold units in good repair until long leases are granted therefore. Please confirm the Lease plans are surveyor prepared. Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? Where there is an Undertaking being granted there is the risk of forfeiture of the Headlease subject to relief if one or more of the Underlessees are willing to accept the original Head Lessee’s obligations as otherwise relief will be denied to the Underlessees. The only alternatives are the Head Lessor agreeing not to forfeit the Headlease or the Head Lessee guaranteeing to the Underlessees that it will not be in breach of the Headlease. Forfeiture - bankruptcy or liquidation must not apply under this provision.

Over the last few months I have been searching for a ground for flat up to £235,500 and found one near me in Bedminster I like with a park and transport links in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 61 years on the lease. There is not much else in Bedminster for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a short lease?

Should you need a home loan that many years will be an issue. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease term and have £0 ground rent by law. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer about this matter.

I am hoping to exchange soon on a leasehold property in Bedminster. Conveyancing lawyers assured me that they report fully on Monday. What should I be looking out for?

Your report on title for your leasehold conveyancing in Bedminster should include some of the following:

You need to be advised what constitutes a Nuisance in the lease if lease caters for for a slush fund for major repairs? Are pets allowed in the flat? Who has the liability for maintaining the window frames Ground rent - how much and when you need to pay, and also know whether this will change in the future

Leasehold Conveyancing in Bedminster - Sample of Questions you should consider before buying

Is there a share of the freehold? The answer will be important as a) areas could cause problems for the building as the common areas may begin to deteriorate where maintenance are not paid for b) if the tenants have an issue with the managing agents you will wish to have all the details