I am in the process of selling my house in Bedminster and the EA has just text me to advise that the buyers are changing their conveyancer. The reason given is that the lender will only work with property lawyers on their approved list. On what basis would a major lender only deal with specific solicitors rather the firm that they want to select for their conveyancing in Bedminster ?

Mortgage companies have always had panels of law firms that can represent them, but in the past few years big names such as Nationwide, have considered and reduced their conveyancing panel– in some cases removing conveyancing firms who have acted for them for many years.

Banks point to the increase in fraud by way of justification for the reduction – criteria have been tightened as a smaller panel is easier to monitor. Banks tend not to reveal how many solicitors have been dropped, claiming the information is commercially sensitive, but the Law Society says it is hearing daily from firms that have been removed from panels. Plenty of firms do not even realise they have been dropped until contacted by a borrower who has instructed them as might be the situation in your buyers' case. Your buyers are unlikely to have any sway in the decision.

My Solicitor in Bedminster is not listed on the Lloyds TSB Bank Approved Panel. Is it possible for me to retain my family solicitor even though they are not on the Lloyds TSB Bank panel of approved conveyancing solicitors?

The limited options available to you here include:

1. Carry on with your preferred Bedminster lawyers but Lloyds TSB Bank will need to use a lawyer on their list of acceptable firms. This will result in additional overall conveyancing fees and cause delays.
2. Choose an alternative practitioner to act in the purchase, not forgetting to check they are Convince your solicitor to use their best endeavours to join the Lloyds TSB Bank conveyancing panel

I am downsizing from our house in Bedminster and according to the buyers it appears that there is a possibility that the property was constructed on contaminated land. A local lawyer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers instructed an internet conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Bedminster. We have lived in Bedminster for three years we know of no issue. Do we get in touch with our local Authority to get confirmation need.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing solicitor currently acting for you. What do they say? You must 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 sickness)

I'm buying my first flat in Bedminster with the aid of help to buy. The developers would not budge the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of extras instead. The sale representative advised me not disclose to my solicitor about the side-deal as it will impact my loan with National Westminster 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.

What are the frequently found problems that you witness in leases for Bedminster properties?

Leasehold conveyancing in Bedminster is not unique. All leases are drafted differently and legal mistakes in the legal wording can sometimes mean that certain sections are missing. For example, if your lease is missing any of the following, it could be defective:

Maintenance charge proportions which don’t add up to the correct percentage A provision to repair to or maintain elements of the building

A defective lease will likely cause issues when trying to sell a property as they can affect a potential buyer’s ability to obtain a mortgage. Yorkshire Building Society, The Mortgage Works, and Alliance & Leicester all have very detailed conveyancing instructions when it comes to what is expected in a lease. If a mortgage lender believes that the lease is problematic they may refuse to provide security, forcing the purchaser to withdraw.

Bedminster Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Queries before buying

What is the length of the lease? This information is helpful as a) areas can cause problems for the block as the common areas may start to deteriorate where repairs remain unpaid b) if the leaseholders have a dispute with the managing agents you will want to have all the details Best to be warned if window replacement or some other major work is coming up that will be shared between the leaseholders and may well dramatically impact the level of the maintenance costs or result in a one off payment.