As a FTB what is the most important advice you can give me about purchase conveyancing in Clifton?

You may not hear this from too many lawyers but conveyancing in Clifton or throughout Bristol is often a confrontational experience. Put another way, when it comes to conveyancing there is an abundance of room for friction between you and other parties involved in the legal transfer of property. E.g., the vendor, property agent and sometimes the bank. Appointing a law firm for your conveyancing in Clifton should not be taken lightly as your conveyancer is your adviser, and is the SOLE person in the transaction whose responsibility is to protect your best interests and to protect you.

We are witnessing a worrying increase of a "blame" culture- someone has to be blamed for the process taking so long. We recommend that you should always trust your solicitor above the other players when it comes to the legal transfer of property.

My partner and I are selling our home in Clifton and the buyers lawyers are claiming that there is a possibility that the property was built on contaminated land. Any high street Clifton conveyancer would know that there is no such problem. It does beg the question why the buyers used a nationwide conveyancing firm rather than a conveyancing solicitor in Clifton. Having lived in Clifton for six years we know of no issue. Should we contact our local Authority to get clarification that the buyers are looking for.

It sounds as though you may have a conveyancing lawyer currently acting for you. What do they say? You need to enquire of 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 life insurance to cover that same ailment)

I purchased my apartment on 3 October and the transaction details are still not registered. Should I be concerned? My conveyancing solicitor in Clifton said it will be recorded in less than a month. Are transfers in Clifton uniquely lengthy to register?

As far as conveyancing in Clifton is concerned, registration is no faster or slower than the rest of England and Wales. Rather than based on location, timeframes can adjust subject to who lodges the application, whether there are errors and whether the Land registry have to notify any third persons or bodies. As of today in the region of three quarters of such applications are fully dealt with in less than three weeks but occasionally there can be extensive hold-ups. Registration occurs once the purchaser has moved in to the premises thus an expedited registration is not usually an essential issue yet if there is a degree of urgency associated with the registration then you or your solicitor can speak with the land registry and explain the circumstances.

My husband and I are new to the buying process - agreed a price, yet the estate agent informed us that the vendor will only move forward if we use the agent's preferred conveyancers as they need an ‘expedited deal’. Our preferred option is to instruct a local conveyancer with experience of conveyancing in Clifton

We suspect that the seller is unaware of this request. If they desire ‘a quick sale', taking such a hostile approach to a genuine buyer is going to damage their objectives. Try to communicate with the vendors directly and make sure they comprehend that (a)you are genuine buyers (b)you are ready to progress, with mortgage lined up © you are chain free (d) you intend to proceed fast (e)however you will continue to instruct your preferred Clifton conveyancing firm - not the ones that will provide their estate agent a referral fee or hit his conveyancing targets set by head office.

My boyfriend is purchasing a leasehold flat in Clifton. He was given a quote by the solicitor connected to the estate agents totaling £1245 . It was fifteen years ago since I sold and purchased a home and it cost was £495. Have costs really gone up that much?

What does the conveyancing estimate include? Is it just for the legal fees, or what you will be paying in total (for instance Clifton searches, land registry fees, etc)