"North Somerset - It's not just what you know, it's who you know. Our Solicitors' maintain a network of North Somerset contacts. Issues frequently arising in the region are also taken into consideration, thanks to this local expertise.

We have assisted home movers throughout North Somerset, including Conveyancing in BS20, BS21, BS23, BS24, BS25, BS29, BS41, BS48, BS49, BS8."

Local issues considered by North Somerset Conveyancing Solicitors:

Do you know if your North Somerset new home purchase is designated as in at risk conservation area?

Conservation areas are designated by Councils to control change in residential areas that people want to protect from incongruous development. However, sadly many are falling into a state of disrepair e.g. bill boards.

The following conservation areas are reported as at risk:

• Birnbeck, Weston-Super-Mare - poor, high vulnerability and deteriorating.
• Melrose / Grove Park, Weston-Super-Mare - poor, medium vulnerability and deteriorating.
• Beach Lawns, Weston-Super-Mare - very bad, medium vulnerability and deteriorating.
• Clevedon Triangle - very bad, medium vulnerability and deteriorating.
• Boulevard / Montpelier - poor, medium vulnerability and deteriorating.

Fridaysmove property lawyers in North Somerset are on all UK mortgage lender panels, including:

What are the consequences if your solicitor is not on your Lender's panel?

Panels of solicitors are maintained by mortgage lenders in order to undertake legal work on mortgaged properties. Recently, lenders have changed the criteria for the firms which they will accept on their panels. They have also reduced the size of their panels, removing firms which do not carry out much Conveyancing work or which they consider to have proved unsatisfactory in the past. These options are available to any homebuyer whose solicitor is not on their lender's panel:

• Try to obtain a mortgage from another lender who will instruct your Conveyancing solicitor.
• Instruct another firm of Conveyancing solicitors who are on your lender's panel to handle your Conveyancing.
• Continue with your present Conveyancing solicitor, but accept that a separate firm will also act for the lender, and that you will have to pay their costs in addition.

It is usually cheaper to have the same firm act both for you and your lender, and carry out all the conveyancing work in connection with a purchase and the mortgage. Be aware of the following, if you choose to remain with your first choice of law firm:

• You must now pay the lender's costs in addition to your own
• You will not get any priority from the lender's solicitors, as they will have many other cases underway, and you are unable contact these solicitors directly

Qualifying for stamp duty relief in North Somerset

Stamp duty relief may be available in nearly 2,000 'disadvantaged areas' nationwide. These are based on electoral divisions and local government wards. These wards do not always coincide with postcode districts, so the postcode search tool cannot always be relied on. Above this limit of £150k, nationwide rates apply regardless of whether the property is located within a disadvantaged area. By making a straightforward search by postcode, you can usually determine if a property purchase below £150,000 will benefit, however.

Need more information regarding stamp duty relief? Call our specialist North Somerset team today.

Disadvantaged areas in North Somerset include Weston-Super-Mare South.