Bristol Home - Buying Guidance

Independent guidance and support throughout your home-buying process.

Run by a local Chartered Surveyor with 10+ years experience of studying & working in the Bristol property market.We want to help & guide those who are looking to move/ downsize who haven’t bought in years, first time buyers or anyone feeling overwhelmed by the process. Whilst advice can often be sought from family & friends, some people would prefer an independent third party professional instead.Contact Charlie for an initial chat to see if we’re the right fit for you.

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About

Bristol Home Buying Guidance is run by Charlie, a Chartered Surveyor living in Westbury on Trym with 10+ years experience of studying & working in the Bristol property market, who has been through the purchase process a number of times - both professionally and personally, and helped family and friends in their own purchases.Charlie will sit with you, talk through any concerns, raise any red flags, and generally be there as support and guidance throughout the process to help reduce the stress on you, and help you make informed decisions.…Who is this for?
• Those looking to downsize and perhaps have not moved for a number of years
• Buyers without local family
• First time buyers who want extra support
• Buyers who may have inherited some money and want support making informed decisions
• Anyone feeling like they may be in anyway overwhelmed by the process, or a part of the process…There is a misconception that when purchasing a house, an estate agent is there to help you. Whilst good estate agents will always help you, they are employed by and represent the seller.Your solicitor can help with legal enquiries and a mortgage advisor will help with a mortgage, but there is no one to help support you on the other aspects of the process. We are the people to check in with, to bounce ideas off, or to just use as a second opinion....Buying a property can be a steep learning curve, and can be daunting as there are huge financial and legal implications for most decisions.There is a high expectation on the buyer to know what to do and often specialist knowledge and unfamiliar terminology used.If you think you could benefit from someone being there to support, help explain, raise any red flags, help with any tricky surveys/ reports/ legal enquiries/ freehold or leasehold issues, etc., then give us a call and we would be delighted to have a free, no obligation chat.…How it works:
1. Contact us telling us your current situation and let us know what you are looking for.
2. Free initial chat, either in person or on the phone to make sure we are the right fit.
3. Instruction and signed terms of engagement.
4. Either Service One (support session) or Service Two (ongoing support through the purchase) starts
5. If Service Two, we can discuss what you need from us, taking guidance from the pointers listed on the Fees page…What our service is not:To be clear, we are/ do not:An estate agency
A buying agent
Provide property sourcing or property finder
Surveying services
Legal or financial adviceThe firm is not regulated by RICS but Charlie is a Chartered Surveyor bound by RICS professional standards.We provide independent guidance to help buyers think clearly before & during the home buying process and make informed decisions.We have appropriate professional indemnity insurance.…Professional & consumer protection
• I am a Chartered Surveyor (MRICS)
• 10+ years Bristol market experience
• Professional Indemnity Insurance
• Written Terms of Engagement for all clients
• We have a written complaints procedure. A copy is available on request.
• No referral commissions
• Genuinely acting in your best interests

Fees

We want to be as transparent about our fees as possible. There are no hidden fees or surprises.We offer two services.Service One
A 60-90 minute in person meeting where Charlie can help you on some specific problems, review documents, or just generally chat to ease nerves/ stresses.For this service we charge £250 per session. If you go on to instruct us for Service Two, this will be deducted from the final full fee.…Service Two
A comprehensive service where we can help you from the start, right through to completion.For this service we charge 0.75% of final sale price.
There is a payment of £350 upfront on instruction, and the balance payable on completion of the purchase. If, for whatever reason, the sale does not complete, there is no final charge.On a £350,000 property, our fee would be £2,625. There is no VAT to pay.Examples of the Services Provided within Service Two:• Initial consultation
• Guidance on the process to get your mortgage in principle and working out your budget
• Working out the type of property that might work best for you
• Second viewing, flagging any potential red flags, any leasehold issues etc.
• Help determining the level of offer
• Recommending solicitors and surveyors (we don't take any commission - our recommendations are only those we personally know and have worked with)
• Reviewing survey/ legal documents & highlighting any potential issues
• Help to determine what to ask the estate agents, solicitors or mortgage advisors
• Explaining anything you don't understand
• Guidance right through to completion(plus a celebratory cake on completion!)…What our service is not:To be clear, we are/ do not:An estate agency
A buying agent
Provide property sourcing or property finder
Surveying services
Legal or financial adviceThe firm is not regulated by RICS but Charlie is a Chartered Surveyor bound by RICS professional standards.We provide independent guidance to help buyers think clearly before & during the home buying process and make informed decisions.We always want the best outcome for you. Sometimes something may arise and the right decision will be to pull out of the purchase. Whilst our fee is tied to the purchase price, we will be upfront and honest should anything worry us during the process.