We note that you have a post code search directory listing solicitors on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Do firms pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our own conveyancing in Barnsley?

We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Barnsley.

Me and my partner are buying a apartment in Barnsley. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to send our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our deposit?

Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.

I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Barnsley on 22/5/2025, valuation was booked five days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Principality and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Principality conveyancing panel. Can the lender hold off the offer?

Mortgage companies tend not to not issue a mortgage until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Principality to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Principality conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.

After shopping around on the internet I have found a Barnsley solicitor having checked that they are on the Yorkshire BS conveyancing panel. Does my lawyer arrange the survey of the property?

Yorkshire BS will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually Yorkshire BS will appoint their own surveyor to do this, and you will have to pay for it. Remember that this is a valuation for mortgage purposes and not a survey. Your lawyer will not organise the survey but they may be able to put you in touch with a local one that they recommend. RICS offers a find a surveyor service (just google it) where you can search for a qualified surveyor by your Barnsley postcode. As you are getting a mortgage with Yorkshire BS, you could contact them to see if they have a list of approved surveyors in Barnsley.

How does conveyancing in Barnsley differ for newly converted properties?

Most buyers of new build residence in Barnsley contact us having been asked by the housebuilder to sign contracts and commit to the purchase even before the house is finished. This is because builders in Barnsley tend to purchase the land, plan the estate and want to get the plots sold off as they are building the properties. Buyers, therefore, will have to exchange contracts without actually seeing the house they are buying. To reduce the chances of losing the property, buyers should instruct property lawyers as soon as the property is reserved and mortgage applications should be submitted quickly. Due to the fact that it could be several months and even years between exchange of contracts and completion, the mortgage offer may need to be extended. It would be wise to use a lawyer who specialises in new build conveyancing especially if they are used to new build conveyancing in Barnsley or who has acted in the same development.

I have been on the look out for a leasehold apartment up to £245,000 and identified one near me in Barnsley I like with open areas and transport links nearby, however it's only got 49 years on the lease. There is not much else in Barnsley for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error buying a short lease?

If you require a home loan that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Reduce the offer by the anticipated lease extension will cost if it has not already been discounted. If the existing owner has owned the premises for a minimum of 2 years you can ask them to start the process of the extension and pass it to you. An additional ninety years can be extended on to the current lease with a zero ground rent applied. You should speak to your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.

I want to sublet my leasehold apartment in Barnsley. Conveyancing solicitor who did the purchase is retired - so can't ask him. Do I need to ask my freeholder for their consent?

Your lease dictates the relationship between the landlord and you the flat owner; in particular, it will set out if subletting is not allowed, or permitted but only subject to certain conditions. The accepted inference is that if the lease contains no specific ban or restriction, subletting is allowed. The majority of leases in Barnsley do not contain subletting altogether – such a provision would undoubtedly devalue the flat. Instead, there is usually simply a requirement that the owner notifies the freeholder, possibly sending a copy of the sublease.

Barnsley Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - Examples of Questions you should consider before buying

Who are the managing agents? How many of the leaseholders are in arrears for their maintenance charge payments? Generally speaking the outlay for major works tend not to be built into the maintenance charges, although there some managing agents in Barnsley obliged leasehold owners to pay into a sinking fund created for the specific purpose of establishing a fund for major works.