We are purchasing a new build flat in Doncaster and my conveyancer is telling me that she has to the bank to reveal incentives from the seller. I am nearing the developer’s deadline to exchange and my preference is not to prolong the conveyancing. is my lawyer playing by the book?
You should not exchange unless you have been advised to do so by your conveyancer. A precondition to being on a lender panel is to comply with the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook requirements. The CML Conveyancing Handbook requires that your lawyer have the appropriate Disclosure of Incentive form completed by the developer and accepted by your lender.
We see that you have a search directory identifying law firms on the Skipton conveyancing panel. Do companies pay you a referral fee if I retain them for our conveyancing in Doncaster?
We are a listing service only for law firms wishing to communicate if they are on the Skipton conveyancing panel or other lender panels. We do not charge referral fees to any conveyancer that you subsequently appoint for your conveyancing in Doncaster.
I have a mortgage with Virgin Money for my property in Doncaster. Conveyancing has been completed a year ago. In the event that I decide to rent out the flat and do not currently have a buy-to-let mortgage do I need to remortgage to a buy-to-let mortgage or inform Virgin Money?
Virgin Money must be informed of your intention before letting out your property as this is likely to be a breach of Virgin Money’s mortgage conditions. In many cases banks or building societies will permit you to let out your former home without needing to switch to a buy-to-let mortgage but some lenders will add a surcharge to your mortgage rate to reflect the higher risk. You should contact Virgin Money directly. You need not do this via a Virgin Money conveyancing panel lawyer.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in April 2008, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My purchaser’s lender, UBS are being difficult. The Doncaster solicitor who is on the UBS conveyancing panel is recommending indemnity insurance as a solution but UBS are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do UBS have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that UBS have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why UBS may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
I had an offer accepted on an apartment in Doncaster on 19/2/2026, valuation was booked 2 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer retained, so the only thing outstanding was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Barclays and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Barclays 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 Barclays to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Barclays conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
Should commercial conveyancing searches reveal planned roadworks that may impact a commercial premises in Doncaster?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Doncaster will carry out a SiteSolutions Highways report as it dramatically cuts the time that conveyancers spend in investigating accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Doncaster. The report sets out definitive information on the adoption status of roads, footpaths and verges, as well as the implication of traffic schemes and the rights of way surrounding a commercial development sites in Doncaster.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Doncaster it is critical to investigate the adoption status of roads surrounding a site. The absence of identifying developments where adoption procedures have not been addressed adequately could result in delays to Doncaster commercial conveyancing transactions as well as present a risk to future intentions for the site. These searches are not carried out for domestic conveyancing in Doncaster.
I am a negotiator for a long established estate agent office in Doncaster where we see a number of leasehold sales jeopardised due to short leases. I have been given conflicting advice from local Doncaster conveyancing solicitors. Please can you confirm whether the owner of a flat can initiate the lease extension formalities for the buyer?
As long as the seller has owned the lease for at least 2 years it is possible, to serve a Section 42 notice to start the lease extension process and assign the benefit of the notice to the purchaser. The benefit of this is that the buyer can avoid having to sit tight for 2 years for a lease extension. Both sets of lawyers will agree to form of assignment. The assignment needs to be completed before, or at the same time as completion of the sale.
Alternatively, it may be possible to extend the lease informally by agreement with the landlord either before or after the sale. If you are informally negotiating there are no rules and so you cannot insist on the landlord agreeing to grant an extension or transferring the benefit of an agreement to the buyer.
Doncaster Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should ask Prior to Purchasing
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How long is the Lease? If a Doncaster lease has no more than eighty years it will have adverse implications on the salability of the property. Check with your lender that they are willing to to proceed given the lease term. Leases with fewer than 80 years remaining means that you will probably have to extend the lease at some point and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would be required to have been the owner of the premises for 24 months before you are eligible to extend the lease. Its a good idea to discover as much as you can about the managing agents as they will affect your use and enjoyment of the property. Being a leasehold owner you are frequently in the clutches of the managing agents from a financial perspective and when it comes to every day matters such as the cleanliness of the common parts. You should not be shy to ask other people whether they are happy with them. On a final note, find out the dates that you are obliged pay the maintenance charge to the managing agents and specifically how they are spending that money.
We have had DIP from Nationwide Building Society who indicated we could borrow up to £117k. When do I need to appoint a lawyer for conveyancing? Doncaster is where we plan to move to.
It would be wise to instruct a conveyancer now requesting that they create a file on your behalf. This will enable: 1) the estate agent to issue a Sales Memorandum to all parties 2) the seller’s conveyancer to submit the draft agreement. That being said, do not instruct your property lawyer to start searches until you have your valuation report via Nationwide Building Society and you are willing to proceed.