Whether you are buying or selling, awareness of local considerations will positively impact the likelihood of a successful sale or purchase. Fridaysmove's South Yorkshire Conveyancing team is able to employ their local knowledge to help you move home sooner.

We have assisted home movers throughout South Yorkshire, including Conveyancing in DN1, DN2, DN3, S2, S4, S5, S6, S60, S74, S75.

Coal and Brine Pumping Searches

There has never been any central record of all mines, so it can be difficult to find comprehensive information about mining activity in or near South Yorkshire. If a residence is located in an area where mining occurred, or is thought to have taken place, a search will be undertaken. After all the coal has been removed from an area mined with modern methods, the site should be restored. Discarded waste, spoil, or smelting by-products may have soiled parts of South Yorkshire located near defunct older mines. An environment search may also be required in these cases. Minerals such as copper, lead, silver, gold and ironstone have also been worked in various parts of the country, but on a smaller scale.

There are approximately 305 areas in South Yorkshire where a mining search is required. These include; Swallow Nest, Rossington, Oughtibridge, Brodsworth, Tankersley and Walkley.

My solicitor is not on my Lender's panel - what do I do?

Mortgage lenders maintain panels of solicitors who they will instruct to carry out legal work on mortgages. At one time, many lenders, especially the large banks, were prepared to instruct any firm of solicitors who asked to be placed on their panel. Lenders have also reduced the size of their panels, setting more restrictive criteria for membership. If a lender will not instruct a firm you have picked to perform your legal work, you have the following choices; you can either select a different lender or solicitor. It is possible to continue with your original choices, but your lender will expect you to pay for the legal costs relating to the mortgage. Bear in mind that it is usually more efficient and less expensive for the same firm act for you and your lender. Consider these issues if you are intending to stay with your solicitor rather than opt for your mortgage lender's choice:

• You will have to pay your lender's legal costs
• By being required to send documents to the lender's solicitors, delays will inevitably occur
• You will be unable to contact the lender's firm directly, as they will be acting for the lender rather than you

Are you eligible for South Yorkshire stamp duty relief?

Designated areas as 'disadvantaged areas' may qualify for relief from stamp duty. These are based on electoral divisions and local government wards. As the areas which have been designated are based on local authority electoral wards, they do not always coincide with postcode districts. The postcode search tool cannot always be relied on to predict eligibility. It may be necessary to make further enquiries with the local council, if initial searches fail to identify whether a residence lies in a disadvantaged area. That said, for any purchase below £150,000, it is worth making a simple postcode search to find out if a property is in a Disadvantaged area. This search may not be 100% reliable, particularly in the case of new builds.

Disadvantaged areas in South Yorkshire include Maltby, Mexborough, Swinton.