I am looking to buy a property and require a conveyancing solicitor in Ongar who is on the Barnsley Building Society solicitor. Can you recommend a local solicitor?

Our service is limited to being a directory service for firms who wish to listed as being on the approved conveyancing panel for Barnsley Building Society in certain locations such as Ongar. We dont recommend any particular firm.

When it comes to mortgage companies such as Barclays, do Ongar conveyancers face a fee to be on the conveyancing panel?

We are unaware of any lender fees to be on their list of approved firms, although some do levy an administration fee to deal with the processing of the conveyancing panel submission.

I've read lots of house buying guides, I note that they all recommend that you should get your house surveyed prior to buying it. When I asked my local Ongar solicitor - who is on the TSB conveyancing panel - on this she said they don't do this and I need to contract an independent surveyor. Is that normal?

TSB will need an independent valuation of the property. Your lawyer will not arrange this. Usually TSB 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. You may wish to consider appointing your own Ongar surveyor to carry out a survey or prepare a home buyers report on the property. It is up to you to satisfy yourself that the property is structurally sound before you buy it. If the survey or report reveals that building work is needed, you should tell your solicitor. You may wish to renegotiate with the seller.

Santander have agreed my mortgage in principle, my offer on a apartment in Ongar has been agreed to, what happens next?

Your estate agent will want to be informed of your conveyancing practitioner's details (make sure the lawyers are on the lender’s panel). Call up Santander or the broker and finalise any appropriate documentation. Santander will instruct a valuer who will get in contact with the estate agent or seller to book a slot for the valuation to take place. Once conducted (assuming no problems) it takes about a week to receive the mortgage offer. Santander will issue the offer to you and your conveyancers. The transaction will then take it’s course according the nature and complexity of the conveyancing in Ongar.

It has been three months following my purchase conveyancing in Ongar concluded. I have checked the Land Registry site which shows that I paid £150,000 when infact I paid £215,000. Why the discrepancy?

The price paid figure is taken from the application to register the purchase. It is the figure included in the Transfer (the legal deed which transfers the asset from one person to the other) and referred to as the 'consideration' or purchase price. You can report an error in the price paid figure using the LR online form. In most cases errors result from typos so at first glance the figure. Do report it so they can double check and advise.

I am a sole trader looking to take over a lease of a shop on the high street. Can you recommend lawyers offering no-move-no fees for commercial conveyancing in Ongar for less than £1,200?

We can recommend firms who have specialist knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Ongar, including the disposal and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. Whether you are hoping to buy or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail unit or a whole business we can put you in touch with the right firm. As for the fees this will depend on the structure and heads of terms of the deal. Let us have your details or telephone so as to enable us to provide you with a detailed commercial conveyancing quote.

I've recently bought a leasehold house in Ongar. Am I liable to pay service charges relating to a period prior to completion of my purchase?

Where the service charge has already been demanded from the previous lessee and they have not paid you would not usually be personally liable for the arrears. However, your landlord may still be able to take action to forfeit the lease. A critical element of leasehold conveyancing for your conveyancer to ensure to have an up to date clear service charge receipt before completion of your purchase. If you have a mortgage this is likely to be a requirement of your lender.

If you purchase part way through an accounting year you may be liable for charges not yet demanded even if they relate to a period prior to your purchase. In such circumstances your conveyancer would normally arrange for the seller to set aside some money to cover their part of the period (usually called a service charge retention).

Ongar Conveyancing for Leasehold Flats - A selection of Questions you should consider Prior to buying

If a Ongar lease has fewer than eighty years it will impact the salability of the property. It is worth checking with your bank that they are content with residual term of the lease. A short lease means that you will most likely require a lease extension sooner rather than later and it is worth discovering what this would cost. Remember, in most cases you would need to own the residence for a couple of years before you are eligible to extend the lease. What restrictions exist in the Ongar Lease? How long is the Lease?