I am hoping to complete my purchase in Ongar next Monday. My lawyer now wants me to supply her with evidence of content and building insurance for the property as he says that he has to check this in his capacity as lawyer for the lender. What does the insurance need to cover?
All property lawyers on acting for banks would need to check that the following risks are covered fire; lightning; aircraft; explosion; earthquake; storm; flood; escape of water or oil; riot; malicious damage; theft or attempted theft; falling trees and branches and aerials; subsidence; heave;landslip;collision;accidental damage to underground services;professional fees, demolition and site clearance costs; and public liability to anyone else. There are some other issues such as the level of excess that are set out in a lender’s Part 2 instructions. These obligations are not specific to conveyancing in Ongar.
Will commercial conveyancing searches disclose proposed roadworks that could affect a commercial property in Ongar?
Its becoming the norm that commercial conveyancing solicitors in Ongar will conduct a SiteSolutions Highways report as it reduces the time that conveyancers spend in researching accurate data on highways that impact buildings and development assets in Ongar. The report provides definitive data 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 Ongar.
For each commercial conveyancing transaction in Ongar 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 can result in delays to Ongar commercial conveyancing transactions as well as pose a risk to future plans for the site. These searches are not conducted for domestic conveyancing in Ongar.
I am looking for a leasehold apartment up to £305k and identified one near me in Ongar I like with open areas and railway links nearby, however it only has 51 years unexpired on the lease. I can't really find anything else in Ongar for this price, so just wondered if I would be making a grave error acquiring a lease with such few years left?
If you need a mortgage that many years will be a potential deal breaker. Discount the price by the anticipated lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the current proprietor has owned the property for a minimum of 2 years you could request that they commence the lease extension formalities and then assign it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer concerning this.
I was recommended by a few estate agents in Ongar to get a quote from a property lawyer on your site. What’s the financial incentive for Estate Agents to promote your lawyers ahead of alternative conveyancing organisations?
We don’t give any referral fee for sending work our way. We found it would be just too difficult to pay a commission as home movers will think, ‘Why is the agent getting a kickback? Why am I not getting any benefit too?’ We would prefer to grow our business on genuine recommendations.
Estate agents have just been given the go-ahead to market my basement flat in Ongar. Conveyancing solicitors are to be appointed soon, however I have just had a quarterly maintenance charge invoice – should I leave it to the buyer to sort out?
Your conveyancing lawyer is likely to suggest that you should pay the service charge as you normally would as all ground rent and maintenance invoices should be apportioned as part of the financial calculations for completion monies, so you should recover the relevant percentage by the purchaser for the period running from after the completion date to the next payment date. Most management companies will not acknowledge the buyer until the service charges have been paid and are up to date, so it is important for both buyer and seller for the seller to show that they are up to date. Having a clear account will assist your cause and will leave you no worse off financially.
I am the registered owner of a 2 bed flat in Ongar, conveyancing was carried out in 2012. Can you shed any light on how much the price could be for a 90 year extension to my lease? Comparable flats in Ongar with over 90 years remaining are worth £185,000. The average or mid-range amount of ground rent is £65 per annum. The lease finishes on 21st October 2086
You have 60 years left to run we estimate the premium for your lease extension to span between £20,000 and £23,000 plus costs.
The figure above a general guide to costs for renewing a lease, but we cannot give you the actual costs in the absence of detailed investigations. You should not use the figures in a Notice of Claim or as an informal offer. There may be other issues that need to be taken into account and you obviously want to be as accurate as possible in your negotiations. Neither should you take any other action placing reliance on this information before getting professional advice.
I bought a property in Ongar last 29/7/2025 and to date it is still not recorded with HM Land Registry. It was part of a new estate and my conveyancing practitioner told me that it can take 12 months to register. I have spoken with the Land Registry directly and they say that the initial application was cancelled due to questions not being addressed in time. What can I do?
It is your property lawyer that you really need to contact in order to satisfy any concerns which have been raised as part of the registration formalities for your Ongar property. Normal Ongar conveyancing practice includes an undertaking on the part of the previous owner’s lawyer that they will help resolve any requirements raised by HMLR so it may be a case of taking action to enforce that undertaking in some way.