I went with a high street lawyer for our conveyancing in Ongar last week. After carefully reading the small print I seeI am responsible for costs even if the dealfalls through. Should I go with them or select a web based firm promising no-sale-no-fee conveyancing in Ongar?
Generally there is a compromise along the lines that if "No Sale No Fee" is offered then the conveyancing charges will tend to be be uplifted to cover the transactions that fail to complete. You should be mindful that such promotions rarely cover outlay e.g. Ongar conveyancing search charges.
I am under pressure from the seller of a property in Ongar to exchange within four weeks. What can I do to expedite matters?
Where you are under a tight deadline to exchange it is highly recommended that your lawyer is familiar with the area as they will make use of local connections and insight. It is even conceivable that they may have conducted previoushouses in the same street. Therefore consider using a Ongar conveyancing solicitor. In addition, be sure that the conveyancing firm is on the on the approved list for your mortgage company. It is estimated that just under twenty per cent of Ongar conveyancing deals are delayed or jeopardised after finding out that a buyer’s lawyer was not on their banks list of approved solicitors. In many cases this discovery resulted in the conveyancing being held up by as much as 21 days. It is understood that this issue affects in the region of 100,000 home sales every year. Many Ongar conveyancing firms can not act for certain banks so do check at the outset.
My wife and I are buying a apartment in Ongar. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a lawyer? On completion day we have to put funds into their account. What protection do we have from them run away with our money?
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.
We had chosen conveyancing lawyers locally in Ongar on the Virgin Money solicitor approved list. They are now charging me a further charge for handling the Virgin Money mortgage. Is this an additional conveyancing fee specified by Virgin Money?
Unfortunately, so long as it is in their Terms and Conditions or Quote then yes your conveyancer may charge a fee for this. The charge is not set by Virgin Money but by your Ongar solicitor. Some firms on the Virgin Money panel will quote ’dealing with mortgage’ fee and others do not.
I had an offer accepted on a property in Ongar on 11/6/2026, valuation was booked 4 days after, received a clean bill of health. Property lawyer appointed, so all that was missing was my mortgage offer. Having made daily calls to Leeds Building Society and chasing them on my offer, I have now been told that my offer will not be issued unless the lawyer is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. Are Leeds Building Society entitled to hold back the Mortgage pending the lawyer being on the approved list?
A lender would not issue an offer until they have details of a lawyer on their panel. It can take a few weeks for Leeds Building Society to deal with your lawyer's application to be on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel. There's no guarantee that your solicitor will be accepted.
What does a local search reveal about the property I am purchasing in Ongar?
Ongar conveyancing often starts with the submitting local authority searches directly from your local Authority or through a personal search organisations for example Searchflow The local search is essential in every Ongar conveyancing purchase; that is if you wish to avoid any nasty surprises after you move into your new home. The search will provide data on, amongst other things, details on planning applications applicable to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen subject headings.
I am purchasing a new build house in Ongar benefiting from help to buy. The sellers would not move on the price so I negotiated five thousand pounds worth of fixtures and fittings instead. The sale representative advised me not reveal to my conveyancer about the extras as it may impact my mortgage with the bank. Should I keep quiet?.
All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the builder of any new build, converted or renovated property, It is available online from the Lenders’ Handbook page on the CML website. CML form is completed and handed to the lender's surveyor when the inspection is done.
Lenders have different policies on incentives. Some accept none at all, cash or physical, while others will accept cash incentives up to 5%.
Hard to understand why the representative of a builder would be suggesting you withold information from a solicitor when all this will be clearly visible on forms the builder has to supply to its solicitor, the buyer's solicitor and the surveyor.
I am expecting to exchange on the purchase a house in Ongar but as a result of damage from the recent storms I have agreed compensation from the current proprietors of four thousand pounds in the form of a deduction in the price. I had intended this to be dealt with as part of the conveyancing process however my lender will not agree to this. Should they have been informed?
Your solicitor being on the lender approved list is obliged to disclose to the bank of any variations to the sale price. If you prohibit your lawyer to notify the price change to your mortgage company then they would have no choice but to disinstructing themselves from representing you and the mortgage company.