We were just about to sign contracts for a ground floor flat in Millbank. We have hit a problem. The loan offer with Birmingham Midshires runs out on 16/3/2026 but the vendors are insisting on a completion date of 18/3/2026. Is it possible to prolong the loan offer?

The person best placed to address this question is your lawyer who should assess whether he or she is corresponding with the mortgage company, vendor’s representatives, estate agents or conceivably all three based on the history of your transaction to date.

When will exchange of contracts occur in residential conveyancing in Millbank and do I need to be at the solicitors office?

If you are local to one of the conveyancing solicitors in Millbank you are invited in to sign documents. However, the firms we recommend supply countrywide coverage for conveyancing and provide as equally diligent and professional a job for you when communicating with you by post or email. The executing of the contract is not when everything is set in stone. Signing on the dotted line is necessary for the solicitor to exchange contracts at the suitable time, which will usually be very shortly after signing. The exchange process is nowadays normally dealt with by telephone and can be very rapid, although where a long "chain" is in the mix, since the process requires the relevant party's solicitor (not necessarily a conveyancing solicitor in Millbank)to be in the office at the appropriate time.

I have a 4 bedroom Victorian property in Millbank. Conveyancing practitioner acted for me and The Royal Bank of Scotland. I happened to do a free search for it on the Land Registry database and there are a couple of entries: one for freehold, another for leasehold under the exact same address. I'd like to know for sure, how can I find out??

You need to read the Freehold register you have again and check the Charges Register for mention of a lease. The best way to be sure that you are also the registered owner of the leasehold and freehold title as well is to check (£3). It is not completely unheard of in Millbank and other areas of the country and poses no real issues for owners other than when they remortgage they have to account for both freehold and leasehold interests when dealing with lenders. You can also check the position with the conveyancing solicitor who completed the work.

The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build apartment in Millbank. Conveyancing is a frightening process at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build conveyancing.

Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in Millbank

Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? Will control of the Management Company (if any) be handed over to purchasers on completion of the last sale or earlier? There must be mutual enforceability of lessee’s covenants. Please supply a car parking plan. Investor purchasers must be able to freely grant unsecured tenancies at market rents without requiring any consents.

I have recently realised that I have 68 years left on my lease in Millbank. I am keen to extend my lease but my freeholder is can not be found. What are my options?

If you qualify, under the Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 you can apply to the County Court for for permission to dispense with the service of the initial notice. This will enable the lease to be extended by the Court. However, you will be required to prove that you or your lawyers have used your best endeavours to find the landlord. On the whole an enquiry agent may be useful to try and locate and to produce a report which can be used as proof that the landlord is indeed missing. It is wise to seek advice from a property lawyer both on proving the landlord’s disappearance and the vesting order request to the County Court covering Millbank.

After years of negotiations we cannot agree with our landlord on how much the lease extension should cost for our flat in Millbank. Does the Leasehold Valuation Tribunal have jurisdiction to calculate the appropriate figures?

Most certainly. We are happy to put you in touch with a Millbank conveyancing firm who can help.

An example of a Lease Extension case for a Millbank premises is Flats 12A & 19, Evelyn Mansions Carlisle Place in June 2009. The Tribunal held that the price to be paid for the new lease of Flat 12A is £168,824, For the other flat the price was set at £169,110 This case affected 2 flats. The remaining number of years on the lease was 56 years.