I am about to put a bid on a leasehold property in Westminster. The estate agents advise that it is normal for flats in Westminster to have less than 75 years left on the lease. I am taking out a mortgage with Tesco Bank. Will the property be mortgageable given that the lease has Seventy One years remaining.

Most leasehold conveyancing experts should be able to deal with a lease extension. if you are securing a mortgage then your lender may insist that the lease be extended before competition. Tesco Bank have specific requirements as set out in the UK Finance Lenders’ Handbook in relation to minimum unexpired lease terms. As of 6/1/2026 the requirements read as follows :

I'm buying a new build house in Westminster benefiting from help to buy. The sellers refused to budge the price so I negotiated £7000 of extras instead. The property agent suggested that I not to tell my solicitor about this side-deal as it will affect my loan with Accord Mortgages Ltd. Should I keep quiet?.

All lenders require a Disclosure of Incentives Form from the developer 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 opted to have a survey carried out on a house in Westminster prior to instructing solicitors. I have been informed that there is a flying freehold aspect to the property. My surveyor has said that some lenders will not issue a mortgage on such a property.

It depends who your proposed lender is. HSBC has different instructions for example to Halifax. Should you wish to telephone us we can look into this further via the appropriate bank. If you lender is happy to lend one our lawyers can help as they are used to dealing with flying freeholds in Westminster. Conveyancing can be more complicated and therefore you should check with your conveyancing solicitor in Westminster to see if the conveyancing will be more expensive.

Taking into account that I am about to part with £400,000 on 3 bedroom house in Westminster I would like to talk to a solicitor regarding theconveyancing before giving the go ahead to the firm. Can this be arranged?

Absolutely - it is our preference to talk to you we do not take any clients on without you first talking to the conveyancer who will be conducting your property ownership legalities in Westminster.There is no ‘factory style conveyancing’ - every client is an important person, not a case number. The solicitors that we put you in touch with believe that the figure you are quoted for residential conveyancing in Westminster should be the amount on the final invoice that you are charged.

I need to appoint a conveyancing solicitor for residential conveyancing in Westminster. I've discover a web site which seems to have the perfect offering If there is a chance to get all formalities done via web that would be preferable. Do I need to be concerned? What should out be looking out for?

As usual with these online conveyancers you need to read ALL the small print - did you notice the extra charge for dealing with the mortgage?