Mortgages

Where you are obtaining a mortgage as part of a purchase transaction or redeeming a mortgage as part of a sale transaction, then we will deal with this as part of the rest of the transaction.

Where you are taking out a mortgage on a property that has not previously been mortgaged, we will need to carry out very similar tasks to those involved in a purchase as the provider of the new mortgage will want to be sure that they are obtaining a good title to the property that secures their loan. This will include:

• Reviewing your mortgage offer;
• Carrying out searches on the property;
• Checking the deeds and documents to make sure that you have legal title to the property;
• Complete the mortgage provider’s certificate of title;
• Receive funds from the mortgage provider; and
• Arranging to transfer the funds to you.

Remortgages

Where you are carrying out a remortgage (sometimes called refinancing) – that is to say, paying off one mortgage with proceeds from another replacement mortgage, then things become slightly more complex.

There are various reasons as to why you may need to switch mortgages including to obtain a more favourable interest rate from a different lender, to extend the term of your mortgage with a different lender or to release some of the equity in your property – for example by using a secured loan to raise money.

If you are simply switching from one type of mortgage to another but remaining with the same lender then this is not a remortgage and it can usually be dealt with by the lender themselves without a solicitor being involved.

The Remortgage Process

The process involved in a remortgage is slightly more straightforward than in a sale or purchase.

However, because a new lender is involved, we will still need to look into the title to your property to make sure the new lender has adequate security on your home.

• As with other transactions we will need to take your instructions including obtaining details of your present mortgage and who has the documents to your property if they are not with a current lender. We will also require evidence of your identity so that we can comply with the strict money-laundering duties that apply. You will need to tell your existing mortgagee that we are acting in the remortgage so that the documents can be released to us and you will need to provide us with a copy of your house insurance documents.
• We will find out how much is currently outstanding on your existing mortgage and get details of your new mortgage from the new lender for whom we will usually act.
• We will undertake various searches and have a look at the deeds to your property to make sure that there are no issues with your property that could affect the interests of the new mortgagee. We may need to ask that you pay for these searches in advance.
• Once we have received your mortgage offer from the new lender, we will check to make sure that it is satisfactory given your intentions.
• Once we have checked the title and checked the mortgage, we will ask you to sign the mortgage deed.
• Once the paperwork has been signed the remortgage can be completed. We will pay off your previous mortgage from the funds received from your new mortgage and forward any balance to you (or request that you pay a balance to us if you are reducing the amount of your mortgage). If there is a sum due from you this must be paid, together with any Land Registry fee, before completion of the remortgage takes place.

Our Costs

Unless there are unusual features involved in the remortgage, then our fee for acting for you on a remortgage will be £495 + VAT at 20%.  This comes to a total of £594.

As with a purchase, however, there are likely to be additional payments known as disbursements which we will need to make in order, for example, to register your title.

For more information in relation to these disbursements please see the Buying or Selling a House – What Will it Cost? page.

How Long Will It take?

Most remortgages take between 4 and 8 weeks to complete, although this can depend upon how quickly the lender is prepared to respond to queries and requests and upon the length of time taken by searches.

Who Will be Carrying Out the Work

The work will be undertaken by members of the conveyancing team.  For further details please see the Buying or Selling a House – Who Will be Carrying Out the Work? Page.