Remortgaging is the process of switching from one mortgage supplier to another, and the conveyancing process is the legal work required to complete the transaction.
Do I need a solicitor when I remortgage?
Due to the complex legal process behind the remortgage, a solicitor or a conveyancer is usually needed. They will ensure that the mortgage is registered against the legal title of your house with the Land Registry.
Read here for more information on the role of a conveyancer.
When should I remortgage?
- When you are approaching the end of your fixed rate and wish to find a new mortgage with more favourable rates
- When you are raising capital by taking equity out of your property e.g. to fund a wedding, build an extension or buy a new car
- When you wish to undertake a ‘transfer of equity’ – that is, adding or removing co-owners from a mortgage, for example, adding a new partner on to a mortgage, or in the case of a relationship breakdown, removing one of the partners. Read here for more information on when you should or shouldn’t remortgage.
What does a conveyancer do when remortgaging? The 10 steps of work involved:
The role of a conveyancer is to act on behalf of both yourself and your new lender. A conveyancer will ensure that everything complies with any specific terms or requirements imposed by your new lender and will ensure that your legal title is updated, and the land registry is informed.
The following is the remortgage conveyancing process:
- ID Checks – We will ask you for proof of ID. It’s important to note that whilst your lender may have done this with you for their own checks, we also need to take the necessary steps for our own regulations and compliance under anti money laundering laws. It’s also good practice and means we can be sure we are acting in your best interests.
- Existing mortgage – We’ll gather details of your current mortgage, particularly a redemption statement. This will tell us what amount is outstanding, whether there are any early redemption or early exit fees and when these will expire.
- If your property is leasehold, we’ll check the terms of the lease and the term remaining on it to make sure we comply with your new lender’s requirements. We will also contact your landlord/management company to obtain some necessary information.
- Property searches – In some cases, your new lender may want us to conduct searches on your property. They will want to be sure that there’s nothing that could negatively impact the value of your property.
- Property valuation – Your new mortgage lender will value your property and will usually provide you with a copy of the valuation within the mortgage offer. They may also provide this to us at the same time.
- We’ll check through all the fine print and terms on your mortgage offer, raising issues with both parties as they arise.
- Deed – Once all parties are happy, we’ll ask you to sign the new mortgage deed.
- We’ll complete – On the day we receive the funds from your new mortgage, we will use these funds to pay off your existing mortgage.
- Send remaining funds – If any funds are due back to you, we’ll also send this balance to you as soon as we can.
- We register the changes with Land Registry. Once we receive confirmation that your old mortgage has been paid, we update the Land Registry that a remortgage has taken place.
It’s important to note here that on a standard remortgage we act on behalf of both yourself and your new lender – we’ll make sure that your legal title is updated and the land registry is informed, however we also ensure that everything complies with any specific terms or requirements imposed by your new lender
How much does conveyancing cost for remortgage?
Remortgage conveyancing costs may be affected by different factors such as the value of the property, so please request a personalised remortgage conveyancing quote here.
We’ll give you an all-inclusive fixed price quote from the start. The price only changes if your instructions do. (See terms for full details).
Read here for detailed information on our costs.
Disclaimer: This article is for informal and general advice on remortgaging
