You often overlook making a note of when your mortgage rate comes to an end after you have bought your home or last re-mortgaged.

Most people now compare their home insurance or car insurance or even their utility provider but another way you can look to save money is by ensuring you are on the best deal at all times.

Not only can you save money by paying less interest you may also be able to reduce your monthly payment.  

Do I need a conveyancing solicitor when remortgaging? 

Whether you’re remortgaging to get a better deal, to consolidate debts or to release some equity in your home, you will need a solicitor to deal with the legal formalities. You may not need a solicitor if you stay with the same lender and just do a product change or take a further advance from the same lender.

Can solicitors provide financial advice on Mortgages? 

Generally your solicitor will not be authorised to provide financial advice and you should seek advice from an independent financial advisor (IFA). 

We work with a number of good IFA’s some of which charge for their services and some who do not and just accept the commission paid by the mortgage lender. We would be happy to make a recommendation. The IFA can assist to make sure your savings outweigh any early redemption fees, product fees, arrangement fees, valuation fees, legal fees and any broker costs.

Which solicitor should I use for a remortgage?

Some lenders will include a free legal package in their remortgage deals, which mean their chosen solicitor will cover the legal requirements. You should check this is actually free! If your chosen lender’s legal package is not free, ask if you are able to shop around.

Sometimes you can chose between a free legal package and a cashback and sometimes your local solicitors fees for dealing with the re-mortgage may come out less.  

There are a couple of situations where you’ll need to appoint your own solicitor:

• Adding someone to the mortgage – if you’re looking to add a friend or partner when you remortgage, you will need to instruct a solicitor as you are changing the ownership of the property. This is also known as a ‘transfer of equity’. You will need a solicitor to amend the deeds for you and help draw up paperwork specifying how you will own the property.
• Removing someone from the mortgage – as above this means that the ownership of the property is changing so a solicitor will be needed to amend the deeds.

You need to make sure that your solicitor is on your proposed lenders panel.

Should I use the mortgage lender’s conveyancer?

Your chosen mortgage lender may want you to use their chosen solicitor. If it is free and part of the remortgage deal you will have little choice in this. But, if you are paying for the solicitor then you have the right to shop around for a better deal or one which is more convenient for you e.g. able to call in with ID documents.

Remortgaging fees: how much does it cost?

It can vary depending upon the lender and amount being borrowed. The charges may also differ depending on whether the property is leasehold or freehold or whether the property is freehold but subject to a freehold management company arrangement (i.e where there are private communal areas to which owners on the estate contribute)    

There will be the legal fees, land registration fees and search indemnity insurance fee where the lender is happy to proceed without undertaking new searches. There will also a couple of other fees e.g. Bankruptcy, Land Registry search fee currently  and Land Registry fees for obtaining a copy of your title.

If you have an existing mortgage this will likely need to be paid off on the day of completion so there will be a bank charge

You can obtain a quotation via our website in respect of the solicitors costs.

What does the conveyancer/solicitor do?

Although the process is less complicated than when you purchased your home, remortgaging involves:

• ID Checks – checking ID to protect against money laundering and fraud
• The current mortgage – obtaining details of your current mortgage from your existing lender and requesting a redemption statement.
• Title checks – checking the title to make sure this is acceptable to your proposed lender.
• Valuation – your new lender will value your property and issue a formal mortgage offer to you and your solicitor.
• Fine print – your solicitor will check through the terms associated with the mortgage offer and raise any issues with you and the lender.
• Signature – the necessary mortgage deed will be prepared for your signature.
• Pre-completion searches – your solicitor will conduct a bankruptcy search to make sure you’ve never been declared bankrupt and also complete a priority search at the Land Registry to make sure nothing has changed on the property deeds since the remortgage process began.
• Completion – On the day your solicitor receives the mortgage funds from the new lender, they will then pay off your old mortgage and any fees and send any remaining money to you.
• Registering changes with Land Registry – Once your old lender has confirmed they have received the money and discharged the existing mortgage your solicitor will inform the Land Registry that a remortgage has taken place and update the legal title for your home by registering the new mortgage.

How long does conveyancing take when remortgaging?

The remortgage process takes one to two months. It is generally quicker if you are remortgaging with the same lender. So if you are thinking of remortgaging before your current deal expires, leave at least two months.

Elliot Mather LLP are on the majority of lenders panels and are able to deal with remortgages efficiently. Call your local office for a quote or obtain a quote online via our website.

Andrew Yates                 LLP Member                 Head of Residential Property                 andrew.yates@elliotmather.co.uk                 01246 225312

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