When we buy our homes, we can spend almost our entire lives paying the money back to the mortgage company. If you are looking to consolidate some debts or receive a lump sum of money that is tied into the value of your house one option that you have is to re-mortgage it.
The idea behind re-mortgaging your property is based on the fact that its value is likely to have gone up since you bought it, and that you have already paid back a proportion of the value of the property. In essence, when you re-mortgage your property, you will sell it and buy it again, receiving an amount of money, then taking out a mortgage based on the new value of the property.
Re-mortgaging your property is a legal process that can be done either through your existing mortgage company or by carrying out your research and going through a new mortgage company.
Do you need a solicitor for a remortgage?
The process of re-mortgaging is a legal process, and, therefore, it is recommended that you use a solicitor to carry it out if you are going to a new company. This involves several legal aspects that are important to get right, such as the transferring of the title deeds, that a solicitor will need to carry out for you.
If you are re-mortgaging with the same mortgage company, there is a lot less paperwork required, and you will not necessarily need to hire a solicitor for this. It can sometimes be the case that the mortgage company will suggest that their in-house solicitors carry out the legal work for you instead of you contracting a solicitor. Whilst this might seem to be the easiest option, it can sometimes be more time-consuming than hiring your own solicitor.
Why do you need a solicitor to remortgage?
When you are re-mortgaging with a different mortgage company, several different legal aspects need to be addressed.
These can include:
- The verification of your identity
- Confirming that you are the legal owner of the property by checking the title deeds with the land registry
- Confirming the source of funds that are being used to clear your existing mortgage by conducting money laundering checks
- Checking that you have not been declared bankrupt
- Instigating local authority searches such as environmental searches in the local area
- Checking the financials – the new mortgage offer and the amount of money that is due to be paid that will clear your existing mortgage
- Receiving the money from your new mortgage lender and distributing it to your old lender.
When you are looking to re-mortgage your property, it is important to be aware that there are some other costs that you will need to meet. These additional costs include:
- Early repayment charge – you might have to pay an amount to your previous mortgage lender as an early repayment charge. This will compensate them for the interest that they have not earnt from you due to the fact that your mortgage has been paid off. Check whether this applies to you, as not all mortgage lenders add this fee.
- Deed release fee – covers the charge for releasing the title deeds – or the exit administration fee. The amount that will be charged should be detailed in your original mortgage agreement and not every mortgage lender charges this.
- Arrangement fee – is often charged by the new mortgage lender, but not always. Sometimes this value is covered in the interest rate that has been offered, so you should check to see which is financially the better for you.
- Valuation fee – when a valuation of the property is required by the new mortgage company, this fee will need to be paid before they can approve the sale and buying of the property.
- Booking fee – some mortgage lenders charge a booking fee when you submit your mortgage application.
- Registration of the new mortgage with the Land Registry.
How long does it take to remortgage?
The amount of time that it takes to re-mortgage your house depends on whether you are planning on staying with your existing mortgage lender or going to a new one. If you are going to stay with your existing mortgage lender, it should only take a few days for the process to go through as they should already have all of the details that they need – although they will still need to carry out another credit check.
If, however you are changing mortgage companies, the process can take a little longer – it can be up to two or three months depending on the checks that need to be done and the solicitor’s workload.
Why remortgage with Waldrons?
If you are looking for a solicitor to help to guide you through the re-mortgaging process, then look no further than us here at Waldrons. Our team of experienced conveyancing solicitors is ready and waiting for you to get in touch with us and can help to push the process through as quickly as possible.
More information on Re-mortgaging a residential property
Last reviewed on 11/07/23 by Abigail Gray who is an Associate Solicitor