Do I Need A Conveyancer For A Remortgage?
Remortgaging is more common than people think, with around 40,000 recorded each month, according to Money Facts. Contrary to what many people believe, a remortgage isn’t the process of applying for a second mortgage. The vast majority of remortgages are simply people moving from one mortgage provider to another, usually to take advantage of better interest rates being offered by another provider. If changing your mortgage means saving a good amount of money, going for a remortgage is an easy choice! You might be wondering if you really need a conveyancer for a simple remortgage, but the truth is that there’s an awful lot of work to do behind the scenes, which really needs the legal expertise of a solicitor. Here’s what your conveyancer will need to do to get your remortgage arranged.
Carrying out searches
Your new lender will want to carry out the same sort of checks on the property that your original lender required when you bought your home. It’s understandable – they want to be sure that the property they’re about to offer you a loan for is safe for habitation, and meets all their expectations. Each lender will have their own list of checks, ranging from just a few to a whole suite. These checks include proof of your identity, a check of the title deed to show you as the owner, a bankruptcy search, and some searches to see if there are any environmental issues affecting the property which the new lender would want to know about. A conveyancer will be able to arrange all these, and liaise with your new lender to ensure they receive the results.
Putting the new mortgage in place
With all checks passed and completed to your new lender’s satisfaction, the conveyancer will begin the process of shutting down your old mortgage. The old lender will be contacted to let them know that you’re planning to move to a new provider and want to know how much it will cost to pay off the old mortgage. This will let you know the final figure, taking into account any charges to get out of the mortgage early. Your new lender will have valued your home, and let your conveyancer know how much they’re prepared to offer, and it will be down to your conveyancer to review the terms with you.
Tying up the loose ends
When everything is ready for completion, it will be your conveyancer who receives the money from your new lender, and passes it over to your old mortgage provider to close that account down. They’ll also make sure that any fees and admin charges are paid off. With all monies finalised, the conveyancer then has to contact the Land Registry, letting them know you’ve remortgaged so that they can update your title deed to show your new lender. In turn, Land Registry will update the title deed and send your conveyancer an updated copy for you.
As you can see, it’s quite a legal minefield, which is why we’d always recommend taking expert conveyancing advice at all stages. Conveyancing Supermarket can help by providing a clear comparison of the legal fees you can expect when you’re buying a new home, and a stamp duty calculator which shows everything you need to know about stamp duty.
