Do You Need A Solicitor To Remortgage?

If you are thinking of finding a new mortgage deal, you may be wondering, do you need a solicitor to remortgage? Unless you are staying with your existing lender, you will need to have a solicitor to deal with the transaction on your behalf.

Your new lender will need to know that the property is good security for their loan. This means that your solicitor will be required to report to them on issues such as the legal title, search results and replies to standard enquiries.

At Lockings Solicitors, our remortgage team have extensive expertise in dealing with remortgages. We know how important it can be to complete as soon as possible and we always do all we can to avoid delays.

Our experience means that if complications arise, we will know how to deal with them promptly and effectively. We hold the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Standard, awarded to law firms in recognition of both legal expertise and high standards of service.

We offer a FREE initial chat so that you can ask us any questions you may have. Call us on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free Online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and deal with remortgaging in East Yorkshire, the York area and beyond.

Why do I need a solicitor to remortgage?

Your new lender will want full due diligence work carried out before they lend money against a property. This is similar to the pre-contract investigations that would have been done by your solicitor before you purchased the property.

If you are changing anything, such as adding someone’s name to the title deeds or having the property transferred into your sole name, this will also need to be dealt with by a solicitor.

How do I choose a remortgage solicitor?

You are advised to choose an experienced remortgage solicitor who will be able to manage any complications efficiently, should they arise. You should also consider using a law firm that holds the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Standard as your new lender may require this.

At Lockings Solicitors, we offer an online portal for property transactions. It is easy to use and will allow you to deal with matters at your convenience and check to see if any input is needed from you.

When to instruct a remortgage solicitor

You can instruct a solicitor as soon as you decide to apply for a new mortgage. If we are dealing with your remortgage, we will start work straightaway so that we can complete as soon as possible.

What does a solicitor do in a remortgage?

Your solicitor will manage the whole transaction, liaising with your existing mortgage lender and your new lender to swap you over to your new deal.

If you ask us to represent you, we will go through the following steps:

Verifying your identity

We are required by law to verify your identity, and your new lender will also need to do this. We will open a file in readiness and let you have the initial paperwork for completion. This will include standard enquiries, also referred to as a property information form, which your lender will need you to complete.

Obtaining your title deeds

We will ask your existing lender to let us have your title deeds and any other paperwork that they hold. We will also request a redemption statement. This will give you an idea of the amount that will be needed to redeem your existing mortgage and you will be able to see if any extra charges have been added, such as your lender’s administration fee or an early repayment penalty.

Carrying out due diligence work

We will carry out the searches needed by your lender and check the legal title to the property as well as going through your replies to the standard enquiries.

Arranging completion

Once everything is in order, we can liaise with you as to a completion date. We will then order your new advance and obtain a redemption statement from your existing lender calculated to the date of completion.

We will let you have a breakdown of the figures. This will show the amount needed from you to complete your remortgage or alternatively the amount to be paid to you after completion.

If you need to let us have funds, these will need to be cleared in advance of the completion day and we will let you know when we require them.

On completion day, we will make sure that your former lender is sent the right amount to redeem your existing mortgage and your new mortgage will be completed. Any balance of money will be sent to you.

Post-completion work

After completion, your old lender will confirm to us that their mortgage has been paid off and they will provide a redemption certificate. We will send this to HM Land Registry together with the new mortgage for registration.

Remortgage fees

We will let you know at the outset how much the cost will be. This will include our remortgage fees as well as other expenses such as search fees, the cost of transferring funds electronically if needed and the Land Registry’s registration fee.

We always make sure that you have a clear estimate of the full cost and we will also let you have a copy of your existing lender’s redemption statement as soon as that is available. If you would like an estimate of the fees, please feel free to call us.

How long does a remortgage take?

The length of time taken to deal with a remortgage often depends on how busy your new lender is and how quickly they can process your application. They may be particularly busy if they have released an attractive deal and it could take them several weeks to issue us with your mortgage offer.

For our part, we always work proactively to be ready for completion as soon as possible. Many lenders will accept no search indemnity insurance but where they don’t we use a private search company rather than relying on the local authority to provide search results. This tends to be more accurate and is also a reliably faster option so we only need to fall back on the local authority in very limited circumstances (where your lender insists).

Contact our East Yorkshire remortgage solicitors

If you are remortgaging and you would like to speak to one of our remortgage team, please give us a call and we will be happy to help.

You can ring us for a FREE initial chat on 01482 300 200, email us at welcome@lockings.co.uk or fill in our Free online Enquiry and we will call you back promptly. We have offices in Beverley, Hull and York and deal with remortgages in East Yorkshire, the York area and beyond.