Residential Remortgage Freehold and Leasehold
The Service
Acting for you in respect of your re-mortgage of a residential property with a high street lender:
As part of this service, we will:
- Provide you with a dedicated and experienced team to work on your matter
- Take your initial instructions
- Obtain title documents from the Land Registry upon receiving money on account from you to cover the cost of the same.
- Send you the property information forms for the property you are re-mortgaging
- Carry out searches or obtain indemnity insurance for no searches (if this is acceptable to your new lender)
- Obtain a redemption statement from your existing lender
- Receive and check your new Mortgage Offer and instructions from your new Lender.
- Go through the conditions of your new Mortgage Offer with you, by providing a mortgage report.
- Send you your new Mortgage Deed for you to sign in the presence of a witness and return to us.
- Make any necessary enquiries of you in relation to the property, including requesting any documents for any alterations to the property.
- Agree on a completion date (to draw down the funds for your new mortgage and redeem your existing mortgage)
- Request funds from your new lender for the agreed-upon completion date
- Request an up-to-date redemption statement from your existing lender for the agreed completion date.
- Complete your re-mortgage by receiving funds from your new lender and repaying the existing lender.
- Send you the proceeds of the re-mortgage once all fees and balances due have been paid.
- Obtain discharge documents and send them to the HM Land Registry following completion.
- Deal with payment of Stamp Duty/Land Tax (if appropriate)
- Deal with the application for registration at the Land Registry to remove the details of your old lender in place of the details of the new lender.
- Send you your updated registration documents once the registration formalities have been concluded.
- Please note that this fee is based on all documents and communications being sent to you electronically.
In relation to leasehold properties, we will also:
- Obtain a copy of your Lease from the Land Registry/you.
- Review your Lease and advise you of any additional costs required in respect of the landlord/ managing agents/ management company involved, as appropriate.
- Contact your Landlord/ managing agents/ Management Company in relation to your property and raise specific enquiries.
- Advise on service charge and ground rent pursuant to the Lease, if it is a requirement of your landlord/ freeholder/ agents to discharge any arrears prior to completion.
- Advise you of any additional costs required pursuant to the Lease in respect of the Landlord/ Managing Agents/ Management Company involved, as appropriate.
Chris Charalambous is an experienced Solicitor who qualified in 2001 and also a Director of the firm. He specialises in this area of law and will be handling your case.
Average timescales
How long it will take from you receiving your new mortgage offer to being able to complete the re-mortgage will depend on several factors. The average process takes between 3 to 6 weeks, dependent on any conditions attached to your new mortgage offer.
It can take longer if you have specific conditions in your existing mortgage offer, concerning early repayment charges, or if there are specific conditions on your new mortgage offer which we are required to comply with.
If you are re-mortgaging a leasehold property that requires an extension of the Lease prior to completion, this can take significantly longer. In such a situation, additional charges would also apply.
What is the Estimated Fee
Our fee for dealing with a normal conveyancing property remortgage/ mortgage ranges between £650 plus VAT to £2500 plus VAT, depending on the loan/ property value and other factors related to the property.
For re-mortgages on Leasehold properties, we charge an additional £395 plus VAT.
You should note that for all new clients of the firm, we will conduct an electronic ID search for Anti Money Laundering compliance. The administrative fee for arranging these checks is £35 plus VAT.
If we are arranging the transfer of funds electronically, we will charge a fee for the time involved in arranging each transfer, for example sending completion money to you and your lender on completion, the cost of this and the amount we pay to the bank for the transfer is £47 plus VAT for each transfer.
We will charge a panel management fee of between £35 plus VAT if you are obtaining a mortgage where the lender requires the firm to be included on their approved panel to handle the legal aspects of the transaction on their behalf using a portal managed by a panel manager.
Additional fees may apply in instances that fall outside of the normal conveyancing transaction. Please see the Potential Additional Fee section below.
Information on Estimated Fees
Your fee will reflect the work involved in your transaction. Our fee assumes that:
- This is a normal residential re-mortgage and no unforeseen matters arise, including for example (but not limited to) a defect in title which requires remedying prior to completion or the preparation of additional documents ancillary to the main transaction.
- The transaction is concluded in a timely manner, and no unforeseen complication arises.
- All parties to the transaction are co-operative, and there is no unreasonable delay from third parties providing documentation.
- No indemnity policies are required, other than for Search Indemnity (if acceptable by your new lender). Additional disbursements may apply if additional indemnity policies are required.
- Your Transaction will be undertaken by a lawyer supported by various other members of the team. If you require a designated lawyer/ fee earner to deal with your transaction, additional fees may apply to suit your needs and service requirements.
- No face-to-face meetings are required during the course of your transaction, save for any initial meetings in respect of identification and taking initial instructions.
- The owners (proprietors) of the property are not changed as part of the re-mortgage.
There may be additional documents and requirements of your specific re-mortgage, based on the documentation required to transfer the title into your name or to deal with specific parties involved in your transaction. We have set out in the Potential Additional Fees section situations that may arise, which would attract additional fees. We will, of course, notify you of any additional costs and disbursements before they are incurred.
Please note that if, for any reason, we are unable to proceed or you choose to close your matter after you have instructed us, you will still be charged for any work (including additional work) that we have carried out.
Preferential rates may apply to returning clients and those who are recommended to us by one of our business partners. Please contact us to find out more about any discounts that may be applicable.
Likely disbursements and recharges/ expenses
(these are costs related to your matter that are payable to third parties. We handle the payment of the disbursement on your behalf to ensure a smoother process.
- Land Registry Title Documents (Freehold) £8.80 (no VAT) (including Title and Plan)
- Land Registry Title Documents (Leasehold) £8.80 (including Title and Plan)
- Searches between £100 – £500 (plus VAT) if required by the lender alternatively search indemnity will be provided
- Search Indemnity (£50 – £350 plus IPT) if acceptable to your new Lender
- Land Registry Priority Searches £8.80 (no VAT)
- Bankruptcy Searches (£7.80 per person purchasing (no VAT))
- HM Land Registry Fee- this will depend on the value of your new mortgage. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using HMLR’s website http://landregistry.data.gov.uk/fees-calculator.html
- Stamp Duty Land Tax- this will depend upon the value of your new mortgage. You can calculate the amount you will need to pay by using the HMRC’s website: https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/residential-property-rates
Potential Additional Disbursements
- In Leasehold matters, if your lender requires we may need to pay a fee to the Landlord’s Solicitors or Agents in respect of providing replies to Standard Leasehold Enquiries of the Landlord. This cost varies from one property to the next, depending on the fees confirmed in the Lease/ agreed with the landlord. We will advise you of this cost; however, this usually ranges between £100 – £450 plus VAT.
- In Leasehold matters, we may also need to pay a fee to the landlord’s solicitors or Agents in respect of the Notice of Charge. This cost varies from one property to the next, depending on the fees confirmed in the Lease/ agreed with the landlord. We will advise you of this cost; however, this usually ranges between £50 -£150 per Notice plus VAT.
You should note that these disbursements can vary from property to property and can, on occasion, be significantly more than the ranges given above. We can give you an accurate indication of costs once we have had sight of the specific documents for your re-mortgage.
Other disbursements may apply depending on the terms of your Lease. We will update you on the specific fees upon receipt and review of the lease from the Seller’s solicitors.
Potential Additional Fees
We always provide clients with a fee estimate at the start of each new matter; therefore, if you would like a bespoke estimate for your particular re-mortgage, please contact us to discuss.
If your re-mortgage involves unexpected complications, we will always inform you, including any additional fees that may apply, so that you can make an informed decision as to how to proceed. You should be aware that additional fees will apply in the following situations:
- Acting for an additional lender.
- If your new lender wishes for another legal representative to act for them.
- Administration Fees if you require your documents by post.
- Approving a lease extension.
- Additional bank transfer costs (per transfer).
- Administration fees for unpaid cheques.
- Administration costs for cheques stopped at the client’s request.
- Dealing with a share of freehold.
- Dealing with sitting tenants or occupiers.
- Dealing with any form of transfer of equity, including new owners/ or removing owners from the title as part of the re-mortgage.
- Dealing with third-party lawyers, e.g. in a matrimonial dispute
- Dealing with trust property
- Dealing with Private charge holders
- Dealing with ground rent and service charges (if you are not up to date)
- Drafting Certificate of consent/ compliance
- Drafting the RX3/4 form to remove a restriction on the title
- Deed of Grant or variation
- Drafting a Statutory Declaration or Statement of Truth
- File Retrieval after completion from storage
- General Power of Attorney.
- Investigating Bankruptcy Entry
- Land Registry Restriction (each)
- Letter of Postponement or Deed of Postponement
- Liaising with Trustees in Bankruptcy
- Dealing with New Build Properties
- Obtaining Indemnity Insurance (each) other than Search Indemnity.
- Remortgage at an undervalue.
- Removal of restriction from the Land Registry Records
- Removal of a registered caution from the Land Registry Records
- Repaying a legal charge/ mortgage over another property.
- Returning original documents
- Updating your name and address on the Land Registry records
- Registration at Companies House
- SDLT supplemental fee
- Shared Equity/ Help to Buy
- Shared Ownership
- Staircasing
- Unregistered land
- Voluntary First Registration for a sale property
- The transaction involves a freehold property on a private estate.
This list is not exhaustive, and if there are additional fees that you may incur, we will inform you in advance. In addition to our legal fees for some items above, you may incur an associated disbursement, such as additional Land Registry Fees or Landlord Fees (if appropriate). We will inform you accordingly.
VAT
The prevailing VAT rate stands at 20%
