Remortgage conveyancing process

A remortgage describes the process of applying for a new mortgage with a different lender whilst staying in your home. This is different to borrowing more money from your current mortgage lender.

People remortgage for a variety of reasons. For example, it may be that your current mortgage deal is coming to an end and a better deal is available elsewhere, or your loan-to-value ratio has improved, giving you access to a broader range of products. You may be looking to raise money for home improvements or for a particular purchase.

Do I need a solicitor to remortgage?

If you are just applying for a further advance from your current mortgage lender, it’s considered to be a ‘product transfer’ which requires no additional legal work and you will not require a remortgage conveyancing solicitor.

If, on the other hand, a new lender is involved, you will require a conveyancing solicitor to deal with the remortgage conveyancing process.

Remortgage process UK

The remortgage conveyancing process can be summarised as follows:

1. Your solicitor will check the identity of each person named in the mortgage and property deeds and carry out the necessary money laundering checks. Find out why this is necessary.
2. If you are paying off part or all of your existing mortgage, your solicitor must check the source of your funds in accordance with the anti-money laundering regulations. The source will determine the evidence you will need to provide.
3. Your remortgage conveyancing solicitor will obtain the title registration documents from HM Land Registry. These are called Official Copies and confirm you are the legal owner of the property you wish to remortgage. These documents also detail any legal charges registered against the property. Your solicitor will need to apply to remove the existing lender’s legal charge over the property once the mortgage is repaid.
4. Your lender issues the formal mortgage offer to your remortgage conveyancing solicitor. This sets out what needs to be done to satisfy the mortgage lender’s requirements.
5. Your solicitor will request a current mortgage statement from your existing lender, which will confirm the amount required in order to redeem (pay off) the mortgage.
6. The solicitor applies for those searches that are required to satisfy your new lender’s property search requirements. Most require only a Local Authority Search and some will accept a search indemnity policy instead, which is a quicker and cheaper option. Find out more about property searches.
7. Your remortgage conveyancing solicitor requests a pre-completion search called an ‘Official search with priority: whole title (OS1)’, which prevents any other charges from being registered against the property during the ‘priority period’, which is 30 days. If completion cannot take place within the priority period, another OS1 must be requested before completion can take place.
8. Your solicitor will also carry out a bankruptcy search to confirm that none of the legal owners is bankrupt.
9. Once your remortgage conveyancing solicitor is satisfied that all registered owners of the property, and the property itself, meet the new lender’s conditions, a completion date can be agreed. The solicitor sends a ‘Certificate of Title’ to your new lender, which confirms that everything is satisfactory and requests that the new lender releases the remortgage funds.

Remortgage Land Registry fee and other costs

Prior to completion, your remortgage conveyancing solicitor will send to you a statement. This will confirm:

• the total outstanding balance you must pay to complete the remortgage; or
• the amount of money you will receive once the remortgage conveyancing process completes.

In addition to setting out the mortgage advance from your new lender, the remortgage completion statement will also include an itemised list of fees and disbursements, including:

• legal fees;
• Local Authority search fees;
• HM Land Registry fees;
• Fees for ID and bankruptcy checks.

What happens on remortgage completion day

As soon as your solicitor receives the mortgage funds from the new lender and are ready to complete, they will use these funds to repay (redeem) your current mortgage and settle your lender’s legal fees and disbursements before accounting to you for any balance.

Once your remortgage has completed, your conveyancing solicitor must register the new mortgage at HM Land Registry. It’s worth noting that HM Land Registry can take some time to update the register to record your new mortgage, particularly if your property is leasehold.

Remortgage process timescale

The remortgage conveyancing process is more straightforward than for a property purchase or sale. In most cases, the process takes between four and eight weeks.