Now, your plans to remortgage are finally coming full circle as you have now received a mortgage offer from your lender. However, the offer doesn’t mean it’s over—there are several stages involved in the process, and getting the mortgage offer is the start of it all. Moreover, this is where a conveyancer comes into play.
The Reason You Need a Conveyancer
A mortgage offer is an official confirmation from the lender that they will provide you with a mortgage. However, you need the right help, and a conveyancer will help you with that. A lot of legal things go into the process; therefore, the need for a conveyancer. Your conveyancer will process the legal work on behalf of the lender.
A conveyancer will take care of the paperwork required and gather the funds from your new lender so that your existing mortgage lender will be repaid.
Moreover, remortgaging isn’t an easy process, although it might seem like it. That’s why the conveyancing process exists to ensure everything goes as smoothly as possible.
Here are the things a conveyancer will do:
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Perform a Title Check: Start by performing a title check to determine that you are the legal owner of the property. The conveyancer will contact the Land Registry and verify the information on the mortgage application.
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Conduct Identity Checks: The conveyancer will conduct identity checks to confirm your identity. This isn’t only as protection against money laundering but also to fulfil the lender and Land Registry requirements. Therefore, you will need to provide proof of your ID through a passport or driving license, while you can use your bank statement, utility bill, or Council Tax bill to prove your address.
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Ask the Lender About Your Mortgage: Your conveyancer will ask the lender for information about your mortgage. The lender will send out a redemption statement that details your remaining balance and whether any exit fees of Early Repayment Charges are payable when your existing mortgage has been redeemed. Additionally, your conveyancer will require details of your building’s insurance policy. (Note: it’s essential you have a buildings coverage when you take out a mortgage.)
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Review the New Mortgage Offer: Your conveyancer will review the new mortgage offer. The offer is sent by your lender and contains all the details about the new mortgage, including their instructions to your conveyancer.
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Ask You to Sign the Mortgage Deed: You will be asked to sign the mortgage deed in front of a witness. Then, you need to send the signed documents to your conveyancer.
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Request a Final Redemption Statement and Funds: Your conveyancer will request a final redemption statement from your lender. The conveyancer will request the funds from the lender.
How Long the Process Will Take
When remortgaging your property and you finally have an offer, it will take at least four weeks from the date of the mortgage offer. However, if your situation is more complex or your conveyancer will require extra information, it can take longer than four weeks. That’s why it’s necessary to have everything ready, such as the documents needed for the process. That way, it will help make the process go smoother.
Tips to Speed Up the Process
There are other ways you can speed up the process. Indeed, having all the necessary documents ready is necessary! Also, you need to make sure the conveyancer knows how to reach you quickly should they have any questions during the process.
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Figure Out the Amount of Equity You Have in Your Home
Remember, the more equity you have, the better options you will have, and the lower your Loan To Value (LTV) will be. That’s why it’s important you get your home appraised before your lender does. It’s best to ask for valuations from three real estate agents first, or you can use a free house valuations guide to help you through the process. While doing so, be mindful of the effect of your LTV—an ideal option is to borrow less than 95% of your home’s current value.
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Research Well
When it comes to remortgaging, you need to research well. Check comparison sites of best buy tables. With so many remortgaging products out there, it can all be so confusing and overwhelming. Therefore, it’s essential that you take the time to research properly to help you through the process.
This is also where you need the help of a mortgage broker. That is, if you’re willing to hire one. On the other hand, researching by yourself may be enough. By doing so, you’ll get a ballpark idea of what’s available for remortgaging your home.
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Be Clear on Your Credit Score
When getting a remortgage, lenders will look at your credit score first, so it won’t hurt to be a couple of steps ahead of them. Get a free credit report from your credit rating agency. Before you apply for a remortgage, make sure your credit report is correct. If you find any errors, you can contact the agency and have them corrected.
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Read the Fine Print
Remortgaging isn’t always the best option for you. For example, if you have early repayment charges to your existing mortgage, these will be triggered when you remortgage and move to another lender.
That’s why you should speak with your broker or lender about any potential penalties you may have to deal with for early repayments before you assume you will get a lot of money with the new mortgage. Read the fine print, and don’t just dive head-on.
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Try to Lower Your LTV
Your LTV is the size of your mortgage related to the value of the property. As mentioned, the lower your LTV is, the less risky it is for the lender to offer you a remortgage amount for your property. Ultimately, the bigger your deposit, the better deals you will get.
Figure out ways how you can lower your LTV—your broker or even your lender can help you with this.
Should You Push Through With It?
When you get a remortgage offer, then you might think that the next step is to take it. However, you must think it through first. You want to make sure that this remortgage will truly help you. If the interest rates are low, then yes, it’s a good time to consider it. Still, make sure you clearly understand how your future repayments will be affected by the change in interest rates.
Spend time choosing a remortgage loan as you did when you first decided to purchase a property. From there, it will help you make the most out of your option.
Conclusion
A conveyancer can help you through the whole remortgaging process. Therefore, don’t hesitate to get one to help you out! Conveyancing will definitely go a long way, so choose your conveyancer wisely.
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