Remortgaging with us

When might customers wish to use their own conveyancer?

• A customer who already has a solicitor in place who is on our standard conveyancing panel, may wish to use them as they will be more familiar with the customer’s circumstances.
• A customer purchasing another property at the same time as remortgaging, or who has any other related transaction for which a solicitor is required e.g. transfer of equity, may find it will make it simpler if one conveyancer is completing both transactions.
• Customers on shared equity/shared ownership schemes are recommended to use their own conveyancer as these remortgages often involve additional legal processes and if the Remortgage Conveyancing Service is selected there may be additional costs required.

NB – as a reminder if the customer wishes to use their own conveyancer, on the 'Personal details' screen you must complete the Purchase type as ‘Remortgage – own conveyancer’ rather than ‘Remortgage’.

We will allocate the conveyancer and confirm this with the next steps provided when you submit the application.

Welcome Call

It is important you advise the customer who the allocated conveyancer is and that they will receive a welcome call from them when the conveyancer will:

• Introduce themselves and explain they have been appointed to act as conveyancer on behalf of the bank.
• Provide an outline of next steps, including completion of the remortgage questionnaire and signature of the mortgage deed.
• Establish customers preferred method of communication throughout the remortgage transaction and encourage use of the conveyancing firm’s online customer portal.
• Discuss any potential complexities identified from the Land Registry (which they will have reviewed before the call) and set expectations around estimated timescales for completion.
• Notify the customer of the costs of any additional services payable by the customer.
• Answer any initial questions that the customer may have.

Not all the conveyancing firms will have a caller ID function so calls may show as an unknown number. If the customer is not expecting the call so does not pick up or are unwilling to discuss anything as they and are unaware who the conveyancers are, this may delay their application. The conveyancing firm will leave a message if the call is not answered to advise they will try again later or that the customer can contact them.

Every remortgage can differ but there are some common steps to the process:

1. In all cases the customer will need to complete a questionnaire about their property and current mortgage (they will receive this online via the conveyancer’s online portal or by post). The legal process cannot start until the customer has completed the questionnaire and provided any information requested.
2. Mortgage offer is sent from the bank to the conveyancer.
3. All parties to the mortgage will be asked to sign a mortgage deed which will need to be witnessed, and returned to the conveyancer.
4. The conveyancer will request a redemption statement showing the amount outstanding from the existing lender if a mortgage is being repaid.
5. The conveyancer will make their final checks; they will review their file to check all is in order.
6. The conveyancer will confirm the completion date.
7. On the day of completion the conveyancer will confirm completion and if additional funds are to be sent to the customer these will be sent via their chosen method.

Additional services

If the customer’s application requires additional services the conveyancer may be able to offer to do extra legal work at the same time as the remortgage. The process may take longer and there may be additional fees the customer has to pay. The conveyancer will check the title to the property and the customer questionnaire and make the customer aware if additional services are required and the cost of these.

Examples of additional services:

• Deed of Postponement; of a second charge on the property
• Lease extensions
• Transfer of Equity; someone being added or removed from the mortgage
• Shared equity / shared ownership schemes; where the customer owns a percentage of the property, with the remaining percentage being owned by a Housing Association, Local Authority or private provider.
• Surplus funds transfer.

For more complex transactions, the conveyancer firm will have more regular contact to help customers understand what’s required from them, how their case is progressing and what is outstanding to progress the case to completion.

On average, conveyancing takes 10-12 weeks, but can take more or less time depending on the case complexity.

Check when your customer wants to complete and manage their expectations if it may not be possible to meet the timescales.

Submit the remortgage application as soon as possible and ensure the conveyancer is aware when the customer wants to complete.

If the customer can return any documentation promptly this will help speed up the process. Even if the remortgage is not due to complete for a while, it’s important to return paperwork to the conveyancer as soon as possible to avoid any delays nearer the completion date.

If for any reason the remortgage application is not proceeding, please ensure the application is cancelled online and the conveyancer advised, to avoid any confusion if they are unaware and continue to contact the customer.