AIBU to be confused by this? (Mortgage related)

[CarolBrownsBus]

Apologies for the giant post, I just wanted to make sure all the information was included. We're currently buying and selling and received a draft financial statement yesterday, now I admit maths isn't my strong suit but it just doesn't add up to me. I've also asked some friends who are much more knowledgeable and it doesn't make sense to them either. I'm hoping someone can tell me if I'm right so I know whether I should keep pursuing the issue as according to my calculations we're around £2000 down.

We're selling for £298k and buying for £282k. We're porting our mortgage and everything is completing on the same day. On our mortgage statement last month the outstanding balance was £163,745.

Here's the financial statement:

Items Payments

Purchase Price - £282,000.00

Local Authority Search Fee - £295.00

Land Charge Search Fee - £12.00

Stamp Duty Land Tax (n/a- buying for less than £500,000.00) - £0.00

Land Registry Fee on Transfer - £135.00

Solicitor's charges for Purchase (£549.00+VAT) - £658.80

Solicitor's charges for Mortgage (£150.00+VAT) - £180.00

Solicitor's charges for Stamp Duty Land Tax Return (£120.00+VAT) - £144.00

Solicitor's charges for Bank Transfer (£37.50+VAT) - £45.00

Solicitor's charges for CallML Identity Search (£12.50 +VAT x2) - £30.00

Receipts

Mortgage Advance (less £20.00 TT fee payable to lender) - £165,286.00

Monies to be received on related sale - £130,362.02

Monies from client - £300

Balance due to you on completion (estimate) - £12,428.22

When I asked the solicitor if the balance due to us was correct as the mortgage advance and monies to be received on the sale didn't add up they then sent this document which didn't make it any clearer to me :/

Items Payments

First Redemption (@9th April 2020) - £166,812.98

Estate Agents Commission - TBC

Office copy entries - £12.00

Solicitor's charges for Sale (£540.00 plus VAT) - £648.00

Solicitor's charges for Redemption (£125.00 plus VAT) - £150.00

Solicitor's charges for Bank Transfer (£37.50 plus VAT) - £45.00

Solicitor's charges for CallML Identity Search x2 (£16.67 plus VAT) - £20.00

Receipts

Sale Proceeds - £298,000.00

Monies from client - £50.00

Estimated balance due to your purchase - £130,362.02

Is there anything I'm missing that's unaccounted for? Our mortgage adviser has left and no one can get back to me until Tuesday so I'm just going round in circles looking at all the numbers! Thanks so much to anyone who gets through it all!

Is there an early redemption to pay and then it’s refunded? We had to do this- it took an age to be paid back? The redemption statement from the lender might include this?

Sometimes the mortgage redemption doesn't include the last payment made, but you get that back separately. Would that explain the difference?

Both sides of both statements should balance- I.e payments and receipts on sale and payments and receipts on purchase. Have you done the check like that- it should identify where the discrepancy sits, though at first glance mortgage balance at 9/4 is different.

Sorry if I'm being dim, but if you are porting your mortgage, why is redemption referred to?

It's your mortgage redemption amount. Solicitors might be working on old figures or have transposed a number. Call your lender and ask for an up to date redemption figure (or more accurately porting figure as you aren't redeeming).

Thanks very much for getting through the essay @lifecouldbeadream ! it's not early redemption as that would be £8000. I can't think of anything else!

Yes. Just looked again they are working on April figures. You will have pud off more since then presumably.

I'm working on the assumption that the "redemption amount" and "new mortgage advance" should be the same.

Does your lender invoke any porting charges that could explain the difference?

As it's a draft statement the solicitors may well have not updated accurate mortgage figures with your lender.

@willitbetonight Thanks so much! That makes sense, it definitely balances out like that. I'm glad I'm not imagining that it doesn't add up! Thanks very much to everyone else who got through my garbled figures too.

Why is your solicitor charging for stamp duty land tax return when there's now none payable?

@lifecouldbeadream Thanks for that tip, it will help to make sense of it more.

We don't have any redemption charges to pay.

"last month the outstanding balance was £163,745."
There will be interest due from the date you checked the outstanding balance. I wonder if the solicitor has to overestimate what is due a little so the mortgage company are given all that is due and the mortgage company then return or credit to your account any overpayment?

@Misty9

Yes - that is strange to me, too.

@Misty9 don't worry, they've put the total as £0.00 for stamp duty.

@misty9 I think they still have to do the return even if none is payable.

@willitbetonight

Solicitor's charges for Stamp Duty Land Tax Return (£120.00+VAT) - £144.00

This one?

Yes, I think you have to make the return to HMRC even if no actual duty is payable. Therefore the sol is charging to fill in the form to say that no sdlt is payable.

That's a lot of money to fill in the form - ours charged us either £20 or £40 four years ago.

Wow, I missed that charge! What a bonus for filling in a form that says zero money due!

DP cocked up filling it in when we moved so we ended up getting the solicitor to do it as it was easier with everything else that was going on. If you choose to do it yourself you have to read the notes!