Transfer of Equity and 2nd Home

[dancingqueen345]

I am in the process of being removed from a mortgage with my ex partner who is buying me out of a home we own jointly.

The lender has agreed to me being removed and has issued a letter to this effect. My ex has engaged a solicitor to deal with the land registry application to remove me from the title.

My question is, at what point do I legally cease to be an owner of the property?

I am in the process of buying a new property on my own and I am worried that I will need to pay higher rate stamp duty as it will effectively be a 2nd home (only for a short time, and I know I can reclaim the money but could do without the hassle).

The Land Registry can take months to deal with an application so I'm hoping it will be the date on which my ex and I both sign the Land Registry form rather than the date on which they finally register it!

Legally you cease to be an owner of the property on the day of completion. Land Registry may take some time to register the property in your ex's name, but the date of completion will be the date entered onto the Proprietorship Register when the new title deeds are updated.

Thanks @Spickle, that's exactly what I was hoping!