Transfer of equity questions.

[JohnnyMarr]

I currently have a joint mortgage with my ex. We divorced almost five years ago. The consent order states that after five years I must release ex from the mortgage by either selling the FMH or taking on the mortgage in my sole name, in either event all equity to be in my favour.

I want to take on the mortgage, but to make it affordable for me on my own my dad is gifting me a lump sum to lower the outstanding balance.

I've contacted a solicitor today who's given me a quote of £1200 to arrange this. Does this seem like a reasonable fee? And am I able to organise the mortgage side of things before I get a solicitor involved? The mortgage/gift element appears to be increasing the cost quite dramatically, but I'm obviously wary of paying a not insignificant chunk off my mortgage while ex is still on it!

How much can I do myself? And what's a ballpark figure for this kind of thing?

Just remortgage surely, and use the lender's legal team for free

@titchy when I spoke to my mortgage company they told me I needed to instruct a solicitor independently.

You can just take your dad's money and use it to pay off some of the mortgage - no paperwork involved, no legal costs. Since you get all the equity when the house is sold, I struggle to see a way your ex could take advantage of this.

Alternatively, remortgage for a reduced amount, using the money from your dad to pay off the rest of the original mortgage. You may need a solicitor for that, particularly if you remortgage with a different lender.

Looking at your thread title, I wonder if you referred to a transfer of equity when you talked to them. If you did, they will have thought you were intending to give your father part ownership of the house in return for his money. If he is simply paying off some of the mortage for you, that is not a transfer of equity.

I assume the OP means the house needs to be transferred from her and exh to her sole name. In order to get the lender to agree to this and release the ex from all liabilities from the mortgage then the balance outstanding needs to be reduced. Lenders solicitors won’t deal with these sort of transactions and you need to appoint your own solicitor. We charge £750 plus VAT where I work to do this,

I am in Ireland but believe laws are similar in the UK.

Go to the mortgage company and ask about transferring the equity which is basically the bank giving you a new mortgage meaning your ex will effectively be off your mortgage. You then need a conveyancing solicitor to get your ex removed from the title deeds of your property which includes searches etc but fundamentally this solicitor will get your name solely on the deeds which is the outcome you want. As I said I am in Ireland and it cost me around 2thousand euro so yes 1200stg sounds right to me.

Congratulations on finally removing him and getting your home secured x

Why does the balance outstanding need to be reduced if she meets the lenders affordability criteria?

Just doing this myself although it's slightly different in that I am transferring a share of equity to my son and there is no mortgage involved.
I have had quotes from local solicitors of £1000 all in and £700 plus VAT, Land Reg fees and disbursements so think your quote is fair. I was surprised though as I only paid £450 plus VAT when I bought it five years ago.
You might find a cheaper deal if you look at online firms.

I decided to try completing all the forms myself as it's fairly straightforward transaction but despite having some familiarity with the forms (from my work in another life) I still needed to check the Land Reg videos to make sure I was completing them correctly.
Where there is a mortgage, the lender will insist on a solicitor completing the conveyancing and Land Registry strongly recommends it anyway.
It's really not something you want to have wrong especially with an ex involved so probably money well spent even if it doesn't feel like it.