Discharge mortgage

[BenjaminaButton]

I’ve recently paid off my mortgage and need to organise the discharge document. Can I handle this myself, or do I need to involve a solicitor? My finances are a bit tight due to other debts and the cost of living, so I’m hoping to avoid extra costs if possible. Also, if anyone has recommendations for affordable solicitors in the Midlothian area, that would be greatly appreciated

I just got a settlement price from the bank if I remember correctly and paid the bank direct.

My bank informed me that I need to organise a discharge document and send it to the Registers of Scotland to release their charge on my property. I understand this is a legal step that needs to be done in addition to paying off the mortgage.

I've done this recently and from research, it is possible to do it yourself but you need to get the wording correct and if you get it wrong and rejected, it'll still cost you the fees. I got a solicitor to do it and they basically just needed the confirmation letter from the lender saying that there is no longer any loan remaining.

There is no rush to do it unless you need to remortgage.

I paid mine off 10 years ago but recently split up and needed to remortgage so had to get the existing charge removed, even though there had been no loan in place for a long time.

Some people don’t do it until they are selling the property or taking out another mortgage, although not saying that’s ideal. I don’t think it’ll be too expensive as it’s not that much work, the registering the discharge will be a set fee though

In Scotland (but not in England) a solicitor is required
Really bad idea not to discharge
Recenly had a purchase fall through as the mortgage had been paid off decades before but the lender could not trace the account so would not discharge the security

To be fair, my mortgage account still existed but with a zero balance so there wasn't an issue finding it. I think it cost around £260 for the discharge via the solicitor including the fees. I'd say my solicitor was neither a cheap one nor expensive based on what the rest of my costs were compared to a friend going through a separation too.

I agree with the PP it would probably best to get over and done with now

i work for a bank and deal occasionally with property

the amount of customers who come to us 20,30 years down the line to discharge mortgages and shocked to discover our archive isn’t actually that great and they go round and round trying to find the right area

you will need a solicitor in Scotland, they will ideally need the security and property documents. They’ll draw up a quick one page doc and the bank will sign and return for your solicitor to get the charge removed from the register

Thanks, I guess I need to find a solicitor!

You don't need a solicitor, it's pretty straightforward, you just need to compose a discharge and send it to the bank for signing. (Google discharge of standard security styles) and the submit to Registers. https://www.ros.gov.uk/guidance/discharge-a-mortgage-deed it will cost you £80.

Most lenders will only release the discharge to a solicitor

That doesn't discharge the security.

I paid off my mortgage last week and Santander told me that I could either use a solicitor or contact Registers of Scotland myself. I'm waiting for letter from Santander which will hopefully provide more information.

All Santander will do is give you a letter saying the loan has been repaid and you need to register a discharge in the Land Register or possibly the Register of Sasines. Santander will not do that for you.

I am in Scotland and a solicitor waa definitely required. However, we just left our deeds with the bank for years after our morgage was paid- we didn't want to pay for a solicitor and thought the bank was the safest place for them anyway.

In the end we did get fed up with "we are ready to discharge your mortgage" texts from the bank so we did get it all done. But you could wait til your finances are better. I think we waited a good 5 years!

Yes, I know that Santander won't do it for me. They told me that over the phone. I'm just waiting for a letter so I have written confirmation that the loan is repaid, and I'll take it from there.