Remortgage Solicitors

It surprises a lot of clients that remortgaging needs a solicitor at all — there's no seller, no buyer, no chain, so what exactly is there to do? In practice, quite a lot, and it's worth understanding because it explains why the fee exists and where delays tend to come from.

Your new lender is putting up several hundred thousand pounds against your home, and before they'll release it, they need independent confirmation that the property's legal title is exactly what it appears to be. That means checking the title register at HM Land Registry for anything that could get in the lender's way: an old charge that was never formally removed, a restriction requiring someone else's consent before the property can be mortgaged again, a boundary or right-of-way issue, or a lease (if it's a flat) that's dropped below the length most lenders will accept.

Alongside the title check, we request a redemption statement from your existing lender, report to your new lender that their mortgage offer conditions have been satisfied, and then on completion day, we receive the new mortgage funds, pay off the old lender, and register the new lender's charge at the Land Registry.

It's also worth flagging the distinction between a remortgage and a product transfer. A product transfer is where you switch to a new deal with your existing lender — no new lender, no redemption, and usually no solicitor required. A remortgage is where you move to a different lender, which is where all of the legal work above becomes necessary.

We quote a fixed legal fee from £250 + VAT based on your property value, so you know the full cost before you instruct us — no hourly rates, no surprise invoice at the end. The fee covers title checking, liaising with both lenders, redemption, and registration.

On top of our fee, there's a Land Registry registration fee (set by the government, based on property value) and any search fees your specific lender requires. Some lenders are happy with existing searches or indemnity insurance in place of new ones, which can save you money — we'll always flag that option where it applies rather than defaulting to the more expensive route.

A remortgage is usually one of the less expensive pieces of conveyancing you'll pay for, precisely because there's no chain to manage and no negotiation over price or fixtures and fittings. For the full picture on what's included, what counts as an extra, and how our fees compare with a lender's "free legal service," see our complete guide to remortgage solicitor fees.

Most of our clients are surprised how quickly a straightforward remortgage moves once it's under way — the bottleneck is very rarely us, and it's very rarely the new lender either. It's almost always the redemption statement from your existing lender.

• Week 1 — instruction and setup. You send over ID, proof of address, and your new mortgage offer. We open the file, order the title register, and — if your lender needs it — request updated searches.
• Weeks 1–2 — title review and redemption request. We go through the title in detail, flag anything unusual, and request a redemption statement from your current lender. This is the step most likely to cause a delay if your current bank is slow, so we chase early.
• Weeks 2–3 — reporting on the mortgage offer. We check every condition attached to your new mortgage offer is satisfied and tell you exactly what's needed.
• Weeks 3–4 — completion. Your new lender releases the funds, we redeem your existing mortgage on the same day, and register the new charge with the Land Registry.

For a fuller walkthrough of the whole journey, including what happens before you even instruct a solicitor, see our guide to how remortgaging works.

If your property is leasehold, a remortgage brings an extra layer: your new lender will only accept the mortgage if the remaining lease term meets their minimum requirement, commonly 70 years at completion but varying between lenders. If your lease has dropped close to that threshold, you may need a lease extension completed or formally agreed before the remortgage can proceed — far better to know in week one than after your new offer has been issued with a deadline attached.

We also check the lease for anything that could concern a lender regardless of length: escalating ground rent clauses, restrictions on subletting, and whether the freeholder or managing agent needs to be notified of the new charge.

Shared ownership remortgages have their own quirks. If you're staircasing — buying a further share at the same time as remortgaging — that's effectively two transactions running in parallel, and we coordinate both with your housing association and your new lender.

A remortgage is often the point at which other things get sorted at the same time. Quoting for them together usually saves you money and definitely saves you time:

• Adding or removing someone from the mortgage and title. Marriage, moving in together or separation often means a remortgage alongside a transfer of equity.
• Releasing equity — for home improvements, consolidating borrowing, or a gifted deposit for a family member. The legal process is identical to a like-for-like switch; the new mortgage is simply larger.
• Buy-to-let and portfolio remortgages. Investment properties and limited-company holdings add extra paperwork and, for portfolios, coordinated multi-completion.
• Help to Buy remortgages. If you're switching your main mortgage while keeping the equity loan, both your lender and Homes England need a Deed of Postponement — a common oversight for firms that don't do much Help to Buy work; it isn't for us.
• Shared ownership and staircasing, as above.

Most remortgages that overrun do so for a small, predictable set of reasons:

• A slow redemption statement — the single most common cause of delay. If your current lender has been slow to deal with in the past, tell us at the outset.
• Undischarged historic charges — old loans never formally removed from the title need discharging before a new charge can be registered. Our title check catches these early.
• Name or detail mismatches between the title and your new mortgage offer, easier to sort in week one than week four.
• Lease length issues on flats, and outstanding service charge or ground rent arrears flagged by the freeholder.
• Missing or incomplete ID and source-of-funds documentation — AML checks apply to remortgages just as they do to purchases.

We're a Maidenhead high street firm at heart, but the vast majority of our remortgage clients don't come into the office at all — everything is handled by phone, email and post. That said, we know these local markets well because we act across them every week:

• Maidenhead — our home turf, covering Boyn Hill, the Waterways developments and the wider SL6 postcode; see our Maidenhead conveyancing team.
• Windsor — see our Windsor conveyancing team.
• Reading — a large, varied market from Victorian terraces to newer developments around the station; see our Reading conveyancing team.
• Slough — strong demand from first-time buyers remortgaging out of Help to Buy deals; see our Slough conveyancing team.
• Bracknell — a lot of 1990s and 2000s new-build stock, where leasehold flats sometimes need extra checks on lease length; see our Bracknell conveyancing team.
• Wokingham — see our Wokingham conveyancing team.
• Marlow — higher-value remortgages and equity release for renovation work; see our Marlow conveyancing team.
• Beaconsfield — see our Beaconsfield conveyancing team.
• Henley-on-Thames — see our Henley-on-Thames conveyancing team.
• Twyford and surrounding villages — get in touch and we'll confirm coverage and quote over the phone.

Do I need a solicitor to remortgage?

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What's the difference between a remortgage and a transfer of equity?

Will I need a survey or valuation when I remortgage?