End of mortgage for Leasehold flat. Do I need a solicitor?

im not a solicitor, but i would say all you need to do is make sure that LR title shows the mortgage removed from the charge register. may be the mortgagee will do that for you (i think they will as part of the redemption charge), but if not do it yourself. think it only costs £3 and can be done online.

You used to need the all monies paid certificate and a Form53 sealed by the lender which you then sent to LR to take the charge off the register. As Joe says it may well be possible to do online now but you'll still need something from the lender authorising the removal. All lenders charge an exit admin fee these days, so maybe the mortgagee does this for you as part of the process. Check with them.

If your property title is registered at the Land Registry (and assuming the property is in England or Wales) it is very important to ensure that the entries relating to the mortgage are removed from the Register when the mortgage is repaid. But you shouldn't need a solicitor for this.

First check with your lender how they deal with the discharge of mortgages. Some lenders now send an electronic notice direct to the Land Registry once the mortgage is repaid, and the Registry then automatically cancels all the relevant entries, so you don't have to do anything further. (but it will pay to get a copy of the updated property register to make sure the title is clear of the mortgage.)

If your lender doesn't use this system they should send you a completed Land Registry Form DS1 (which has replaced the old Form 53.) However I believe that some lenders will require you to send them a completed DS1 form which they will then sign and return.

If your lender uses the DS1 method then you will need to send the completed form to the relevant Land Registry office together with a completed AP1 application form. No fee is payable.

You can get more informaion about the Land Registry (and download forms) via https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry You can also apply for a copy of your property register via this site.

If your title is not registered then the lender should return the original title deeds to you. These should include the mortgage deed and they should endorse a receipt on this showing that the mortgage has been repaid and is no longer in force. If this is the case then you should of course keep these deeds safe, and also consider getting your title registered at the Land Registry.

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "17/02/2015 - 11:12":

Thank you

Reply to the comment left by "John Simpson" at "17/02/2015 - 11:43":

Thank you

Reply to the comment left by "Tony Lilleystone" at "18/02/2015 - 14:38":

Thank you for your detailed response... it is very helpful.

i believe sometimes mortgagees hold original certificates etc, eg building regs. completion, damp/woodworm etc. if so you should get them returned.

There are a lot of cases of property fraud and one way of preventing it is to retain a mortgage as the lender then has to be contacted before any sale can be completed.

Personally, I would see if the lender will maintain a peppercorn mortgage just so that they keep your deeds safe and you are protected from fraud. It may be cheaper to do this than pay the exit fee and any costs to keep your deeds safe.

If you do not retain a small mortgage (or even if you do), you can also contact the land registry and they have a process (for free) where you can protect yourself. See https://www.gov.uk/protect-land-property-from-fraud

R

Error on my last post - the land registry process is free for those who do not live on the property such as BTL landlords and companies but if you live at the property there is a small fee.

R

Reply to the comment left by "Joe Bloggs" at "19/02/2015 - 10:05":

Thanks again to everyone for their contribution to this post. I just want to add some more general comments relating to all the replies so far. I looked up my stored documents and found what seems to be the lease, it says HM Land Registry at the top and gives details about the lease. It seems to be the original lease because it gives information about the people who originally purchased it and the price etc. There is also a letter from the mortgage lender saying - We write to advise you that the HM Land Registry have now completed registering our charge on the above property. We therefore enclose important documents in relation to the title which can be retained by you and should be held in a safe place. Please find enclosed Lease.
So it seems that I have the lease and that they will probably not have any other documents relating to the flat, the charge on the property with the Land Registry is their security. So that will need to be removed, whether they do it or I have to do it. But I appreciate the comments about fraud in a later post and may ask Land Registry about this kind of protection. During last year I did phone the mortgage lender to ask about what needs to be done at the completion of the loan period, but I was told that they cannot tell me anything, that I need to ask a citizens community group or other such agent about this. But surely if they are going to charge a Redemption Fee at the end, they should tell me what this is for and what it does or does not do in relation to the discharge of the mortgage and the Land Registry charge. Not very helpful of them, but I suppose they are protecting their backs in some way by saying nothing. I will try phoning them again this week now that I know more about the process and see if they are more forthcoming about the Redemption Fee, as the last payment is at the beginning of March. Thanks again to everyone.