Adding or removing someone for your Mortgage

There are a few things you need to know to help get the process started. Below you can view some of the questions we hear the most:

Do I have to take advice?

• Yes, you must take advice. We need to be sure you’re making the right choice for your individual circumstances.
• An independent financial advisor will talk you through your options
• If you don’t have a financial advisor, Unbiased.co.uk is a good place to start your search.
• Important: you may need to pay for financial advice.

What if I want to apply for Additional Borrowing at the same time?

• You must take advice.
• Your financial advisor will need to submit a separate application form to apply for the Additional Borrowing at the same time as your transfer of equity application.

Do I need a solicitor?

• Yes, you’ll need a solicitor
• You’ll need to instruct a solicitor to act on your behalf. Your solicitor will prepare the transfer documents to change ownership of the property.
• We’ll instruct solicitors to act on our behalf. Our solicitors will approve the transfer documents and will need to be satisfied with all matters relating to the title of the property.
• You’ll be responsible for the fees of both ours and your solicitor.

Will I have to pay any fees?

• You’ll need to pay our administration costs of £250 for adding or removing a party. You’ll need to pay this when you submit your application. This fee is non-refundable even if this application doesn’t go ahead.
• We’ll need a valuation your property and you’ll need to pay a fee for this if the property is over £1m.
• You’ll be responsible for both ours and your legal costs. Please contact your solicitor for details of the fees they charge.
• You may need to pay your financial advisor for the cost of providing advice.

How long does the process take?

• Once we receive the application form and fees, it takes a few weeks to issue you with a mortgage offer.
• It also depends on how quickly we receive an updated valuation of your property.
• We may also ask your financial advisor for information to help assess your ability to repay the loan. For example, if a party is being removed, to ensure the loan remains affordable for the remaining party.
• Once our solicitor receives your mortgage offer to instruct them to act on our behalf, it usually takes up to three months to complete on the transfer of ownership

What are my next steps?

If you decide to go ahead:

Your financial adviser will let us know. They’ll need to send us a completed application form, the administration fee, and your valuation fee, if applicable.

What happens next?

• Once we’ve verified your ability to repay the mortgage, we’ll need an up-to-date valuation report. We may need a valuer to visit the property.
• We’ll review the valuation report to assess your property and its current value.
• If the valuation report is acceptable, we’ll issue a mortgage offer and will send this to you and to our solicitors to instruct them to act.
• Your solicitor should then contact our solicitor to arrange for the transfer of ownership.

Will I have to repay my loan?

• If you’re removing someone and the loan is no longer affordable for the remaining party, you’ll have to repay part of your loan.
• No early repayment charges will apply if we ask you to repay some of your loan.

If I want to repay some of my loan, would I pay Early Repayment Charges?

• Yes, if it’s your choice to repay part of your loan and you’re within the period where early repayment charges apply.