transfer of equity fees

ammegsknab

Hi,
Not sure if this is in the right place.
I currently have a mortgage which was a joint application with my now ex-partner. The mortgage is a fixed rate until June next year which I am happy with. The mortgage company will process a transfer of equity into my name which means I re-apply for the mortgage myself with all the same terms and conditions (and means I don't have to pay a £5000 early repayment fee because it's still within the two year fixed rate). So the transfer of equity fee fromt the mortgage company is £199. My solicitor then has to do the title deeds transfer etc. Any ideas how much this part would cost? The house is valued at £140000 with £110000 mortgage, and I will have to pay my ex £10000 back as this is what he put in at the start of the mortgage.
Any ideas?
Ta G

penguine

We're in the middle of a transfer of equity and our solicitor is charging approx £440 plus VAT. This is greater London though so might be cheaper where you are.

ammegsknab

Thanks that helps, I'm in Scotland. The solicitor we used when we bought was fantastic but pricey. I'm not in the position to pay a huge amount but that seems doable just now.

gemma0_5

I'm in the middle of one at the mo> I have quite a lot of fees as my brother is giving me a lump sum to pay some of the mortgage off so that it's still affordable for me, but solicitor fees are working out at around £350 plus vat. Hope that helps and good luck!

diddydee

I'm in scotland, and almost at the end of this (5 months after we actually seperated!).

Cost me £150 to the mortage company to transfer equity in my name. Still waiting on solicitors bill but estimate was around £300 for transfer and £800 for minute of agreement which if I didn't pay for they said they would refuse to take me on.

All in all its cost a fortune and stressed the hell out of me, but it'll be the best £1k or so i've ever spent, I couldn't be happier!!!

Also a note to those doing the same, when seeking a value for the property which you intend to buy, consider visiting a surveyor, they valued my house at £128k and despite paying them around £200 to do the survey, the estate agent who did a market valuation was estimating £135-140k, so be aware of fluctuations between actual and market value!

Richard_Webster

and £800 for minute of agreement which if I didn't pay for they said they would refuse to take me on.

I don't know why the solicitor is charging for a "minute of agreement...". I wouldn't need to have one of those...... But I'm not a Scots solicitor so I can't make a meaningful comment about the point!

This just illustrates the point I keep making that we should have separate boards for Scots, English/Welsh and Northern Irish Law.

OP innocently asks about solicitor's charges for a transfer of equity and doesn't say he is in Scotland so he gets answers probably from those with English experience. Most people don't realise the law and practice might be different and many OPs don't say that they are in Scotland until later through the thread. Sometimes there will be giveaways like references to "missives" or other Scots terms, but this doesn't always happen.

I don't know whether this extra charge for a "minute of agreement" is standard in Scotland in this kind of case, but if it it makes quite a difference to the legal costs quoted for a case in London. This English figure was helpful for England - a tad high - but it is in London - so for someone in England this would have given a reasonable indication. Not necessarily the case in Scotland!