What happens when a mortgage ends?

in_my_bumble_opinion

Need a bit of advice for my mum, please.

In a few days her mortgage ends and the property will be fully paid for. I suppose her main query is does she need a conveyancer? She's not moving home or selling it or anything, so her main concern is that her title deeds are updated. As far as I can understand it, her lender (The Woolwich) will either send her a letter saying they have reedemed her mortgage, or a form DS1/DS2 that she sends to the Land Registry. If The Woolwich redeem it themselves then she'll only get updated deeds if she applies for them, but if it's the forms she has to send in herself then she'll be sent updated copies out by the Land Registry. Does this sound right? Is there anything else she needs to do? Any advantages in a conveyancer in her situation?

Thanks!

opinions4u

She shouldn't need a solicitor.

Goldiegirl

She'll need to get in touch with the Woolwich for the final redemption figure, as it won't be the exact monthly payment, there's usually a couple of quid to pay off at the end due to fluctuations in daily interest, interest on any fees and general variations over the term of the mortgage, plus any final closure fee the Woolwich may charge.

She then pays that final few quid, the Woolwich will remove their charge from the Land Registry, and that's it. The Woolwich will have no further interest in the property.

The Woolwich will send your mum the title deeds. In this electronic age, the deeds are no longer important documents, but they are interesting, and in the case of old houses, they are historical documents, so she should keep them on a safe place.

There's no need to a solicitor to get involved.

Sally_A

After 25 years, I expected champagne, balloons and ticker tape.

I just rang the Halifax who weren't half as excited as me that I'd paid it all off and asked them for the original deeds.

Goldiegirl

Sally_A wrote: »

After 25 years, I expected champagne, balloons and ticker tape.

I just rang the Halifax who weren't half as excited as me that I'd paid it all off and asked them for the original deeds.

I worked for the Halifax for many years, and often dealt with the closure of mortgage accounts.

The staff deal with the end of mortgages so often, it's not that big a deal - it's just part of a normal days work.

When I paid my own mortgage off I wasn't particularly excited, as I'd seen so many mortgage closures over the years.

Land_Registry

Most major lenders now discharge their legal charges electronically i.e. direct with Land Registry. The lender then receives confirmation that the charge (mortgage) has been removed.

How lenders then deal with notifying the borrower can vary. Many will confirm that the mortgage has been discharegd and will supply a copy of the land register. That copy is simply confirmation of the registered title at the time and date as stated on it.

The lender may or may not have 'old deeds' to the property but they will normally send you what they do have as they have no further reason to hold or store these. We have an online FAQ to cover 'where are my deeds kept' but as mentioned by others it is the electronic record which is now relied upon and not the 'old deeds'.