Advice: Transfer of Equity

plowe1

Hi,

To summarise my situation, I am the 'selling' party in a transfer of equity situation.  Going 2 - 1 to remove my name from the deed - my ex and I got a solicitor to finalise proceedings.  Everything has been progressing well as we are generally amicable and final documentation (TR1 and ID1) has been provided - before I signed I called the solicitor and they have refused to speak to me claiming they are operating on my ex behalf, this has worried me somewhat and so I'm looking to confirm that my interests are covered.

- I have a completed transfer of equity (TR1) form which indicates a 50:50 split in equity - the figure looks correct.
- Identity checks (ID1) which I've completed and had witnessed (not easy during a pandemic, let me tell you!)
- A declaration of solvency

I'm worried around the mortgage side of things as I've heard nothing, my ex is moving to a new mortgage provider and so I've been instructed by the bank that this is fairly normal with a new provider, apparently I can't have any exposure to mortgage risk if it's with a new provider unless they've been through some identity check process.

I've spoken to a friend who is a conveyancer who has briefly looked over the paperwork and says it looks fine.   Any other step within the process that has been referenced to me by other solicitors would affect the buying party and not me.

My final question / concern is around whether I really should be instructing my own independent legal advice - am I missing anything here? 

Any advice would be really welcome as I'm keen to get this all boxed off.

Thank you

davidmcn

As you've been told, the new mortgage is none of your business (in the same way that the buyer's mortgage wouldn't be in a normal sale) so nothing alarming about a lack of information about that.

Assuming you're beyond the point of wanting advice about the amount you're getting, then the only real matter of concern would be to ensure you get your money (and released from the current mortgage) in exchange for the signed TR1. But if you are handing that over to your ex's solicitor then there are limits to how far they can rip you off without breaching their professional obligations.

plowe1

There is explicit reference within the documentation that I have received to cover the transfer of money:

Clause 8 of the TR1 states that you have received a sum of money for your interest in the property. Please note that those monies will be paid to you on the completion date and we will hold the executed transfer deed until such time as payment has been made to you. We will then proceed to finalise the transfer by dating the same and lodging it at HM Land Registry.

With regards to the mortgage, its less details on the new mortgage - it's confirmation of intended cessation of the old mortgage. The mortgage adviser suggested that this is also normal - it's only on termination of the mortgage that you would receive a closing statement. 

davidmcn

plowe1 said:

With regards to the mortgage, its less details on the new mortgage - it's confirmation of intended cessation of the old mortgage. The mortgage adviser suggested that this is also normal - it's only on termination of the mortgage that you would receive a closing statement. 

Again, yes, it would be the same if you were selling normally. You can't close your mortgage account until you've got the cash you receive at completion, so until then your lender can't confirm a thing.

plowe1

Useful insight - thank you