Transfer of equity is the legal process by which a name is added to or removed from the title deeds of a property or land. There are many reasons why equity transfers happen. The most common of these are adding a spouse to the title deeds of the home, removing an ex-partner’s name following a divorce or separation or adding a child or other family member’s name to the deeds.
What Is The Process For Transfer of Equity?
There is a straightforward legal process that any conveyancing solicitor will be able to support. Your chosen solicitor will review the property’s title deeds and prepare the transfer documents, ensuring that they accurately reflect the changes that you wish to make.
The solicitor will notify any third parties that need to know about the transfer. This is usually just the mortgage lender but on a flat, apartment or commercial building that is owned on a leasehold, the freeholder will need to be notified about the change in ownership as well.
Both parties involved in the transfer of equity will need to be witnessed signing the transfer documents, which will then be sent to HM Land Registry for the title deeds of the property to be updated to reflect the new ownership of the property in question.
How Long Does The Process Take?
The process usually takes up to 6 weeks but can take longer if the mortgage lender isn’t satisfied that the necessary mortgage repayments will be manageable following the change to ownership, if there is a financial dispute related to a divorce or separation or if there are outstanding payments due on a leasehold property.
How Much Does Transfer of Equity Cost?
Transfer of equity costs anywhere from £100 to £1000, depending on the complexity of the individual case. A simple equity transfer on a low value property which is owned outright and where no money is changing hands as a result of the equity transfer will cost significantly less than it would for a high value mortgaged property where equity transfer is mandated by the courts following a divorce and the figure for the transfer is not agreed by both parties.
Other things that affect the cost of equity transfer include whether a remortgage is required and whether the solicitor will need to make any additional checks. It is important to ensure that the solicitor that you choose is transparent about their transfer of equity costs so that you are not left footing an unexpectedly large bill.
In Conclusion
Transfer of equity is not always a cheap process but when it is carried out for the right reasons, it confers the ownership of a property with the right equity allocation to suit the individuals involved in the transaction.
