Remortgage Legal Fees
If you're coming to the end of your mortgage deal, you've got two main options: remortgage to a new lender or stay with your current one on a new deal. While some lenders offer "free" legal work to get you to switch, that can come with unexpected costs and limitations.
Remortgage Conveyancing Fees
When you use your own solicitor for a remortgage, you agree to a legal fee for their services. This is their charge for doing the work.
Most good conveyancing solicitors offer a fixed fee for standard work, which gives you cost certainty. Hourly rates are often reserved for more complex cases and can quickly add up.
The total cost is the legal fee plus 'disbursements'. Disbursements are third-party costs that the solicitor pays on your behalf. These include:
Disbursement | Estimated Cost |
|---|---|
Disbursement Land Registration Land Registry registration fees are payable based on the value of the property. | Estimated Cost
|
Disbursement Local Authority Search Indemnity Most lenders allow you to get indemnity insurance instead of a full local authority search. | Estimated Cost
|
Disbursement Online Identification (per Person) | Estimated Cost £8 |
Disbursement Official Copy of Register & Title Plan (per title) | Estimated Cost £7 |
Disbursement Official Copy of the Lease (if leasehold) | Estimated Cost £7 |
Disbursement Priority and Bankruptcy Land Registry Searches | Estimated Cost £13 |
Disbursement Notice fee payable to managing agent/freeholder (only if leasehold) | Estimated Cost £36 - £360 |
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Free Remortgage Legal Fees
When a mortgage lender offers a deal with "free legal fees," they are offering to cover the basic legal work to register their charge on your property. This is a limited service and does not cover the full conveyancing process.
This type of service is often handled by a large, high-volume firm on a strict timescale. They are working for the lender, not for you, so their priority is completing the lender’s work quickly. This can lead to delays, poor communication, and a lack of personal service.
Hidden costs and limitations
"Free" only ever applies to the legal fee itself. You will still have to pay for additional costs and disbursements, which can add up to hundreds of pounds. These hidden costs often include:
- Bank Transfer Fees: To transfer the funds to pay off your old mortgage.
- Identification Checks: For anti-money laundering regulations.
- Non-standard Legal Work: Any work outside of the lender's basic requirements, such as a Deed of Postponement or Transfer of Equity.
- Title Indemnity Insurance: If your title has a defect, the lender's solicitor might not deal with it and will instead require you to pay for indemnity insurance.
Free vs. Fixed-Fee: Which is right for you?
When comparing a "free" deal to a fixed-fee service, you should consider more than just the cost.
Free Remortgage Legal Fees | Using a Solicitor |
|---|---|
Free Remortgage Legal Fees
| Using a Solicitor
|
SAM Conveyancing offers a fixed-fee remortgage conveyancing service with no hidden costs. Our transparent quotes give you a full breakdown of all fees upfront, so you know exactly what you’re paying for.
Which Lenders offer free legal services?
Many lenders offer "free legal" or "fee-assisted" remortgage deals as an incentive to attract new customers. While the specifics can change often, some of the lenders who regularly include this incentive in their products include:
- Foundation Home Loans: They have launched fee-assisted legal services on some residential remortgage products.
- West One: They offer a "fast-track legal service" free of charge to remortgage customers on certain products.
- Many mainstream banks: Lenders like Nationwide, Halifax, and NatWest often include either free legal services or a cashback incentive on their remortgage products to help with legal fees.
Always check the full details of the mortgage offer. The "free" service will be provided by a solicitor from the lender's pre-approved panel, not a firm you choose.
Other Remortgage Costs
Beyond legal and conveyancing fees, there are other potential costs to be aware of when you remortgage. Knowing about these will help you avoid surprises and budget correctly.
Valuation Fee
A valuation fee is a separate cost from your legal fees. This is a fee for the lender to value your property to ensure it's worth the mortgage amount you're applying for.
The cost can vary depending on the property's value and the lender's policy. Many lenders offer a free valuation as an incentive, but if they don't, the fee can range from £150 to over £1,500.
SAM Conveyancing's current market valuation starts from £360 INC VAT.
It's important to note that a mortgage valuation is not the same as a structural survey or a homebuyer's survey. The valuation is for the lender's benefit, not yours, and it will not identify any repairs or defects.
Early Repayment Charge (ERC)
If you leave your current deal early, you may face an ERC. These can be as high as 5% of your outstanding mortgage balance.
Deeds Release Fee
Some lenders charge an administration fee to release your property's title deeds to your new solicitor. Not all lenders charge this, but if they do, it's typically between £50 and £300.
Product or Arrangement Fee
This is a fee charged by the new lender for setting up your new mortgage deal. These can range from £0 to £2,000+. Often, deals with a lower interest rate have a higher arrangement fee.
Booking Fee
Some lenders charge a non-refundable fee when you apply for a mortgage to secure the deal. These are less common now but can be around £100 to £200.
Mortgage Broker Fee
If you use a mortgage broker, they may charge a fee for their service. This is usually a flat fee or a percentage of the mortgage amount. However, many brokers are paid by commission from the lender, so you may not have to pay them directly
Applying for Trusts, Deeds, etc.
Any extra legal work needed for your specific situation will come with additional fees. This includes tasks like applying for a Declaration of Trust (common for joint owners to show unequal shares), Deeds of Postponement (for second charges on the property), or a Transfer of Equity (adding or removing someone from the title deeds). These are rarely covered by "free legal" services.
Sometimes a lender may require a guarantor to agree to pay the mortgage if you can't. Your solicitor will have to draft a separate deed for this, which is a non-standard part of the remortgage process.
If you are remortgaging a leasehold property, your lender might require changes to the lease. This could be to extend it or fix an error. Your solicitor would have to draft a Deed of Variation to change the terms of the lease.
If someone over the age of 17 lives in the property but isn't on the mortgage, your lender will require them to sign an Occupier's Consent Form to confirm they won't make a claim to the property.
Our brokers will present the best options available to you, for any type of mortgage, including:
- First-time buyers, home movers and buy-to-lets;
- Employed; self-employed or director mortages;
- Mortgages for non-UK residents or non-UK citizens;
- Bridging loans;
- Bad credit mortgages;
- Guarantor mortgages;
- Joint borrower, sole proprietor mortgages; and
- Absolute, Possessory, Good, or Qualified Title.
Andrew started his career in 2000 working within conveyancing solicitor firms and grew hands-on knowledge of a wide variety of conveyancing challenges and solutions. After helping in excess of 50,000 clients in his career, he uses all this experience within his article writing for SAM, mainstream media and his self published book How to Buy a House Without Killing Anyone.
Caragh is an excellent writer and copy editor of books, news articles and editorials. She has written extensively for SAM for a variety of conveyancing, survey, property law and mortgage-related articles.
