There may be many reasons why you want to hire the services of a local solicitor. The most common include when you are buying a property or home, if you have a claim for unfair dismissal at work or when you want to claim for personal injury.
A solicitor can also help with the legal issues surrounding a wide variety of financial and property transactions, however, including the transfer of equity. At Forster Dean, our expert team of solicitors are on hand to give you all the advice and support that you need.
What is Transfer of Equity?
A transfer of equity is a legal process that you undertake when you want to change the ownership of a property in some way. For example, if you’ve recently gotten married, you may want to add your spouse to the title deeds so that they have co-ownership of a property.
Equity relates to the value of your property minus any outstanding mortgage payment. If you have a property that is worth £180,000 and you still have £80,000 outstanding on the mortgage, then your equity value is £100,000.
Whatever your reason, it’s important to use a qualified and experienced transfer of equity solicitor to help guide you through the process.
Why You Need a Transfer of Equity Solicitor
While getting married and adding your spouse to the deed is common, you may also want to remove someone from the deed if you have recently been through a divorce. Alternatively, you might want to change the share someone has in your property.
Transfer of equity can also be used as part of estate planning, helping you to reduce inheritance tax or cut your capital gains tax liability.
The Process of Transfer of Equity
This is usually carried out through a qualified conveyancing solicitor. Before making any transfer, they will check that there is a mortgage on the property or if there are any restrictions that would prevent action from being taken.
They’ll do this by looking at the title deeds and checking the identity of their clients to make sure they can authorise the transfer.
If there is a mortgage, you will generally need the consent of the mortgage company to add or take off a person on the deed. While this is normally a formality if the company objects then you will have no choice but to repay the mortgage before you can add the person to the deed.
If there is no mortgage a transfer deed is written up and this is signed by both parties involved and then witnessed. If the value of the transfer of equity is over £40,000, you will also need a stamp duty certificate.
Contact Forster Dean Today
Forster Dean has an experienced team on hand who can help with all areas of conveyancing as well as the transfer of equity. We have offices in Widnes, Runcorn and St Helen’s and our teams can help you through every stage of the process.
If you are looking for a transfer of equity solicitor, contact the team at Forster Dean today.