CMS remortgage panel and remortgage solicitors

What types of remortgage are available?

The mortgage market changes daily and it is therefore advisable to do your home-work to see what is currently available. Below are the typical types of remortgage available in the UK.

Variable rate mortgages

With a variable rate mortgage the interest may go up or down during the life of the mortgage depending on what the bank base rate is doing. The benefits of a variable rate mortgage are that there is not usually a 'tie in' period so you can repay the mortgage whenever you wish and if interest rates go down you will get the benefit. However, if interest rates rise you will pay more.

Fixed rate mortgages

With a fixed rate remortgage the interest rate is fixed for a set period of time - usually 2, 3 or 5 years but sometimes longer. During the fixed rate period the interest rate will not go up or down whatever the bank base rate does. There is usually a penalty clause which applies during the fixed rate in which you have to pay a lump sum to the lender if you want to repay the remortgage during the fixed rate period. So you are effectively 'tied in' to the remortgage for the period of the fixed rate and sometimes longer. You have the advantage of knowing how much your monthly payments will be during the fixed rate, but you are tied to the remortgage unless you want to pay a penalty and if interest rates go down then you will still pay the higher rate.

Tracker

A tracker remortgage tracks a stipulated bank base rate and usually guarantees not to rise beyond a certain percentage above the bank base rate. This means that your mortgage can go up or down depending on what the base rate does. You have the benefit of paying less if the mortgage rates go down but you will pay more if they go up.

Interest only mortgages

If you are trying to keep your monthly costs down you may opt to pay only the interest on your mortgage. This means that at the end of the mortgage you will still owe the amount you borrowed 'the Capital'. Most lenders will insist that you take out a 'repayment vehicle' i.e. an insurance policy, pension etc. to repay the remortgage at the end of the term.

Capital repayment mortgages

With a capital repayment mortgage you pay the interest plus part of the loan off each month. In the early years it is mostly the interest which is paid but over the life of the remortgage you gradually reduce the loan until it is all paid off at the end of the term.

Self-Certified Mortgages

With a self-certified mortgage the lender trusts you to certify how much income you earn. This can be beneficial to self-employed people or people whose income cannot be certified in the usual way. Few lenders now offer these types of mortgages and they usually cost far more in interest than a standard mortgage.

Equity release

This type of mortgage was set up so that home owners could release equity from their properties in order to raise funds to supplement their income, pay for home improvements or residential care etc. The idea is that the funds are advanced by the lender and the money is re-paid from the proceeds of sale of the property once the home-owner has passed on. The home owner needs specialised advice on this type of mortgage and CMS can provide a quotation for this.

Please call us on 0845 060 33 55 for a quote

CMS provide you with a cheap fixed fee transparent conveyancing quote that is easy to understand. All disbursements are listed and the total price for the conveyancing plus disbursements is added up for you. Thus you know exactly what go are going to pay. You will receive a selection of our best three solicitors competitive quotes including a local one.

CMS constantly monitor other shared solicitors conveyancing and transfer of equity websites. We have found that the majority advertising unrealistically low fees from £120 or less charge extra for many items listed above (which CMS include for free). In particular most of them charge extra if you are obtaining a mortgage and this together with other extras can increase their quote by up to £200.

Conveyancing is the legal process carried out by solicitors that transfers shared equity or property from one owner to another. Your shared conveyancing will be carried out by conveyancing solicitors specialist employed by one of the CMS panel solicitors / licensed conveyancer. All of our panel solicitors are approved for shared equity transfer and regularly checked by CMS. All solicitors firms are members of the Law Society or Council for Licensed Conveyancers (you will find their contact details in our Links section) and all carry at least £1,000,000 worth of indemnity insurance for the protection of their clients.

All of our fully qualified conveyancing solicitors who undertake solicitors legal shared transfer sign a legal agreement to abide by the equity quotes we provide, not to charge "hidden extras" and also to provide the level of service published in our Service Charter - which you will find in the left hand menu. In a nutshell good conveyancing solicitors will be qualified, experienced, pro-active and IT literate. The CMS solicitors panel is constantly under review.

From 25.3.10 until 25.3.12 First Time Buyers buying a property at less than £250,000 will be exempt from stamp duty. Please note that your quote will still display and include the stamp duty BUT if you are a first time buyer then stamp duty will not be charged. If you are buying a property in excess of £1,000,000 the stamp duty rate will increase to 5% for all property purchases completed after 6th April 2011.

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