When you consider the average mortgage is twenty five years and that you’ve probably moved house once or twice and started the twenty five years all over again, you might think there would be more of a celebration when you make that final mortgage payment. There isn’t! You will usually receive a letter from your lender confirming you have repaid your mortgage. And, in that letter, they recommend you contact your solicitor to finalise the legal work.
You see, repaying your mortgage simply clears the debt. However, your mortgage lender continues to hold a charge over your house until that is cleared too. The mortgage you have just repaid is secured by a Standard Security over the title to your home. That must be discharged before your title is finally clear and unencumbered.
What is a Standard Security?
A Standard Security is the formal mortgage document all secured mortgage lenders hold over your house until you’ve finally repaid your mortgage. When you buy a house using a mortgage or if you re-mortgage your house, your solicitor will prepare a Standard Security on behalf of the lender. The Standard Security is a legal document which means should you breach the mortgage conditions or fail to keep up repayments of your mortgage, your lender can use the powers in the Standard Security to call-up your mortgage, evict you and sell your house. Thankfully, that only happens in a small number of cases.
Once you sign the Standard Security, it is registered against the title to your property with the Registers of Scotland. That means, when you sell your property, it is shown as a charge. The Standard Security must be discharged to enable you to pass a clear title to the purchaser of your house.
Similarly, when you’ve repaid your mortgage, to clear the title, you also must discharge the Standard Security.
How do you discharge a Standard Security?
Once your lender has written to you confirming you have repaid your mortgage, you should take the letter along to your solicitor. Your solicitor will prepare a Discharge document and contact your mortgage lender to arrange to have the Discharge executed by them. The Discharge is the formal legal document that removes the Standard Security from your title record.
Once your mortgage lender has executed and returned the Discharge, your solicitor will send it to the Registers of Scotland. When the Registers of Scotland receive the Discharge, they will register it in their records and remove the Standard Security from your title.
In legal terms, you will then have a clear title, unincumbered by the Standard Security which has been removed.
Experienced Property Solicitors in Glasgow and Livingston
Our experienced property solicitors help our clients with all aspect of conveyancing, including property sales, purchases, re-mortgages and discharges. If you have repaid your mortgage, they will take you through all aspects of the discharge process. If you would like help or advice in relation to any property matter, please get in touch with us now.
