Final mortgage admin fee.
Discussion
A girlfriend of mine has just paid off her mortgage, the mortgage company wants a cheque sent for £85.00 for an admin fee, they say it's for preparing the final paperwork and deeds but have not given a breakdown. She is not happy about paying this and I tend to agree, she has been a loyal 'customer' for 25 years through thick and thin, and they send a letter saying "congratulations on paying off your mortgage" now give us £85.00 for the privilege.
Any one had similar and avoided paying the fee?
Any one had similar and avoided paying the fee?
All lenders do this and it would have been detailed in her mortgage offer. For reference, the equivalent fee's on current mortgage is circa £225, and some lenders are now even trying to charge this upfront or allow you to add it to the mortgage (thus earning them interest of course)......
Maryben said:
Sometimes better to repay the mortgage all but a few pounds. The mortgage lender then keep the deeds safe for free while a bank or solicitor will charge to hold the deeds.
This +1The Natwest wanted some £100's of pounds when I paid off mine, however I kept back a small amount and now have a mortgage of £1.27 month. If they wish to cancel the early redemption I would be happy to oblige or they can continue to administer the safe keeping of deeds for me.
e600 said:
The Natwest wanted some £100's of pounds when I paid off mine, however I kept back a small amount and now have a mortgage of £1.27 month. If they wish to cancel the early redemption I would be happy to oblige or they can continue to administer the safe keeping of deeds for me.
Love the idea of a £1.27 per month mortgage.Probably one for Sarnie - what's the smallest amount you can get a mortgage for and over how long?
Sarnie said:
All lenders do this and it would have been detailed in her mortgage offer. For reference, the equivalent fee's on current mortgage is circa £225, and some lenders are now even trying to charge this upfront or allow you to add it to the mortgage (thus earning them interest of course)......
That's the point, it was not mentioned in the original offer/contract. The offer does refer to a mortgage conditions booklet which does mention admin charges , but not anything specific. Which really allows then to charge what they like! megaphone said:
That's the point, it was not mentioned in the original offer/contract. The offer does refer to a mortgage conditions booklet which does mention admin charges , but not anything specific. Which really allows then to charge what they like!
If she has had the mortgage for an extensive period of time (10 years+) then the likelihood is that is that the mortgage offer was probably produced when there was minimal regulatory requirements to disclose all fees within a mortgage offer, therefore they could just say "refer to the booklet" that most people would have lost by now......mx stu said:
e600 said:
The Natwest wanted some £100's of pounds when I paid off mine, however I kept back a small amount and now have a mortgage of £1.27 month. If they wish to cancel the early redemption I would be happy to oblige or they can continue to administer the safe keeping of deeds for me.
Love the idea of a £1.27 per month mortgage.Probably one for Sarnie - what's the smallest amount you can get a mortgage for and over how long?
Which leads me to another question, what should happen to the deeds? Should they be kept somewhere 'safe', what are the ramifications if they were lost or stolen or destroyed?
Edited by megaphone on Monday 29th April 12:12
simoid said:
megaphone said:
Which really allows then to charge what they like!
Or whatever is reasonable...?I think this is a matter of fairness, to stick on a (hidden) charge at the end of a 25 year mortgage does not seem fair to her, I have to agree.
These final fees do seem to have increased over the years. Woolwich fee is now £275. Some brokers have been in trouble from the FSA (or FCA as it is now) by advertising fee free re-mortgages. The new lender may offer a free valuation and free legal fees but as the existing lender will charge upto £275 to close the account the re-mortgage is hardly 'fee free'.
Sarnie said:
All lenders do this and it would have been detailed in her mortgage offer. For reference, the equivalent fee's on current mortgage is circa £225, and some lenders are now even trying to charge this upfront or allow you to add it to the mortgage (thus earning them interest of course)......
Not all lenders. HSBC didn't when I paid off a small mortgage. I actually asked them what the final admin charge would be as I knew there would be one for them doing nothing and there wasn't one. As for deeds its all done electronically now.
e600 said:
Maryben said:
Sometimes better to repay the mortgage all but a few pounds. The mortgage lender then keep the deeds safe for free while a bank or solicitor will charge to hold the deeds.
This +1The Natwest wanted some £100's of pounds when I paid off mine, however I kept back a small amount and now have a mortgage of £1.27 month. If they wish to cancel the early redemption I would be happy to oblige or they can continue to administer the safe keeping of deeds for me.
Also looks better on your credit record. Nice low mortgage and consistent payment history
e600 said:
Maryben said:
Sometimes better to repay the mortgage all but a few pounds. The mortgage lender then keep the deeds safe for free while a bank or solicitor will charge to hold the deeds.
This +1The Natwest wanted some £100's of pounds when I paid off mine, however I kept back a small amount and now have a mortgage of £1.27 month. If they wish to cancel the early redemption I would be happy to oblige or they can continue to administer the safe keeping of deeds for me.
My parents left £1 outstanding on theirs, so no closure fee and the deeds are safe!
megaphone said:
Which leads me to another question, what should happen to the deeds? Should they be kept somewhere 'safe', what are the ramifications if they were lost or stolen or destroyed?
DYOR, etc, but I'm lead to beleive the vast majority of deeds are held electronically by the land registry (if you bought your house pre electronic records of course they might not be) so although it'd be a pain if you had your deeds destroyed, stolen, etc, it wouldn't actually be the end of the world, I think you can pay for another copy.Edited by megaphone on Monday 29th April 12:12
Maybe ring the land registry and ask? I've found them quite easy to deal with when I've had to.
Edit: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/where-a...
Maryben said:
Sometimes better to repay the mortgage all but a few pounds. The mortgage lender then keep the deeds safe for free while a bank or solicitor will charge to hold the deeds.
+ another vote from mealso you still have a mortgage and you can add borrowings to it without any fees if required (well u can with mine anyway)
thekingisdead said:
DYOR, etc, but I'm lead to beleive the vast majority of deeds are held electronically by the land registry (if you bought your house pre electronic records of course they might not be) so although it'd be a pain if you had your deeds destroyed, stolen, etc, it wouldn't actually be the end of the world, I think you can pay for another copy.
Maybe ring the land registry and ask? I've found them quite easy to deal with when I've had to.
Edit: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/where-a...
My deeds were held electronically with Santander, but moving the mortgage to First Direct required a paper copy of them. Apparently they are one of the few companies left that hold paper copies of deeds. This was within the last 6 months.Maybe ring the land registry and ask? I've found them quite easy to deal with when I've had to.
Edit: http://www.landregistry.gov.uk/public/faqs/where-a...
Gassing Station | Finance | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff