After many years and thousands of pounds worth of payments, you have finally repaid your mortgage. You now own a valuable asset in the form of you home and no longer need to make any mortgage payments.
Having paid off your mortgage, what happens next?
You need to remove the Standard Security held over your Title
When you take out a mortgage in Scotland, you will need to grant a Standard Security over the title to your house. A Standard Security forms a charge over your property. When you first arranged your mortgage, you received an offer of loan from the Lender. One of the conditions of the offer of loan was that you granted a Standard Security in favour of the lender. This is the case whether you are buying a property or re-mortgaging a property you already own.
The Standard Security is registered in the Land Register and appears in the Securities Section of your Title Sheet.
If you breach the conditions in the mortgage offer or if you fail to keep up your mortgage payments, your lender can take action. They can call up the Standard Security, repossess the property, evict you and then sell the property on the open market.
However, now that you have repaid the mortgage, you no longer need to have the Standard Security held as a charge against your property.
What happens when you have made your final payment on your mortgage?
When you have repaid your mortgage, your lender will contact you to let you know. They will recommend you contact your solicitor to arrange to discharge the Standard Security they hold over your title. They will not do anything more than that. It is up to you to take action to have the Standard Security discharged.
How do you discharge a Standard Security?
The first thing you should do is take the letter from your lender to your solicitor. Your solicitor will contact your lender to advise them they have been instructed to deal with the Discharge.
Your solicitor will then obtain the title to your property and prepare a Discharge of the Standard Security. They will send the Discharge to your lender and ask them to execute and return it to them. Once received, your solicitor will send the Discharge to the Registers of Scotland for registration.
When the Registers of Scotland receives the Discharge, they will register it and immediately remove the Standard Security from the Securities Section of the Title Sheet. This will then show that there are “no entries” which means nobody holds a charge over your house.
The entire process is straightforward and is usually dealt with relatively quickly.
It also means you have a valuable asset which is not subject to any mortgage or loan. If you have not already done so, you should think about preparing your Will to ensure the title to your property passes to those you wish to inherit your estate on your death.
Specialist Property Solicitors in Rutherglen, Glasgow
Our solicitors specialise in all aspects of property law in Rutherglen, Glasgow throughout Lanarkshire and across Scotland. If you have repaid your mortgage and would like to discharge the standard security held by your lender over your property, please get in touch with us today.
If you like this, you may also be interested in these articles:
Navigating Your First Home Purchase in Scotland: A Comprehensive Guide for First-Time Home Buyers
Can I pull out of buying a house if my offer has been accepted?
Missives are concluded – does this mean I’ve actually sold my house?
