L&E provides services and solutions designed to improve the speed, simplicity and security of property transactions.
In a right-to-buy transaction, title insurance covers the mortgage lender for any shortfall that could occur on repossession as a result of it taking second charge to the local authority. It also removes the need for a deed of postponement. This protects the lender, simplifies the process and reduces the time to completion meaning intermediaries receive procuration fees sooner and the customer gets a fast turnaround on their mortgage application.
Gary Chalkley, operations director at Victoria Mortgages, said the move followed the growing success of the lender’s right-to-buy proposition.
He said: “The need for deeds of postponement has always been a necessary frustration in this market, so we are delighted that title insurance now allows us to offer our clients a speedy completion. By using title insurance we can guarantee there is no waiting period under our right-to-buy products so packagers receive their fees sooner and the borrower’s remortgage completes sooner.”
Peter Wright, financial adviser at CBK, said anything that speeds up the mortgage process should be welcomed in the market, but said the cost of the service must be clearly highlighted to clients.
He said: “Anything that provides the client with a faster mortgage experience is a good thing as it can be a lengthy process. In addition, removing the need for a deed of postponement is also welcomed. But it also needs to be made clear to the client how the costs of the title insurance are going to be absorbed. If the client is going to have to pay the premium, then some may prefer to wait a little bit longer for their mortgage application to be processed rather than fork out more money on the transaction.”
