Transfer of equity involves adding or removing someone as the legal owner of a property. The process can easily become complicated if it’s not handled correctly – and often a hold up is the last thing you need! Lucky, here at St Helens Law, we have a team of experts on the transfer of equity, ready to guide you through.
Depending on your situation there are a number of ways to transfer equity, these are:
- When two legal owners of a home become one, as one legal owner is removed from their status as owner of the property.
- When one legal owner of the property becomes two, with another legal owner being added to the property.
- Transfer of equity is less common in this instance but can still occur. This is when a legal owner is replaced – so there are always two legal owners of the property.
Common reasons people look to transfer equity
Divorce or separation
The most common form of transfer of equity is two to one – when one owner of a property looks to maintain their ownership whilst the other owner is removed from this title. This usually occurs when a relationship has broken down or a couple have divorced or separated.
Especially in a divorce or separation, proceedings have the potential to become complicated due to their emotional nature, and with a lawyer representing each party, it is in the ideal interest to have the process be done quickly and efficiently. This is where we can help at St Helens Law, providing you with the best outcome every time.
A new relationship
The opposite of this method of transfer of equity is when a couple is in a new relationship and look to move in together. This would involve the existing legal owner of the property transferring to two names that are both now listed of the legal owners of the property. Again, as this involves two notable people, two solicitors would be needed, but this does have a lot less potential for complication there is no potential ill feeling between the two parties.
Buying out from a friend
A reason for transfer of equity that we are seeing more and more of in recent times, is the buying out of a joint owner to live on your own. This can happen if one of the legal owners decides that they want to move out of the property and the other legal owner wants to stay.
Replacing an ex-legal owner with someone else
If a friend or decides to move out then it may be beneficial to replace them with another roommate. The legal process that this entails still classes as the transfer of equity, as it is possible to replace an existing legal owner with a new one. Although this is less common, it can happen if things are not working out with an existing roommate and are looking to replace them with someone else.
With the right advice, transfer of equity doesn’t need to be complicated. Here at St Helens Law, we are confident we can help you to keep things simple, thanks to our extensive knowledge of transfer of equity in St Helens and the surrounding areas.
Contact us
Would you like some further advice on whether a release of equity is right for you? Our team are on hand to help. By filling out our online enquiry form we can arrange a free 30 minute consultation, or if you would like to call us directly you can do on 01744 742360. We are also available to contact via email at info@sthelenslaw.co.uk for an informed response from one of our team.