Find out the steps required to discharge your mortgage with Savvy today.
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Discharging a mortgage can be the triumphant end of a long journey or the beginning of a new one. Find out all you need to know about what’s involved in discharging a mortgage with Savvy, the home loan comparison specialists.
When you take out a home loan, your lender will hold the Certificate of Title to your property. Discharging a mortgage means paying back the lender in full and ending your loan agreement and subsequently removing the mortgage encumbrance from the title to your property.
Paying off your home loan in full does not automatically discharge the mortgage on it, though. This is another separate step that either you or your lender will need to complete before you can receive the Certificate of Title to your property.
Some of the circumstances where you’ll need to discharge the mortgage on your home include the following:
Mortgage Discharge fees are charged by each state government to remove the encumbrance on a property’s Certificate of Title. The cost of discharging a mortgage varies from state to state, but generally the mortgage discharge fee is around $110 to $200. For example, the fee in South Australia is $176, in the Northern Territory it’s $149 and in Queensland it’s $195 (figures current as of January 2022).
Lenders, including banks, may also charge fees for ending a home loan agreement. These are called discharge, settlement or termination fees. These are standard fees which are charged to cover the cost of the administration involved in ending your loan contract. Generally, lenders charge anywhere from $150 to $400 in settlement or termination fees, with $350 being a common charge for this service.
These fees shouldn’t be confused with early exit fees, also known as break fees, which are charged when a borrower breaks a fixed term loan early. The cost of this charge will vary depending on the size of your loan and the amount of time left to run at the point of breaking the agreement, but can add up to hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
First of all, contact your lender and tell them you wish to discharge your mortgage, and ask what they need you to do. Your lender will then provide you with the appropriate mortgage discharge authority form and will advise you which steps they’ll take on your behalf.
When you complete the discharge of mortgage authority form, you’ll need to provide details of a bank account into which any excess funds can be paid or from which any charges are debited. This will allow your lender to discharge the mortgage smoothly and make any minor adjustments needed to complete the process.
Once you’ve completed the mortgage discharge authority form, a discharge of mortgage document will need to be registered with the Land Titles Office in your state. There may be fees applicable to registering this discharge document. Either you can do this or, more commonly, your lender will do it on your behalf. Look up the Land Titles Office in your state to see the fees that may apply.
Once your mortgage has been discharged, your lender will send you your Certificate of Title for your property. This is a very important document which proves legal ownership of your property, so it is important to keep it in a safe place so it doesn’t get lost. Replacement paper certificates can be expensive to obtain.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
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For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
© Copyright 2024 Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd T/as Savvy. All Rights Reserved.
Quantum Savvy Pty Ltd (ABN 78 660 493 194) trades as Savvy and operates as an Authorised Credit Representative 541339 of Australian Credit Licence 414426 (AFAS Group Pty Ltd, ABN 12 134 138 686). We are one of Australia’s leading financial comparison sites and have been helping Australians make savvy decisions when it comes to their money for over a decade.
We’re partnered with lenders, insurers and other financial institutions who compensate us for business initiated through our website. We earn a commission each time a customer chooses or buys a product advertised on our site, which you can find out more about here, as well as in our credit guide for asset finance. It’s also crucial to read the terms and conditions, Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) or credit guide of our partners before signing up for your chosen product. However, the compensation we receive doesn’t impact the content written and published on our website, as our writing team exercises full editorial independence.
For more information about us and how we conduct our business, you can read our privacy policy and terms of use.
