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Until you pay off your mortgage, sell your property or refinance with a different lender, your mortgage provider holds the property title to your home.
Mortgage discharge is a legal process that proves you've paid off your home loan in full. When you discharge a mortgage, the lender will no longer have a security interest in your property, and your home loan account will be closed. If you're paying off your mortgage, this will leave you as the sole owner of the property.
There are 6 main reasons for requesting a mortgage discharge:
The first step in a mortgage discharge is to get in touch with your lender. If you're selling your property, you could request the discharge once the contract of sale is signed.
If you get in touch even earlier, we can guide you through the process. A discharge authority form must be completed and signed by all borrowers and mortgagors so we can release security over your loan.
Once we've received your signed request, it could take up to 21 business days to finalise and process the discharge. You'll want to make sure that all details are provided in the discharge authority form – incomplete forms or missing details may result in a delay. For more information on settlement estimate times, look at the Property Exchange Australia (PEXA) Transfer Guidelines.
Fees to release the security may vary depending on the lender and state or territory. You can find these details in your loan contract terms and conditions or our HSBC Home Loan Terms document.
You or your lender can register the request with your state or territory's Land Titles Office electronically through PEXA.
The documents and process will vary slightly depending on your reason for discharging your mortgage.
Following the successful mortgage discharge, an electronic certificate of title or paper title deed will be sent to you.
The payout figure is the amount needed to pay off your loan. It might include interest accrued or other fees. Asking for your payout statement early on in the process is one factor in a smooth mortgage discharge.
The payout figure for a variable rate loan is calculated a few days before the agreed discharge date. For a fixed rate loan, this figure is calculated a day before your discharge of mortgage.
Once settled, any surplus funds that have been paid into the loan will be transferred into your preferred account.
Have you made additional repayments through your home loan's redraw facility? You should redraw before getting your payout figure. Otherwise, these funds will need to remain in the account until settlement.
The FASTRefi® fast refinance settlement process allows you to refinance your eligible home loan quickly. You'll still need to request a mortgage discharge from us to enable FASTRefi to manage the refinance.
Paying off your mortgage in full doesn't automatically close your loan. You'll need to request a discharge of mortgage to remove the home loan from your property title.
To request an HSBC mortgage discharge form, please contact your home loan manager, local branch or call 1300 308 008.
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This article is intended to provide general information of an educational nature only. This information should not be relied upon as financial product advice as it does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. You should consider the appropriateness of the information to your own circumstances and seek independent legal and financial advice prior to making any investment choice. There are risks associated with any investment and this document is not intended to list all of them in respect to any particular investment opportunity. Prices, levels and indications contained in this document are illustrative only and may not represent future performance. HSBC does not warrant or represent the performance of any investment opportunity.
Disclaimer: Credit provided by HSBC Bank Australia Limited ABN 48 006 434 162. Australia Credit Licence 232595. Terms, conditions, fees, charges and HSBC lending criteria apply. This article does not take into account your personal or financial situation. Please consider a relevant Product Disclosure Statement, available at hsbc.com.au or by calling 1300 308 008 before making a decision about this product.
