By Abigail Hadfield

Inadvertently failing to transfer the legal title to even a handful of mortgages following a portfolio acquisition can be a costly mistake.

The secondary market in residential mortgage books is thriving, and purchasers are increasingly being caught out by this apparently simple issue. In the majority of cases, a suitably-worded power of attorney from the seller will remove any practical implications. However, difficulties can arise when the power of attorney is limited in scope or duration or when the seller has been dissolved by the time the wayward mortgages are discovered.