Do both parties have to be present when signing mortgage at solicitors?

[Newport1]

My wife and I are first time buyers. We have been approved by a lender for a joint mortgage and the offer is with our solicitor. The property is a new build and as we have nowhere to sell we are looking to complete shortly.

The problem we might encounter however is that my wife has flown out early for this Christmas to Peru to spend with her family and I am following her out there in the New Year.

This was planned all year and we fully expected everything to be completed by the time she was due to go 17.12.09 as we made the offer on the house in late September.

Therefore the solicitor is going to call us in next week to sign the deeds and mortgage etc however my wife will not be able to attend. We are due to fly back to the UK on 07.02.2010. We cannot wait until she gets back as the developer needs the money for the 1st week in January otherwise the house will go on the market again.

Is there some way we can get around this? Can the solicitor fax something to my wife in Peru and then she can sign and fax it back for example? I really would appreciate an solution as we have done a lot to get this property and after coming so close we do not want to lose it now.

Look forward to hearing your responses.

Many thanks

[JustinN]

Faxing won't work - the original document would need to be couriered to Peru and back

The mortgage lender may require the signatures to be witnessed by a solicitor, either to ensure that the ID of the signatory is checked, or to get the solicitor to certify that the effect of the mortgage has been explained (or both). The ID point can be covered by the signature being witnessed by a Notary Public (who will need proof of ID, of course). The certificate point can usually be covered by the solicitor giving a separate certificate that the effect of the mortgage has been explained

I hope this helps - good luck!

[Newport1]

Many thanks Justin, this helps a great deal. It is greatly appreciated